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Outrageous! The Government Is Giving Out Free Cell Phones And Free Cell Phone Minutes To Welfare Recipients
By Michael, on January 29th, 2012
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.
When some of my readers informed me of this free cell phone scheme, I decided that I better go to the source. So I went over to the FCC website, and it turns out that there are two federal programs involved. "Link Up" provides a one-time connection discount on phone service, and it can be applied to the cost of a cell phone. So this is where the free cell phone comes from. "Lifeline" provides a monthly discount on telephone service. So this is where the free cell phone minutes each month come from. The following is a description of these programs from the FCC website....
What Benefits are Available Under the Lifeline and Link Up Programs?
Lifeline provides discounts on one basic monthly telephone service (wireline or wireless) for qualified subscribers. These discounts can be up to $10.00 per month, depending on your state. Federal rules prohibit qualifying low-income consumers from receiving more than ONE Lifeline service at the same time. That is, qualifying low-income consumers may receive a Lifeline discount on either a home telephone or wireless telephone service, but may not receive a Lifeline discount on both services at the same time. Lifeline also includes Toll Limitation Service, which enables a telephone subscriber to limit the amount of long distance calls that can be made from a telephone.
Link Up Up provides qualified subscribers with a one-time discount (up to a maximum of $30) off of the initial installation fee for one traditional, wireline telephone service at the primary residence or the activation fee for one wireless telephone. It also allows subscribers to pay the remaining amount they owe on a deferred schedule, interest-free. Federal rules prohibit qualifying low-income consumers from receiving more than ONE Link Up discount at a primary residence. That is, qualifying low-income consumers may receive a Link Up discount on installation or activation charges associated with either a home telephone or wireless telephone service.
Apparently these programs are becoming quite popular.
You can find a company called Safelink Wireless offering welfare recipients a free cell phone and 250 free cell phone minutes a month right here.
You can find a company called Assurance Wireless offering welfare recipients a program that is virtually identical right here.
This is absolutely outrageous, and it is yet another sign that dependence on the government is totally out of control.
Not that assisting the poor is bad. Of course we always want to help those that cannot help themselves. We never want to see anyone go without daily food or sleep in the streets.
But providing the poor with the basics of life is much different from providing them with luxuries such as cell phones.
In some areas of the country, the poor can also receive nearly free Internet service every single month.
When Comcast acquired NBC Universal earlier this year, an FCC-mandated requirement was that the cable giant offer cheap Internet access to low-income households. Comcast is making good on the mandate through a new program called Internet Essentials.
Families who qualify will be able to sign up for 1.5-Mbps Internet access – the same download speed as AT&T’s basic DSL service – for just $9.95 a month. Customers may also be eligible for a computer that costs just $150 and free Internet training.
Low-Income Gasoline Assistance Program Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to states to establish emergency assistance programs to pay eligible households for the purchase of gasoline.
These days, as long as you are "eligible", just about everything you need will either be purchased for you or subsidized by the federal government.
Yes, we will always need programs to help take care of the poor, but some of the things that go on today are absolutely outrageous.
There are millions of people out there that have become extremely comfortable receiving government benefits and it will be extremely difficult to ever get them to give them up.
After all, why bust your behind for 40 or 50 hours a week at some meaningless, low paying job when you can live a similar lifestyle by just depending on government benefits?
The following is a rap video that shows the kind of mindset that is developing all across America. Please be advised that it contains some very strong language. It was done by a rapper known as "Mr. EBT", and it is a perfect example of the kind of attitude that many welfare recipients have today....
Yes, everyone needs a helping hand once in a while. But if you do have to rely on government benefits for a time, you should be fighting like crazy to improve your situation so that you can get off of them as soon as possible.
Of course the biggest welfare recipients of all are the big corporations. The federal government showers billions upon billions of dollars on them every year, and this has got to stop.
General Electric, one of the largest corporations in America, filed a whopping 57,000-page federal tax return earlier this year but didn't pay taxes on $14 billion in profits. The return, which was filed electronically, would have been 19 feet high if printed out and stacked.
Can you imagine a 57,000 page federal tax return?
That is absolutely disgusting and it is a perfect example of how corrupt our system has become.
All year long, GE has people pouring over the tax code just looking for any little tax loophole that it can exploit.
GE made $14,000,000,000 in profits, but they paid less taxes to the government than you or I did.
There is something very, very wrong with that picture.
All of this unnecessary welfare has got to stop.
No more free cell phones for people on welfare.
No more giving billions of dollars in tax breaks to big corporations.
We simply cannot afford it.
The U.S. debt problem is way, way out of control. We have piled up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world, and it gets about 150 million dollars worse every single hour.
Sadly, none of this is likely to change any time soon.
The big corporations provide the money that our politicians need to win campaigns, and most of our politicians are very careful not to bite the hands that feed them.
On the other end of the spectrum, our economy continues to crumble and the number of poor Americans continues to increase. So even if we don't provide them with free cell phones, the truth is that the number of Americans that need basic food and housing is not going to go down any time soon. In fact, it is going to go a lot higher in the years ahead.
We are rapidly becoming a European-style socialist welfare state.
In America today, the poor are absolutely showered with outrageous government benefits and so are the big corporations.
So who pays for all of this?
You and I do.
I am afraid that the joke is on us, and nothing is going to change as long as we keep sending the same kind of politicians back to Washington D.C. over and over.
It has nothing to do with race, but everything to do about attitude!
John Parker
It’s not just welfare. Any person who qualifies for any program, even heating assistance, can qualify for this handout which is paid for by everyone who doesn’t use these handouts.
C
They don’t call it the land of the free for nothing.
Michelle
I am a Christian, I vote conservative, and I recieve gov’t benefits. I am on disability and food stamps (EBT)and Medicare and Medicaid. I have Crohn’s disease, am in the hospital 6-10 times a yr, have had 5 surgeries and do not respond to treatment. Am currently hooked up to an I.V. 12 hrs a day everyday. I used to work in the medical field and have assisted in many surgeries. I am smart, I am a prepper, I know how to grow food, sanitize water, treat medical emergencies and am learning to shoot a gun. If I could afford it, I would not live in the city. I know what’s coming. I AM NOT LAZY !!! And you CANNOT generalize when talking about ANY group, rich, poor, disabled, on welfare, color, race, or political stance. And by the way, I am getting a gov’t subsidized cell phone b/c I only get $720 a month to live on. Stop the arguments and learn the real reasons this country is failing. Brush up on your history and some basic economics and what’s happening to our civil liberties and the
Constitution (what’s left of it). I also know people who take advantage of the system, there will always be people like that, but I am not one of them. There are people that honestly need help. Please count yourself blessed if you are not one of them. don’t look down on us. Believe me, I feel bad enough. I am not “showered” with things. I would love to have my health back and work again. I lost my job, my house, car, my pets, even some friends through my illness. It sucks…BIGTIME
Rynn
To the haters….
How do you expect them to get jobs if they can’t even get called for an interview?
A phone is the most important tool there is in job searching you dummies.
dog
now there going to give these bumbs gas money to get gas people quit your jobs to hell with the gov
yo
… well, thanks for letting me know where I can get a free cell phone.
Humor aside, I’m currently, and I assure you temporarily, on food stamps and medical, only due to an out of state move for family reasons. I pay my taxes every year. I see absolutely nothing wrong with any social benefit programs available in the U.S. themselves, but rather the “guidelines” they use. Why on earth can someone get disability for having tattoos on their face, but someone with one arm will get denied because they had a job when they were a teen? I’m sure tattoo face guy had a job at one time that paid for the tattoos in the first place. I think they should just pay for the tattoo removal, not give them disability. That is just ridiculous.
Though I do think they should get rid of the landline assistance for welfare recipients, but keep the cell and internet.
UhaveNoclue
Wow. Okay. I’m doing a paper on whether welfare makes people lazy, and I came across this discussion. First of all, who cares if these people are getting a cell phone- it comes with 250 minutes- who can do anything with 250 minutes? In today’s society, we need cell phones. If you’re trying to get a job and the employers can’t get a hold of you, you get passed over. And, in case you haven’t noticed, pay phones are pretty much non-existent. So you have a dollar or two tacked on to your phone bill- consider it a good deed you get to do without even thinking about it. I completely understand that there are way to many welfare recipients who are taking advantage of the system- government has got to do a better job at protecting themselves. Here comes the part that’s going to make most of you say, “well that’s why she’s for this”- I, myself, am currently on public assistance. But, I do not take advantage of the free cell phone. I work part-time and go to school part-time, and still find time to raise four children on my own. I wouldn’t call that lazy, would you? I was married for ten years, but sometimes things just can’t be worked out, and now I’m doing what I can to make sure my children are taken care of. I don’t get cash assistance- even though I qualify. I use the food stamp program and take advantage of the medical insurance. For anything other than that I do what I need to do to take care of my bills. I only sleep five hours a night and only have “me” time when I lay my head down at night. I’d dare anyone to call me lazy.
Mark
Thanks for letting me know that every time I pay my phone bill I’m paying for someone else to have their phone for free. It’s government benefits like this that drive me crazy. I’ve started seeing ads on tv for these programs and they make it sound like everyone qualifies (except me of course because I have a job.) I found another one that you didn’t mention… http://qlinkwireless.com/ . 250 free minutes, you gotta be kidding me.
http://yahoo.com dell
really
Cheryl
Let me ask you a question..HOW is someone to FIND a job, if there is no way to contact them? You know, some people don’t have any options available to them concerning methods of contact. Most of those free phones only give you 60 minutes of airtime.BIG DEAL. Those phones are to be used for job search, emergencies ( some people do have children, and can’t afford phone service)Doctor appts..etc. I pay my cellphone and home phone bill every month, but I’m not so oblivious to the fact that there are people who are not as fortunate as I, who NEED a phone and don’t have one because they can’t afford it..I would much rather give a little so that maybe one of those people that get help can FIND a job, or not have to run to a neighbor etc to call an ambulance..
Darnit
nine one one is always free you can buy a phone for 5 bucks
Rich
Do you even have a clue how public assistance works, since the Clinton era? You should seriously look into it. In order to get public assistance, individuals have to look for work 40 hours a week. You don’t remain on it forever. Only way you get any is if you can’t work for medical reasons.
You very likely don’t understand how any of this works, which explains the rant here.
Jean
I know of people who not only have a free cell phone, they have a contract cell service as well. In addition, some have internet and cable as well. If they have contract cell service, why do they need free service. Most middle class class people are perfectly content with one cell phone, so why if you are poor do you need two? If you can give me a satisfactory answer to this question, I’ll shut up. In case you are wondering, I do live in subsidized housing, I turned down the free cell phone because I didn’t need it. It hasn’t made me real popular around here, to say the least. I do get it. I don’t like it.
The abuse of the welfare system by social workers is rampant. People get a social worker so they can get all the “free stuff”. I have no objection to people having services that are absolutely necessary, but taking taking advantage of them just because you can is abuse.
No, they are not required to look for a job. Don’t kid yourself they do get 250 minutes a month.
If we stop this abuse of the system we could definitely slow down the the growing national debt.
Rich
Do you have a clue how welfare works? In NY state at least, individuals who are on welfare, if they can look for work, MUST look for work. They MUST spend 40 hours a week, at least, looking for work. You saying they aren’t required to shows the utmost in sheer unrefined ignorance of things. Maybe if you bothered to learn how things worked, you wouldn’t be posting the nonsense you do on the Internetg like this.
Rich
You wrote this:
Yes, we will always need programs to help take care of the poor, but some of the things that go on today are absolutely outrageous.
You know what you consider really outrageous? ANY attempt to do anything to help the poor, because why should good hard working folks, and the virtuous do anything to support parasites, and we all know the poor are just a bunch of parasites who only take. If there is any remote concern for the poor, it comes out of you not wanting to think, because of your focused on yourself, and “virtue” (hey might as well be a Objectionist while at it), you just can’t bear to think your beliefs can cause people to actually die if followed. And well, if not this, at least you don’t want others to THINK this is how you feel, because people will think you are a sociopath that doesn’t care about humanity.
djd103
What is really absurd is that there are allot of people out there that have taken government assistance in one form or another, or handout services (food pantries and the likes) or church sponsored aid services for the needy. Many of those have gone on to solve their financial problems and increased their income over the years, advancing to comfortable if even though hard working lifestyles. Yet they still forget what it was like to have to receive assistance and now voice complaints for any act of helping the needy when it exceeds their personal (and now overly proud and haughty) opinions on what the poor and needy should receive. The elderly and disabled are easily forgotten and shoved to the side and it has taken decades for support groups to get the government to force those HARDWORKING but not yet needy or forgetful to accept they have to pay their part too, in providing for the poor in order to claim residence in a country that does not forget the needy.
The problems are diverse in our nation, with a certain amount of abuse yes, in our welfare and social services programs. Yet there is just as much abuse in the form of those overly proud and haughty as they like to pretend they never had to suffer the indignity of being poor, as they themselves now complain of having to support others, as if they hold no indebtedness to the same system that helped them and educated them and made possible the varied and widely available opportunities through the very same system’s laws and programs.
How many paid their tuition with grants or loans? How many got medical assistance either as a child or adult? How many got help in one way or another through returns, rebates or any of the other varied programs taken advantage of in their lives. AND NOW THEY WISH TO COMPLAIN WHEN OTHERS NEED THEIR OWN ASSISTANCE?
donald j marchese sr
safelink called me and told me if Idon;t use my safelink phone more I will cut off and I am a senoir and a veteran of the united states.
Betty
Check your facts Mr or Ms Outraged. Start with the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Only communications companies are required to pay into the Universal Service Fund. It is up to them if they wish to pass cost onto their comsumers. Universal Service Fund also benefits Schools, Libraries and Rural Health care along with low income which includes senior citizens and disabled( including military which have fought for your rights to be outraged.) The Fcc if you have time to check your facts are in the process of eliminating duplicate benefits. And yes I do have a Universal Service Fee on my home and regular cell bill. I do not disagree with the fact that people who should not receive the money are receiving it. Unfortunatly in order to reach the people that do, I have no choice.
Chris
For the record, one can fake looking for a job. Some welfare recipients have been doing it for years. They simply falsify their job search logs. Since caseworkers are so overworked and underpaid, this practice usually goes unnoticed. I do not have a problem with the poor receiving cell phones, because some of them may use them to look for jobs. However, I have a problem paying for it and then turning around and having to pay for my own service because –as a worker– I can’t qualify for any assistance. Even though I am a single mom who hasn’t received child support since the day my son was born nine years ago. I say, if they want the free phones, they should have to go volunteer somewhere like a hospital, school, or nursing home.
JaynieBeth
OK, so I am a 48 year old woman who has worked or gone to school almost all my life. In 2005, I had a spinal injury and had to quit work due to resulting disability. My husband left me while I was wheelchair-bound. I had no choice but to move in with my elderly parents, as I could not take care of myself. Spine surgeries in 2005 and 2007, along with total replacement of both knees and a diagnosis of rheumatoid autoimmune disease requiring long-term chemotherapy have caused me to become permanently disabled. I waited until 2010 to apply for SSDI, due to the fact that I was ashamed to accept any handouts from the government (I am a libertarian by attitude). Welfare was (and still is) out of the question. I remarried in 2010, and my husband was out of work. We lived with my parents and collected food stamps for a year until he had work again. Then, we were no longer qualified, and I didn’t have to pull out that embarrassing EBT card any more. Meanwhile, I am turned down for SSDI twice, and waited over TWO YEARS for a hearing. My disability was approved (though I’ve received no benefits to date), and instead of living below poverty level, I can now pay rent (no Section 8 benefits, though I would qualify).
I will not take any more government assistance than I have to. My husband works hard – he’s a machinist in a factory. We cannot live without a second income. At one time, I made over $50,000 a year as a systems analyst and programmer. I can no longer do that. So should I just lay down and die? These past 7 years, I have been tempted to time and time again.
I cannot afford even a cell phone. I use my parents’ internet. The car my husband drives is a 20 year old Chrysler that my uncle gave us and my husband had to rebuild. It’s hard to afford gas and insurance, though. If he weren’t an excellent mechanic, we’d be walking barefoot. He works 40+ hours a week making very little, even with overtime, and drives an hour each way to get to his employer – that’s the only job he could find.
GARY CLARK
YOU DUM ASS’S I’M ON SSI N MEDICAID I GET FREE CELL FOR DOCTERS APPT N SUCH SIT ON YOUR LAZY FAT CORP BUTTS N YELL CAUSE PPL NEED PHONE’S??? GO TO HELL
djd103
Folks, we can be mislead by editors and reporters or simple column writers just as easy as we can be mislead by politicians. All they have to do is play off of our fear, or our anger. A writer need only spout out the words “commie”, or “socialist”, or “facists” and we cringe in fear. All they need to do is spew out “government waste” or “freeloaders” and they have our attentions for the moment. Then we can rest assured that any other diatribe and misleading information they vomit forth is taken as accurate and a truth by most, merely because they would rather listen to such crap being that they themselves are miserable in their life as it is, or miserably discontent with life as they are forced to live it.
What this article totally avoids is that with cell phone technological advances swarming the country, and being that cell phones are the norm (67% of all teenagers possess one), 90% of America no longer has pay-phones in public areas. These have been removed as time went on, under the guise that they weren’t profitable to upkeep and prone to vandalism.
Thus phones were pressed upon us all, whether we had them in our homes or not.
Now take the point and fact that land-line phones in a residence cost an average of $60-$70 per month (avg. @ $720 per year), especially considering the fact that most phone calls nowadays are made to other people’s cell phones. The point being, these calls are most often long distance, a double profit for phone companies.
The government has to allow for that cost in one form or another, for just considering disability and elderly Social Security recipients alone (on either Medicaid or Medicare) make nearly 1,080,000,000 medically related phone calls per year (based on a national average of 24 calls per year per person).
To purchase a minimal usage, minimal function cell phone only takes $35, and a phone client can purchase either 250 minutes per month for just $10, or 500 minutes per month for $20 (ReadyMobile rates used for an example). These phones include long distance minutes at no extra charge, unlike the more expensive to have land line residential phone services in the U.S. .
Include those families that have children, disregarding single resident households or couples on benefits or entitlements programs that have no children, and those figures double or triple since only 5% of benefit recipients are receiving SSI instead of SSD or just welfare for poverty households.
In other words, phone service per year per household is a mere $120 per year on the $10 per mo. plan compared to the cost out of pocket for recipients for a residential phone line at $720 per year.
So when a government program offers minimal usage cell phones to recipients, don’t let pig tongued writers mislead you. Any program offered by the government is taken out of others pockets in the form of charges or taxes. But pay mind, if a program saves money to solve a problem, then don’t go poking it with a stick just to see if it leaks!
http://www.thesimtopianportal.devhub.com Gloria P
In the beginning these were useful programs. 1. The free cellphones, and talk minutes were intended to go to elderly people, and low income people who were on poor health and needed to keep in touch with their doctor. These were NOT fancy, 4G smart phones, they were, plain, basic phones, that did NOT have cameras, FM radio, or internet functionality.
2. The internet access, and inexpensive computers were a means for people to find employment. If you’ve been job hunting recently, you’ll discover early on, that it is IMPOSSIBLE
Trent
+1 … i am currently looking for a job on the daily. and yes, its nearly impossible to find a job in this economy, even with Obama’s “safety net” and “increased job funding” … dont forget, he never included counts on those who have given up on job searching all-together due to the fact that the illegals are taking them all.
Angeline
The illegals are only taking jobs that some Americans deem beneath them. Now that probably is not you or anybody on here but I have come across a lot of people with that attitude but those people don’t stop and think that an income is an income whether it’s minimum wage or high paying. I say a job is a job and people shouldn’t be picky.
Itstrue
As a poor person without a cellphone, i find it impossible to live without one. I had a situation when i needed help, but since all the payphones are gone, I had to rely on asking shop owners if i could use their phone. They said no.
Sigh…please bring the payphones back.
Trent
You all sound like arrogant idiots… the whole reason there are 2 (or more) sides of the government is to drive us to argue and fight with eachother. instead of attacking the true evil, we attack eachother.
good job everyone… remain slaves
One America
Best comment on this thread! We all should read “How to kill 11 million people” before we make any more accusations at one another. We need each other – read this book and you’ll see why…
Tina
SafeLink phones are not paid for by taxpayers or the federal government. TracFone Wireless pays for the phones and also the cost of promoting its SafeLink program to make sure that eligible consumers know about the program.
Sunday
Thank you for the clarification. I didnt know that it was another cellphone company paying for the program.
C.J.
The program is paid for by the Universal Service Fund with fees added to every phone bill in America. That means people with phones pay for it in their phone bills via a tax. FactCheck didn’t check the facts either, so they are also wrong.
The Only Choice-Obama
God forbid we help the poor. Shame on you for begrudging those who are less fortunate.
Jamie
When I met my now husband in 2003, he was a manager for a well known restaurant chain in Milwaukee, WI, and I was a bi-lingual Nationally Certified Senior Pharmacy Technician (specially trained in insurance billing) for a well known Pharmacy chain. My husband’s company offered health insurance that included dental, eyecare and prescription coverage for a very decent price. Ironically, my company offered very little health insurance to the tune of $200/mo individual and $450/mo family. After we married, I was able to go onto his insurance and the premium went from $75 to $150/mo-still reasonable, considering. After we found I was pregnant, we found out that his company just changed insurance companies and the new company only covered 20% at the most for pregnancy and/or birthing costs, so I turned to my employer’s health coverage for help and found out that was pretty much the same. Shortly after my first OB appt, I found out I was high risk because of a clotting disorder I did not know I had and the injections I had to give myself everyday were not covered by the insurance and were over $5,000 a month. We had no choice, but to apply for medical assistance for myself. Neither of us wanted to do this, but we were caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. Now, that assistance I qualified for paid what the insurance did not pay for and allowed for us to repay the expense over a payment plan. My husband has a daughter from a previous marriage and at the time we were traveling 9 hours every other friday to pick her up in Minnesota and drive 3 hours to my in-law’s house in Chippewa Falls, WI, then turn around that Sunday-drive her the 3 hours to her home in Minnesota and the 9 hours home to Milwaukee. My husband worked 60-80 hours a week and I worked about the same-usually to make up for the every other weekend. Because of my high risk, the doctor told me that I had to cut down on work, so instead I changed my shift from the more hectic 2-10pm to the 9pm-7am seven on seven off shift. Moving on…We were in charge of all the traveling as well as the traveling expenses-sometimes we would rent a hotel room in her home town to cut down on the travel time and allow us to spend more time with her.
Margie
Some old and sick people desrve all the help they can get.Still yes it is out of control we are know that, but there is nobody out there capable of stopping it.
Susan
Isn’t it great the government is giving out FREE cellphones to welfare recipients. They give us so much don’t they…those free stamps, no work and all that good stuff…such ignorance on this board…FREE cell phone, it ain’t never come…awesome free service huh. How about those loving husbands that leave the wife and kids to fend for themselves thus putting the family on the welfare system. I’m not on welfare, my husband is as he pays no child support…so this is just that good ole child support so please have just a bit of intellect to do with the whole welfare system if you will before you comment. Sure there are those people having mega babies simply wanting to live off the system, but then there are other situations in which we did not choose the poverty lifestyle, so please before you leave a crude comment get some knowledge on the subject matter your undertaking…have a great day everyone!
haruki
If you read the full article, he directed this toward the mega corporations and people who cheat welfare so they can just make even more money, not the disabled who need welfare…
MAW
I did read the whole article. When they mentioned the mega corporations they said the mega corporations gave money to help them get elected & then took money from the government.!~! That part of the article had nothing to do with the free cell phones.!~! I stand by what I had said.!~! If you look at the heading of the article it clearly says it is outrageous that the government is giving free cell phones & free minutes to welfare recipients.!~!~! I appreciate you writing & trying to explain something that I might have missed.!~! I had read the full article.
Angeline
Okay so I have been reading some of these comments and I think some of them are totally outrageous. There are some very honest people who are on welfare because they have hit a rough patch in their lives. They can’t afford a $200-$500 phone or a $100 plan. If something happened to a child or pregnant women, etc. If they don’t have a phone how do they call for help. I pay taxes but I don’t begrudge people help if they need it. One day we could all be in their shoes. I have a good job and benefits but it could all be taken away in a heartbeat. There is no such thing as job security in these times. I have seen people who do take advantage of the system but we also forget about those who don’t. Now if every one could work in a good job with benefits I am sure they would. But McDonald’s and these little fast food restaurants really don’t offer very much. Lets stop putting down the people who are on welfare because they NEED it and start trying to find a solution to help them.
You know
Who said they need to get on a 100 dollar plan?!…and a phone is a luxury, not a necessity. Plus….there is a record breaking amount of people now on welfare that shouldn’t be because they refuse to work. So tell me, why should I help the people that do nothing but suck off other people?…I don’t believe a grand of my check a month so go to anyone but me, the person working for it.
Phone service IS a necessity. Poor or not, you need a home phone, if your homeless you need a cell phone. First, there are life threatening situations that could require a phone but more importantly there are poor people that are not just sitting on their butts but * shock gasp* trying to get a job, and how do you suppose employers get in touch if they have no phone? What if a poor person has a job ( yes, shocking I know), and daycare née to reach mom? Or child is sick at school? Not every job allows people a phone or a desk so a cell is pretty much mandatory in this world. Also, not every poor person has neighbors they can trust or family that could field the calls for them. In this day and age a phone is a requirement whether it be A home phone or A cell phone. Finally, these phones are NOT paid with tax dollars they are actually paid for by cell phone companies.
Yvette Conley
“homeless” has been around since the beginning of time. Not cell phones. People made it thru emergencies then. They can still do it today.
Yvette Conley
TOTALLY AGREE!!!!!
Yvette Conley
Well I hit a “rough patch” a few years ago. My husband and I both lost our jobs within a week of eachother and needed some help but when I went to the social services office I was turned down because my unemplyment benifits was too much ($182 a week). I live in So. California. Anyone who lives here KNOWS $182 a week is NOTHING! I was told by the social worker if we wanted to get any kind of assistance we needed to wait for unemployment benifits to end, do not get or look for a job and then reapply. What kind of crap is that? What kind of message are we sending when the gov agencies themselves are telling people not to work or look for work. I’ve been putting into the system for over 20 years and have never given any kind of help when needed. And yet now a days these kids are having kids and concidering “welfare” as the souce of income. SO NOT FAIR TO THE WORKING CLASS AMERICANS. I’m tired of supporting these kids that are only being raised by kids themselves and teaching the next generation “why work if you can get it for free from the gov”. And now cell phones? Where does it end? When is it enough?
Candace
A phone is not a necessity. And millions of Americans are on food stamps because they refuse to work. This is a joke an our government is more waked out now than ever. I don’t believe I should work hard for what I have and pay for other people….the only exception is if they are handicapped (obesity not included), elderly or actively looking for work or working hard at a job that doesn’t pay well…….otherwise, free cell phones? Give me a break!!
Deerduke
Wow, sounds like what Big Oil and WallSteet and Corporate Farms have been getting for YEARS, subsidies and handouts. What’s good for the goose…
Deerduke
Why not spend the moey putting the poor back to work? We have roads, bridges, dams, schools, levees, shorelines, libraries, etc. that need repair or rebuilding.
Plenty of work there.
I moved to L.A., and being non-Latino, I get al ot of frowns when I fill out a job application. From who? The Latino handing me the application. I watch as they quietly toss it in the trash as I’m leaving. It’s not that the illegals are taking all the jobs here, it’s that they won’t hire anyone who isn’t Latino, or related to them somehow. 157 applications in 4 months, not one call back. I’m a foreigner in my own country.
Karma
Some people really need those phones. What if someone can’t afford a phone in these tough on the poor times we are in? It is people like you that live in the “American bubble” that is the real problem with the country, not the poor people. It’s people like you that look down their noses on things you simply do not understand. I have a novel idea, start helping the poor and bringing them up instead of greedily keeping all to yourself while keeping the poor down.
Complain about the poor all you want, but it’s people like you that are the problem with this country. If the government ever gives out compassion, I suggest you be one of the first to stand in line. Because from what I read, your just a judgmental fool, and the days of you fools messing things up while you judge, is coming to an end very soon.
Nathan
Except that, you know, people on that program are nearly required o go out and find a job- which is why they give them the cell phone. Businesses these days want an immediate way to contact their employees or potential employees, and that’s why they’re paying for the phone: So that those people can get the bar necessities through their hard work.
enjoying my life
I have a free government cell phone and I love it, thanks suckers! I have it and there is nothing you can do about it, just keep paying my bill! I also had steak, crab legs and shrimp for dinner last night thanks to the government. What did you eat? hahahaha!
Dave
Ok so…Fact:
The phones are for the DISABLED…not welfare.
wingnut punks like you inflaming the low iq morons are whats WRONG with this country
Outrageous! The Government Is Giving Out Free Cell Phones And Free Cell Phone Minutes To Welfare Recipients
When some of my readers informed me of this free cell phone scheme, I decided that I better go to the source. So I went over to the FCC website, and it turns out that there are two federal programs involved. "Link Up" provides a one-time connection discount on phone service, and it can be applied to the cost of a cell phone. So this is where the free cell phone comes from. "Lifeline" provides a monthly discount on telephone service. So this is where the free cell phone minutes each month come from. The following is a description of these programs from the FCC website....
Apparently these programs are becoming quite popular.
You can find a company called Safelink Wireless offering welfare recipients a free cell phone and 250 free cell phone minutes a month right here.
You can find a company called Assurance Wireless offering welfare recipients a program that is virtually identical right here.
This is absolutely outrageous, and it is yet another sign that dependence on the government is totally out of control.
Not that assisting the poor is bad. Of course we always want to help those that cannot help themselves. We never want to see anyone go without daily food or sleep in the streets.
But providing the poor with the basics of life is much different from providing them with luxuries such as cell phones.
In some areas of the country, the poor can also receive nearly free Internet service every single month.
Just check out the following example from the Houston Chronicle....
Also, a new bill has been introduced in Congress that would give "eligible" households money to help pay for gasoline....
These days, as long as you are "eligible", just about everything you need will either be purchased for you or subsidized by the federal government.
Yes, we will always need programs to help take care of the poor, but some of the things that go on today are absolutely outrageous.
There are millions of people out there that have become extremely comfortable receiving government benefits and it will be extremely difficult to ever get them to give them up.
After all, why bust your behind for 40 or 50 hours a week at some meaningless, low paying job when you can live a similar lifestyle by just depending on government benefits?
The following is a rap video that shows the kind of mindset that is developing all across America. Please be advised that it contains some very strong language. It was done by a rapper known as "Mr. EBT", and it is a perfect example of the kind of attitude that many welfare recipients have today....
Yes, everyone needs a helping hand once in a while. But if you do have to rely on government benefits for a time, you should be fighting like crazy to improve your situation so that you can get off of them as soon as possible.
Of course the biggest welfare recipients of all are the big corporations. The federal government showers billions upon billions of dollars on them every year, and this has got to stop.
The following example comes from an article in the Weekly Standard....
Can you imagine a 57,000 page federal tax return?
That is absolutely disgusting and it is a perfect example of how corrupt our system has become.
All year long, GE has people pouring over the tax code just looking for any little tax loophole that it can exploit.
GE made $14,000,000,000 in profits, but they paid less taxes to the government than you or I did.
There is something very, very wrong with that picture.
All of this unnecessary welfare has got to stop.
No more free cell phones for people on welfare.
No more giving billions of dollars in tax breaks to big corporations.
We simply cannot afford it.
The U.S. debt problem is way, way out of control. We have piled up the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world, and it gets about 150 million dollars worse every single hour.
Sadly, none of this is likely to change any time soon.
The big corporations provide the money that our politicians need to win campaigns, and most of our politicians are very careful not to bite the hands that feed them.
On the other end of the spectrum, our economy continues to crumble and the number of poor Americans continues to increase. So even if we don't provide them with free cell phones, the truth is that the number of Americans that need basic food and housing is not going to go down any time soon. In fact, it is going to go a lot higher in the years ahead.
We are rapidly becoming a European-style socialist welfare state.
In America today, the poor are absolutely showered with outrageous government benefits and so are the big corporations.
So who pays for all of this?
You and I do.
I am afraid that the joke is on us, and nothing is going to change as long as we keep sending the same kind of politicians back to Washington D.C. over and over.