There is a contact box http://obamaphone.net/contact, in which i wrote,
Why are you using the money I and all other phone users pay into the USF to promote a man who wastes money and to essentially fund President Obama's reelection?
As regards "communication should not be limited to people in relation to what they are able to afford," that could be extended to everything, by forcing those who earn money to provide the same standard of living to those who will not, and which takes the place of personal charity, which fosters accountability.
And while the privileged have a moral responsibility to show mercy and voluntarily help true victims, this is not to be forced.
It is evil enough that you promote the welfare victim-entitlement mentality, which is from Hell, (Is. 14) that teaches that all who have and less power or a lower position or standard of living are "victims" of those who earn position and money, etc., and that all who will not work deserve what comes by actually earning recompense, but now you use the money of those who pay for phone service to promote the most prominent ideologue behind the fantasy of his welfare state. Not on his cost however. And yet i do pray for him.
I am surprised that you even mentioned George Bush as introducing a subsidized phone project, but he did not promote such like this welfare president, and he certainly did not call it by his name.
And paradoxically, the only way you provide to contact you is this combox!
Therefore i am insisting that you at least stop calling it "the ObamaPhone, and until you do, i request an exemption from paying the USF, and a real phone number that i can talk to a real person about this misuse of public funds.
Thanks, and may you turn to Christ from sin, and follow Him, who provided salvation (for the contrite believers who take responsibility for their sins), on His own cost and merit, and who rewards those who obey Him.
Now my comment is "awaiting moderation."
The http://obamaphone.net/who-pays-for-the-obama-phone page misleadingly states,
Lifeline is a government sponsored program, but who is paying for it. Some people claim that the government is using taxpayer’s money to run this program, however, the claim is false.
For in fact, it is the same things, that of taking a "tax" on phone service, Universal Service Fund (USF), to pay for the ObamaPhone.
And the people who can qualify is tremendous. As of early 2011, 15% of people lived in a household that received food stamps, 26% had someone enrolled in Medicaid and 2% had a member receiving unemployment benefits. The Census data show that 16% of the population lives in a household where at least one member receives Social Security and 15% receive or live with someone who gets Medicare. There is likely a lot of overlap. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/26/number-of-the-week-half-of-u-s-lives-in-household-getting-benefits/
During February 2010, 1 in 8 Americans were enrolled for food stamps, an increase of 260,000. Since reaching 31.78 million in December 2008, enrollment in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has set a record each month. USDA estimates enrollment for fiscal year 2010, which ends Sept 30, is expected to average 40.5 million people, at a cost of up to $59 billion. Average enrollment for fiscal 2011 is predicted to be 43.3 million people. Reuters, “Food-stamp tally nears 40 million, sets record,” May 7, 2010
The USDA dedicated $5 million in 2011 to “improve access to and increase participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] .” http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2011/04/usda-spends-5-mil-to-recruit-food-stamp-recipients/
The Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that 45 million people in 2011 received SNAP benefits, a 70% increase from 2007. The CBO projected that one in seven U.S. residents received food stamps last year. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/04/19/food-stamp-rolls-to-grow-through-2014-cbo-says/?mod=e2tw
2012. Around 5.3 percent of the population between the ages of 25 and 64 is currently collecting federal disability payments, a jump from 4.5 percent since the economy slid into a recession. Mental-illness claims, in particular, are surging. During the recent economic boom, only 33 percent of applicants were claiming mental illness, but that figure has jumped to 43 percent, says Rutledge, citing preliminary results from his latest research. NY. Post., Jobless disability claims soar to record $200B as of January, February 19, 2012,
In just the first four months of 2012, 539,000 joined the disability rolls and more than 725,000 put in applications. As a result, by April there were a total of 10.8 million people on disability, [SSI and SSDI?] according to Social Security Administration data, a 53% increase from a decade ago, after accounting for all those who've left the program (about 700,000 drop out each year, mainly because they reached retirement age or died). http://news.investors.com/article/608418/201204200802/ssdi-disability-rolls-skyrocket-under-obama.htm?p=full Also see http://www.akdart.com/poverty.html
A record 5.4 million workers and their dependents have signed up to collect federal disability checks since President Obama took office, according to the latest official government data, as discouraged workers increasingly give up looking for jobs and take advantage of the federal program. From June 2009, the number of new enrollees to Social Security’s disability insurance [SSDI, financed with Social Security taxes paid] program is twice the job growth figure. ^
SSDI now accounts for more than 16% of Social Security's budget and more than 15% of Medicare's (SSDI enrollees can qualify for Medicare after two years.) ^
The amount of money the federal government hands out in direct payments increased 32% during first three years of Mr. Obama's Presidency. http://patriotupdate.com/17823/food-stamps-up-45-federal-handouts-up-32
In 1988, there were 4.46 million SSI [Supplemental Security Income, financed through general revenues from taxes, meaning benefits are not based on your prior work history] recipients, 6 million in 1993 and in 2011 there were 8 million. http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-224.html; http://www.socialsecurity-disability.org/disability-benefits
The top 10 States with the highest percentage of non-poor residents of each state signed up for government assistance were Vermont, Mississippi, Maine, New York, Massachusetts, Alaska, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Connecticut, Arkansas. http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/the-moocher-index/
Much more
This is living at the expense of others. In this case the ‘others’ are every other paying user of the telephone system. To pay for this, the FCC currently levies a 17% tax to fund the ‘universal service fee’.
Congress must throttle this back so, at the most, it is a lifeline, 911-type, service for those who are truly poor. They could start by cutting the minutes down, say 30 a month. But in reality, the federal government has NO BUSINESS making this their business.
ping
How cheeky of Barack to tout himself for something that NEWT GINGRICH thought up. (Otherwise known as food stamp phones.)
They aren’t bashful about this program, advertising it far and wide (seemingly) to every home in the U. S. We have received this advertisement at least ten times this year already.
Check this out. It’s not just a base unit mobile phone either.
Be sure to check out the qualifications. If you’re already accepted into one of a myriad of other government handout programs, you instantly qualify.
http://www.hotr.us/graphics/phoneaddsmall.jpg
My tax dollars at work, I guess, due to public schools, no doubt... never mind the stupidity of the Obama phone.
My part-time coworker was already calling his wife’s cell under this program the Obamaphone, tho I’d assumed he came up with the moniker himself. Hmmm, perhaps not.
This program is not about getting phones for poor folks. It is about pumping taxpayer dollars to an Obama-favored contractor to supply phones and service that they otherwise couldn’t sell. Oh, and in return, they just might make fat contributions to Obama.
The Obama stash is like the horn of plenty.
"(INSERT YOUR DESIRE HERE)( should not be limited to people in relation to what they are able to afford."
Cars.
Stereos.
Computers.
Steak Dinners.
Houses on the beach.
You name it.
It could be just the ticket to track people.
“What the system does is actually follow you around wherever you are going,”
See articles below
Smartphones now set up with automatic alert system for weather, national emergencies
http://www.twincities.com/ci_20931233/smartphones-now-set-up-automatic-alert-system-weather
Everyone will receive the “weather emergency alerts” automatically, provided they have a newer smartphone or an older one with an up-to-date operating system. The WEA system is rolling out in Minnesota this week via the National Weather Service and Department of Homeland Security.
Snip
“What the system does is actually follow you around wherever you are going,” based on users’ proximity to cellular towers, said Todd Krause, the weather-warning coordinator at the National Weather Service’s office in Chanhassen.
And
A New Microchip Knows Just Where You Are, Indoors and Out
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/427451/a-new-microchip-knows-just-where-you-are-indoors/
“Broadcom has just rolled out a chip for smart phones that promises to indicate location ultra-precisely, possibly within a few centimeters, vertically and horizontally, indoors and out,”
