First, this program "started by Reagan" had nothing to do with cell phones, and was fully taxpayer supported (for good or bad). It was meant to help people who couldn't afford it pay for a landline, and was intended (note the use of the word 'intended' to see just how any "well intentioned" government program ends up) for people who needed a phone for emergency or medical needs in rural areas. And it was nearly completely unknown to anyone. Secondly, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 took the majority of the funding out of the taxpayer realm and placed it squarely in the domain of MANDATORY government fees to be paid by the carriers providing phone services.
And to nobody's surprise, that showed up on a new line item fee on OUR phone bills titled "USF Fee" I pay about six or seven dollars a month total on that "non-tax" thing as all liberals like to refer to it. It isn't a tax. But I don't have any choice whether to pay it or not. And that money end up being disbursed by a "non-profit" created by the government. So, the government, under BILL CLINTON, not Ronald Reagan, made the decision to turn Verizon and AT&T into government tax collectors.
Gee, who's really the fascists here applying the label that the liberals like to paint all conservatives with?
This is, in effect a tax, but what liberals. their useful idiots (including some here on FR) the government, FCC, and USAC (A "non-profit" created by government to manage the funds) trumpet from the rooftops is that IT IS NOT A TAX! THERE IS NO TAX REVENUE ALLOCATED TOWARDS FREE PHONES! And a lot of people, reading articles about this, buy into it. Hey, I am paying a mandatory fee, disbursed by the government, but...it isn't a tax. Got it. That is about as honest as saying Obamacare isn't a tax.
Which is completely typical. You know how much money is being spent on these ostensibly "non-taxpayer funded" programs? Any guesses?
$10 billion dollars a year. Gee, at least with this, we can say we aren't borrowing the money from countries that HATE us and are paying interest on it. It comes straight and willingly from our own citizen's wallets. But not to be left out, we still get to borrow money to pay for the part of this with about $2 billion that still comes in through traditional taxpayers in the pre-1996 model. Gee, we didn't really think THAT was going to go away, did we?
Which brings me to the last point: Who was doing the advertising for this free telephone cash cow thingie? Reagan? Nope. HW Bush? Nope. Clinton? Yep, and probably continued under Bush due to the headless nature of government bureaucracy, but the Bush Administration might likely have trumpeted it too the same way they trumpeted the stupid "No Child Left Behind" endeavor.
But the biggest push in advertising for this public cash freebie came after GW Bush left office, and that is no surprise. The Obama Administration views any redistribution of wealth as a good thing (which is exactly what the Lifeline Program is) and under their Alinskyite guidelines, they are pushing for everyone who is (or isn't) eligible to get on the government teat.
And sure...the carriers probably get federal funding as well disbursed to them if they are a provider of these "public" services, which is ostensibly used to expand their networks. That is how it is justified by liberals, and some conservatives.
It’s not misleading. It’s fact. The bias of the author is heavy and apparent, but otherwise factual.
The only reason I posted it because I’m tired of people calling it Obamaphones.
The legislation that makes service providers pay into has nothing to do with Obama.