Conservative Action Alerts: Nanny State Giving Out Free Cell Phones/Minutes to Welfare Recipients.
Ahh...NOW it all makes sense! Recall that the Occupy Wall Street maniacs practically ALL seemed to have cell phones? I thought that GeorgEVIL Soros must be paying for them. After all, he was paying the "occupiers" sixty dollars (kinda cheap for a billionaire...don't you think??) a day to protest. I'm sure you could find the video over at YouTube of one of the tattle-tellers (who admitted being clueless why he was there protesting!) about that little gem of a fact.
Update: FOUND IT! Occupy Wall Street Protestor Admits Being Paid Video
Here's a preview of the coming film: OWS Occupy Unmasked
Don't get me wrong. I understand that the Lifeline program for the elderly and very poor is necessary. But I do think that it should be limited to landlines and for those who cannot afford to pay a monthly phone bill. But cell phones?? Does anyone see where this could lead to "bought votes" for Barack Hussein Obama?
The article (above) reveals that this program was also done under the Bush Administration. I need to do more research, but I would venture to guess that it wasn't abused the way it has been under Obama. Could you imagine if Bush labeled them "Bush phones" for his re-election bid in 2004?
But the fact of the matter is that once people get "free stuff" (a.k.a. adding taxes onto American workers phone bills to pay for it!!), it is very difficult to get them off the dole. Thus, another Nanny State benefit balloons into a huge welfare benefit that people will not want to give up.
Excerpt:
Did you know that the federal government is giving out free cell phones and free cell phone minutes to welfare recipients? It may be hard to believe, but it is true. Right now, there are companies that are running advertisements specifically targeted at low income Americans informing them of the fact that all they have to do is sign up and they can get a free cell phone and hundreds of free cell phone minutes every single month and it will all be paid for by the federal government. Some have referred to this as “The Obama Phone”, but that is not exactly accurate. The outrageous federal programs that are paying for this were initiated before Barack Obama entered the White House. But the fact that welfare recipients have been receiving free cell phones and free cell phone minutes under both the Bush and Obama administrations has been confirmed as being true by Snopes. All of this is paid for by “the federal Universal Service Fund”. That is one of those annoying little taxes that you may have noticed on your phone bill. So what is essentially happening is the federal government is taking money from all of us so that they can provide free cell phone service for welfare recipients every single month.
The email that I received shares even more information:
Obama "phones in" to WIN the election
You're paying a hefty price to re-elect Barack Obama, whether you like it or not!
Did you know that you're paying a minimum of $80 a year to buy votes for Barack Obama? Hiding behind the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), Barack Obama is adding charges to your phone bill in order to give free Obama cell phones - this includes smart phones - to people he claims are "financially unstable" and "financially disabled."
So far, more than 8 million "unstable" people - citizens and noncitizens alike - have taken advantage of THE OBAMA PHONE program, which gives people a new and free cell phone that is paid for by YOU!
We must act fast and demand that members of Congress support H.R. 3481, the 'Stop Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act.' Please send your personalized fax to Congress right now and join the fight for Americans like you who are paying for Obama's cell phone distribution scheme. Make your voice heard now with your personalized fax!
[Note: You can pay for faxes to be sent here or just utilize the wording and send emails.]
No money down, no credit check, no contract, and no phone bill for one year. The free Obama phone program allows people to send text messages, take pictures, and it even includes 250 free minutes a month (along with roll-over minutes), with an additional 100 free minutes earned for each referral.
The Obama phone website claims that taxpayers are not charged for this program. Nevertheless, wireless subscribers who are already paying for their individual, family, and business phone services, are funding the now multi-billion dollar program.
According to the Obama phone site: "Some people claim that the government is using taxpayer's money to run this program, however, the claim is false. Universal Service Fund (USF) which is administers (sic) by the FCC along with the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC), pays for the Lifeline phone assistance program."
But wait; the truth is finally revealed in the next paragraph ...
"Paying customers might find a line item named 'Universal Service' on their telephone bills. This is because telecom companies choose to collect the amount they need to contribute to Universal Service Fund, from their subscribers...
"These charges appear as a percentage of the original phone bill. They also can't collect any charges from the [Obama phone] customers. The percentage of contribution of the telecom companies is renewed every quarter depending on the demand of the Universal Service Fund." (Demand is INCREASING. Thus, your charges will also increase.)
Introduced last November by Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.), the Stop Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act of 2011, has three co-sponsors, Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.), Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.). Right now, the bill is in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The following is an example of the 'Obama phone' charges on your bill:
(T-mobile cell phone charges from individual bill dated February 2012)
| Communications Related | |
| Regulatory Programs Fee* *Fee we collect and retain to help cover our costs related to funding and complying with government mandates, programs and obligations. | 1.61 |
| Government Fees and Taxes Government-Related Obligations** | |
| Federal Universal Service Fund | 2.14 |
| State Universal Service Fund | 1.85 |
| 3.99 | |
| **These charges relate to your service. They may be imposed on us and passed through to you pursuant to your contract. | |
If you only have one cell phone, then you're likely paying a minimum of $3.99 a month to pay for Obama phones. Add up all of the imposed fees, and you will see that the Obama administration is forcing you to pay $67.20 annually, to "cover the costs related to funding and complying with government mandates, programs and obligations." And to pay for charges imposed on cell phone companies by the government. These expenses are passed on to you, the customer. Multiply these charges over the next four years that Obama plans to remain in the White House, and you will have paid a whopping $283.80.
This is YOUR MONEY that you could have saved or donated to the charity of your choice.
Who qualifies for the Obama phone? Anyone who uses one of the following taxpayer-funded government programs:
Food Stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Medicaid
Supplemental Security Income - commonly known as SSI
Health Benefit Coverage under Child Health Insurance Plan (CHIP)
The National School Lunch Program's Free Lunch Program.
Low-Income Energy Assistance Program - LIHEAP
Federal Public Housing Assistance ( Section 8 )
If you are a low-income Eligible Resident of Tribal Lands
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families - TANF
But wait ... that's not all!
Barack Obama doesn't plan to stop with only forcing you to pay for Obama phones. In fact, according to the Obama phone website, you will soon see an additional charge on your Internet service bill. "Currently, the government is thinking of providing free wireless Internet service to the people under this program instead of [providing] old-fashioned land phones." According to FCC documents the subsidy is already in place; and when combined, these programs are expected to cost Internet/phone subscribers $2.4 billion this year alone.
FREE PHONES AND FREE INTERNET SERVICE = VOTES FOR OBAMA!
Barack Obama is laughing all the way to the November 6 election---the day he will have won four more years in the Oval office, in part by SPENDING YOUR MONEY TO BUY VOTERS' SUPPORT!
The Obama phone site claims that Americans shouldn't have to bother with "...paying telephone bills." And that the government can help to "...get rid of this extra burden."
Moreover, according to the website, our President's outlook on America's future is bleak, at best. The site includes statements saying that "with the turmoil in the economy, more than 8 million people will become eligible for this program. Meaning: we want millions upon millions of people to become dependent on the government.
Obama phone salary requirements:
(Exclusively for those who also depend on government programs.)
| Number of Persons in Household | Annual Income | Monthly Income |
| 1 | $16,335 | $1,361 |
| 2 | $22,065 | $1,839 |
| 3 | $27,795 | $2,316 |
| 4 | $33,525 | $2,794 |
| 5 | $39,255 | $3,271 |
| 6 | $44,985 | $3,749 |
| 7 | $50,715 | $4,226 |
| 8 | $56,445 | $4,704 |
Obama phones are being distributed in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.
Next, Obama phones will be distributed in: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.
In order to apply for an Obama phone, people are instructed to "... fill-up (sic) the form provided, and you'll receive your cell phone with free talk time."
Once again, Americans are being fleeced by Barack Obama. Money is being stolen from our pockets to fund programs that are set up to garner votes for Obama during his re-election campaign. Why else would these phones be named Obama phones?
Conservative Action Alerts
www.ConservativeActionAlerts.com
P.S. It is imperative that we fight those whose aim is to force hard-working Americans to pay for the distribution and use of Obama phones so that the current occupant of the White House can WIN a second term. We must demand that members of Congress support H.R. 3481, the 'Stop Taxpayer Funded Cell Phones Act.' Make your voice heard now with your personalized fax!
Conservative Action Alerts (CAA) is a media outlet protected by the first
amendment and that support for our efforts is not tax-deductible.
*******
The most important question to ask yourself in all of this is why are the phones called "Obama phones?"
Answer:
Once again, Americans are being fleeced by Barack Obama. Money is being stolen from our pockets to fund programs that are set up to garner votes for Obama during his re-election campaign. Why else would these phones be named Obama phones?
It's all part of the class warfare that Obama intends to continue to use in his re-election bid.
I am grateful to the Conservative Action Alerts organization for alerting me to this egregious theft of taxpayer money!! Obama's relentless socialistic programs are designed for one reason - to keep him in power.
Ugh!!!
Please consider sharing this with others who, like me, were totally unaware of the "Obama phone" program.
Hat tips to all links.
Posts
3 comments:
Hostess, do you actually know anyone who has a so-called “Obama Phone”? Do you even know anyone in any of those programs?
Do you know that the people on the program get reviewed annually to see if they still qualify?
Do you know that the phone must be plugged in every month to receive the minutes? If the minutes are not accepted for two consecutive months (or the phone isn't used at all for one month), the service is canceled.
Do you know that once the recipient starts making an income, they must re-qualify or cancel?
Do you know that the number of persons in a household is irrelevant? Only the head of a household may apply for and receive the phone. If anyone else in the household is in the program, they must cancel. But then, you don't actually live in San Diego, do you?
Of course, the information one provides to qualify is checked against public records...which should make it rather easy for some future Antichrist to monitor and track down citizens of its choice.
How come you're not up in arms over that, eh?
Considering that many millions of Americans don't even have landlines any more, a cell phone is more practical. If one is job-hunting (which is the ideal, of course), a prospective employer can reach the seeker more easily that way...and the seeker doesn't have to stand by the phone at home, allowing him to do other things besides wait. That's part of the reasons behind inventing the device in the first place!
I discovered the program after I moved to my present location: the VA told me about it after I said that I didn't have a phone. I even used it, for most of my first year here, for I had no other way to communicate; no landline phone, no computer, and only the USPS—which takes a few days. A month after landing a job, I canceled, since by then I could afford a phone. It's good to know that I could do it again, if I had to.
It's just a basic phone—although that's not saying much, since cell phones are constantly evolving. It's possible to text on them, which couldn't be done on any phone ten years ago. Still, it's not as if every deadbeat dad or aged veteran is getting a shiny new Samsung Galaxy for their personal toy.
”FREE PHONES AND FREE INTERNET SERVICE = VOTES FOR OBAMA!”
Really? My internet rates just went up by 4%, but my income hasn't. How do I get some o' this 'free internet service' you're talkin' about?
”...The site includes statements saying that "with the turmoil in the economy, more than 8 million people will become eligible for this program. Meaning: we want millions upon millions of people to become dependent on the government.”
Is that what it means? It sounds more like: with the turmoil in the economy, more than 8 million people will become eligible for this program. We want to make sure that those who need it can get it.
”The most important question to ask yourself in all of this is why are the phones called 'Obama phones'?
Because it's shorthand for a program the Christian Nationalists don't like, and they choose to associate it with a politician they despise, rather than the politician who started it. Quoting from your own post:
Some have referred to this as “The Obama Phone”, but that is not exactly accurate. The outrageous federal programs that are paying for this were initiated before Barack Obama entered the White House. But the fact that welfare recipients have been receiving free cell phones and free cell phone minutes under both the Bush and Obama administrations has been confirmed... (emphasis mine)
Just another example of lazy right-wing sloganeering. And you, with your usual respect for the facts, sucked it right up and spewed it out again.
Answer one question...honestly if you can. Would you have objected to President George W. Bush labeling the "free" phones as "Bush Phones" during the election year of 2004?
The fact that so many millions more people are poor and out of work under Obama makes this "program" more expensive for taxpayers whose hard earned money is being confiscated by the FCC in order to pay for the phones.
The fact that legislation is being presented to stop this practice is proof that many people, including several elected representatives, think that the program is being abused. Call me all the derogatory names you want, it isn't just me complaining, GM.
If you are in the incomes brackets displayed, you have the opportunity to go to the site and request yours! That should make you SO HAPPY! Just know that it's other people's money that is paying for your "free" phone. You can thank your "spread the wealth around" socialist buddy for it, too.
It's late and I'm tired, but I'll answer that first question:
No, I would NOT have called it a "Bush phone". I'd have called it a government phone (as opposed to an AT&T phone, or a Sprint phone).
There are things I get through the government, and things I get through private sources. A year from now, Obama may not be President, but it would still be a government-sponsored phone.
And I didn't call you a deragatory name. I said you used a derogatory practice.
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