Another Government give away

Won't happen, like the flu vaccine the government will botch the distribution of the cell phones causing months if not years of delay

Government has nothing to do with the phones - those are given out by TracPhon. The government just pays the monthly bills. TracPhon has been doing this on their own for a while.

This one's been floating around the right-wing blogs for a while, usually blamed on Obama (of course). Glad you mentioned it's nothing new. Here's the way the story is being told (cf:

"I had a former employee call me earlier today inquiring about a job, and at the end of the conversation he gave me his phone number. I asked the former employee if this was a new cell phone number and he told me yes this was his 'Obama phone.' I asked him what an 'Obama phone' was and he went on to say that welfare recipients are now eligible to receive (1) a FREE new phone and (2) approx 70 minutes of FREE minutes every month. I was a little skeptical so I Googled it and low and behold he was telling the truth. TAX PAYER MONEY IS BEING REDISTRIBUTED TO WELFARE RECIPIENTS FOR FREE CELL PHONES. This program was started earlier this year. Enough is enough, the ship is sinking and it's sinking fast. The very foundations that this country was built on are being shaken. The age old concepts of God, family, and hard work have flown out the window and are being replaced with 'Hope and Change' and 'Change we can believe in.'"

Origins: As noted on the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) web page about Universal Service Support Mechanisms:

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress recognize that telephone service provides a vital link to emergency services, government services, and surrounding communities. Telephone service is considered a necessity for daily modern life. Yet the cost of starting and maintaining such service may be too high for some consumers. Under Congressional mandate, the federal Universal Service Fund (USF) supports the Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up America programs. These programs provide discounts on basic monthly service and initial installation or activation fees for telephone service at the primary residence to income-eligible consumers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with the help of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), administers the USF.

The USF subsidizes telephone/telecommunications services to low-income residents and other entities through a number or programs, one of which is the Lifeline/Link-Up program, which "provides discounts on monthly service and initial telephone installation or activation fees for primary residences to income-eligible consumers":

Lifeline Assistance provides discounts on basic monthly service at the primary residence for qualified telephone subscribers. These discounts can be up to $10.00 per month, depending on your state.

Link-Up America helps income-eligible consumers initiate telephone service. This program pays one-half (up to a maximum of $30) of the initial installation fee for a traditional, wireline telephone or activation fee for a wireless telephone for a primary residence. It also allows participants to pay the remaining amount they owe on a deferred schedule, interest-free. (In some cases cellular service is cheaper than landlines, and the latter is not a viable option for persons without fixed residential addresses.)

The intent of these programs is to help ensure that everyone, regardless of income, has access to basic telephone services in order to be able to keep in touch with family members, make medical appointments, contact emergency services, be reachable by telephone themselves, etc. Contrary to what is suggested by the example cited above, Lifeline/Link-Up discounts are not available only to "welfare recipients" - these programs are implemented at both the state and federal levels, so qualification criteria can vary from state to state, but in general participants must have an income that is at or below 135% of the federal Poverty Guidelines, or take part in at least one of the following federal assistance programs:

• Medicaid * Food Stamps * Supplemental Security Income (SSI) * Federal Public Housing Assistance * Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) * Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) * The National School Lunch Program's Free Lunch Program

TracFone (through its SafeLink Wireless outlet) is one company that provides subsidized telephone service to qualifying participants through the Lifeline program, in the form of free cellphones and (limited) free cellular service. (Although SafeLink provides free service, not all carriers certified to participate in Lifeline do - others provide discounted, rather than free, wireless service.) SafeLink Wireless service is currently available only in 19 states, primarily in the eastern United States.

Also contrary to what is suggested in the example quoted above, the LifeLine program is not an "Obama program" (i.e., one that was initiated by or during the Obama administration). LifeLine was implemented by Congress well before the advent of the Obama administration, and the SafeLink Wireless service was launched by TracFone in Tennessee in August 2008 and in Florida in September

Additional information:

Universal Service Support for Low-Income Consumers Universal Service Support for Low-Income Consumers Last updated: 27 October 2009

The URL for this page is

It's nice to see what an expert on all things Leuck is. The thing that "won't happen" has been happening for years and continues to happen to this day. Thjat doesn't stop Leuck from posting crap though, especially if he suspects Obama is involved (he's not).

No problem whatsoever with that program.

TracFone has been doing this for a while, which is fine - it is only recently the Government has begun picking up the monthly tab.

I said nothing whatsoever about Obama - don't divert.

No issues with cell phones for women who are in danger and may need to call 911 from anywhere. Around here that's all those phones do.

I always considered charity and common decency to be synonymous.

Big Government is big Government regardless who is in the Oval Office

With the low cost of a phone used like that there is no need for the government to be involved even if it is to pay the bills

Frankly, I don't mind if they are willing to provide cell service at a major discount to people on AFDC, Medicaid, etc. In many poor households phone service is simply not attainable. If the choice is between groceries and a phone, the phone loses out (unless someone's mind is really messed up). But people need to have a way to call for help and if they want to use it to call a family member too, there's no harm.

Well said.

or booze or crack or weed or pills the phone looses out.

AFAIK the phones that only dial 911 that don't cost anything once activated. I also believe (I could have it wrong since I've only pieced it together from things I hear while doing PM tests at a few different women's shelters) the phone holders can put pre-paid minutes on those phones but at the regular price - the 911 service works all the time regardless.

To me, that is a solid program - the brunt of the cost is born by donations and private companies, the person is provided with a necessity (given her situation) and if she wants to expand the use of the phone beyond what is necessary she can do so at her expense.

But we aren't talking about cell phones for scared, abused women. We are talking about providing cell phones to folks who can't afford cell phones - and doing it *only* because they can't afford a cell phone. They may have been given a land line but for the wanton wallet wenches in DC that isn't enough.

Look, the only problem I have with any of this is the government paying for cell phone minutes. I understand the necessity of a land line - but like everything the government does, they've got to find a way of making it stupid and wasteful. I could see it in cases where, for one reason or another, the land line offer isn't practicable.

Even then, TracFone was providing the minutes along with the phones but for some reason that has offended the wastrels in Washington.

The sole purpose of big government, is to make itself needed so folks won't insist on a smaller government. People seem to forget that every single bit of power usurped by the feds during one administration, will still be there when the next one comes along.

The folks who screamed the loudest when the patriot act was passed have become oddly silent even though the most heinous provisions are still in effect. On the other hand, many of those who applauded it when it was passed have begun to get worried about the power it gives DC.

Politics of personality puts the focus on the wrong thing. We need to be concerned with the laws that are being (have been) passed and focus on the ins and outs of those rather than the clowns who enact/enforce them. A well written law can help compensate for chuckleheads being in power (since that's pretty much the only ones who survive - another reason for term limits).

Point being, if the shop owner on the corner sees a family in trouble and gives them a loaf of bread, that's charity. When his door is kicked in by a band of (federal) thugs who force him to give the family a loaf of bread, it's not.

I'm all for 'safety nets' but view them as just that.

The high wire performers at the circus have a safety net, but it's only used when needed and then for only as long as it's needed - they get off of them on pretty quick order and start climbing back up the ladder. They don't build their houses on them.

The safety net is not meant to be a permanent (and perhaps only) support structure.

Eons ago, when I was just a lad (during the Carter "malaise"), I was watching TV at my grandmother's house and it was some Sunday morning news show. There was a woman complaining about the level of compensation she was getting on welfare.

She told how her Grandmother raised her kids (I forget how many) on welfare, her mother raised her and her three siblings (again - I forget how many) on welfare but that she only had two kids and couldn't make ends meet on welfare.

The only thing I got out of that as a kid was that this woman's family hadn't worked or contributed anything to society for three generations.

That's why your line was disconnected? Thanks for clarifying that.