Posted on 01/23/2016 7:31:01 AM PST by artichokegrower
If your monthly cellphone or landline bills seem higher these days, take a look at the state surcharges.
Since the fall, California phone bills have included almost 8 percent in telecommunication surcharges, the highest in nearly 30 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
So I am paying a 8% surcharge on my cell phone bill to subsidize those "free" Obamaphones
People in California keep electing socialists and then are surprised when they get socialism.
It’s crap like this which made me switch to a prepaid Trackphone.
yes and why do CATV Dial tone providers NOT charge these fees.
Should we ask Judge Greene?
President Jimmy Carter appointed Greene
its not only Comi-Fornia
Exactly.
Since we finally got the Spanish-American war paid off, maybe they are planning on using the money to pay off Obamacare?
Hmm. Naa.
Kinda nice you didn’t know about it. Sometimes I hate finding out something I didn’t know I was doing. I can see why some are political ignorant. I bet in some ways it is healthier. lol.
When I had my regular phone landline, the monthly increased periodically to over $25/month. I don’t make many calls. Most that I did make were to the adjoining town, and that was long distance. By the time all of the fees and taxes were added, the call cost about $5, even if it was less than 1 minute.
I dropped the landline and went cellular — Tracfone. My annual service and roll-over minutes cost me an average of $7 per month — and it is portable.
Last year, I bought one of those Ooma internet phone boxes. The initial cost was about $100. The only monthly fees are the FCC, e911, and taxes. Initially, those were $3.81/month for my area. They have gradually increased and are now $4.24/month.
The other option, of course, is to use a burner. Ideally you buy it in Oregon with lots of minutes. Pay $200 or so and have 12 months of service, with no tax at all (except what might be folded into the sales price).
“It’s crap like this which made me switch to a prepaid Trackphone.”
NetTen for me, but similar...as long as I have a computer at work and at home, I don’t need one otherwise.
A working definition of 'Taxation without Representation'.
Unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats raising taxes on producing citizens to provide undeserved benefits to unproductive citizens (and non-citizens I'll wager).
Didn't some people fight a war over something similar a few centuries ago.
I use a Tracfone and they announced some taxes will be rolled up into the various minute plans you can buy. So you can’t get away from the added taxes.
They have gradually increased and are now $4.24/month.
...
I do the same, but use Google Voice for outgoing calls. You know those monthly taxes are going to go up every year several times the inflation rate.
Someone in the bureaucracy figures that demand for phones is inelastic and will continue no matter how much it costs in taxes.
Bite, but thanks for the info. I was wondering when they’d get raked too.
Lorne Greene?
/S
“undeserved benefits to unproductive citizens”
That’s racist!
LOL
really they need these phones to:
A. coordinate flash mobs
b. hook up friends to “party”
c. text their baby mommy/or baby daddy
d. look at the latest rap video
e. - finally- score some drugs-
sarc
We use to have the AT&T family plan. Over a hundred dollars a month. I shopped around and found better deals.
The big 4 cell companies (AT&T, Verison, Sprint, T-Mobile) have over capacity on their cell towers. They sell that surplus time to smaller cell companies (Tracfone, H2O, Cricket, Boost, Virgin, etc). Those smaller cell companies sell the time at a discount, usually cheaper than the big 4.
The smaller cell companies usually have their phones tied to one of the big 4.
I’m retired and don’t talk much so I got a Tracfone. The cheapest minute plan is $19 for 200 minutes, good for 90 days. I use a Moto E android phone bought from QVC with 1 year of Tracfone service for $99 (includes phone and minutes) and it came with 1200 minutes/ 1200 texts / 1.2 gb data, expires in 365 days. It uses Verison cell towers.
My wife talks more. A better deal for her is H2O Wireless, that uses AT&T cell towers. Any AT&T cell phone, locked or not will work. She uses an AT&T Lumia 635 Go Phone on H2O Wireless. Just change the SIM card to H2O. She spends $25 per month. 2.5 cents a minute talk, 2.5 cents a text, Data 5 cents megabyte. She can’t use it all up and your banked balance rolls over.
Some of the smaller companies have $30 per month unlimited Talk/Text/Data. Bring your own phone. The phone has to match the big 4 cell service they are using.
Most cell plans or minute cards now include taxes rolled up in the price. You can’t get away from the taxes.
Tax and spend; Tax and Spend. California is in the process of passing under Mexican control and they want Gringo wealth. All a person can do, since we cannot resist, is flee the state.
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