I keep seeing advertisements on the tv telling me that if I meet certain conditions, e.g., welfare, Medicare, I can get a "free" cell phone with more than two hours of nationwide calling.
The cell phones and the minutes are "free" to the people signing up for the free cell phone program. It must be a profitable program for the vendors since there are at least 3 making a pitch on the tube in my area. I doubt these are PSAs (time "donated" by the stations for Public Service Announcements).
Who pays for these "free" cell phones and minutes?
Not the cell phone companies.
The Federal Government pays.
But not really.
We - you, me, all the taxpayers - pay. We pay for the free cell phones, We pay for the free cell phone connectivity. We pay for the Government overhead to administer the free cell phone program. Our government is not known for efficiency or cost effectiveness.
Can anyone explain to me why my taxes are going to pay for free cell phones for people on Medicare, welfare, etc.?
I do NOT object to providing these people with cell phones for 9-1-1 and LOCAL calls (to doctors, schools, etc.) with limited free minutes (e.g., 60 minutes/month) ,
I DO object - and object strongly - to paying for free cell phones and for more than two hours for "free" nationwide calling.
I work to pay my cell phone bill (and all the applicable taxes), and I pay a fairly high rate for my plan. I am on Medicare and soon will be on Social Security. I am NOT asking for a taxpayer-paid (certainly not "free") cell phone with two hours or more nationwide minutes.
Again, to be clear, I do NOT begrudge an indigent or near indigent a free cell phone for 9-1-1 calls or even limited minutes for local calls, but I do resent the government taking my money via a Washington fiat to fund more than two hours of free cell phone nationwide minutes.
Our government is picking our pockets. Can we afford to let this continue?
