[capydick]

I only saw a picture of a person that was related to the article - colored me surprised that that was a woman!

[icwhatudo]

The idea that this is some sort of private charity, that its not a government program, or that its not paid for though a charge (tax) to consumers is BS.

From the FCC's own website

-"Lifeline is a government benefit program"

Who Pays for the Lifeline Program?

All telecommunications service providers and certain other providers of telecommunications must contribute.... (PAY A TAX!!!!!)..... to the federal USF based on a percentage of their end-user telecommunications revenues. These companies include wireline telephone companies, wireless telephone companies, and certain Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers.

Some consumers may notice a “Universal Service” line item on their telephone bills. This line item appears when a company chooses to recover its USF contributions directly from its customers by billing them this charge. The FCC does not require this charge to be passed on to customers. ....(WE CHARGE A TAX TO THE PHONE COMPANY,IF THEY MAKE YOU PAY FOR IT-ITS NOT US TAXING YOU ITS THEM)... Each company makes a business decision about whether and how to assess charges to recover its Universal Service costs.