Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Free Cell Phone For Welfare Recipients

I had a former employee call me earlier today inquiring about a job, and at the end of the conversation he gave me his phone number. I asked the former employee if this was a new type of cell number and he told me yes this was his 'Obama phone'.

I asked him what an 'Obama phone' was and he went on to say that welfare recipients are now eligible to receive (1) a FREE new phone and (2) approx 70 minutes of FREE minutes every month.

I was a little skeptical because it sounded absurd! So I Googled it and low and behold he was telling the truth.

TAXPAYER MONEY IS BEING REDISTRIBUTED TO WELFARE RECIPIENTS FOR FREE CELL PHONES. This program was started earlier this year.

You can click on the link below to read more about the the 'Obama phone'
https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/home.aspx

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

we need to stop all the handouts! We are creating a country of lazy and uneducated people as places like asia keeps studing and content living 10 to an appartment. Get a job and stop with all the welfare.

Anonymous said...

Only 70 minutes? That's not fair. We owe them more than that. We're giving them everything else, so why not throw a premium plan into the mix. Who do you think this guy will vote for next time? America is doomed!

Anonymous said...

years ago I worked for $12.00 an hour supporting a family. while standing in line at the food store to buy diapers and formula, wondering how i was gonna make ends meet that month. I watched two women from a certain socio-economic group put back dog food since her welfare benefits wouldn't pay for it. They then proceeded to get hamburger for the dog since they could use the food stamps for that purchase. On their way out, I watched as they climbed into a cadillac. Mind you I was driving a beater "K" car since it was all i could afford. I was so incensed I called welfare and was told they could drive any kind of car they wanted. this kind of BS needs to stop! You don't work you don't eat! you get caught stealing we cut a hand off! then this Sh$t will stop! When are the working people in this country going to rise up and stop this madness!

smitty240 said...

But we can't seem to keep the rest stops in VA open because the federal tax dollars are siphoned off to fund crap like this.

Anonymous said...

Obama in bed with verizon ???

Anonymous said...

Yes, because Obama had everything to do with this. He was elected to give people of welfare phones.

Anonymous said...

Joe,
Here is the address to the government website that tells you about the phone programs.

http://www.lifeline.gov/lifeline_Consumers.html

Anonymous said...

Rewarding lazy people it's fantastic!

Anonymous said...

This is indeed an Obama creation. The thought process is that folks without phones are unable to get jobs. That may be true, but again, giving people a bunch of freebies does not encourage self sufficiency. Welfare needs to be cut significantly and the focus changed. I'm still trying to understand how an able bodied yougn person can get hundreds of dollars a month in food stamps. However an 75 yr old barely making it, only qualifies for $10 a month. Yep... $10 a month. Tell me who deserves the help more? Someone who can breed or someone who has worked their whole life and is trying to hold on to what they've worked for. It's a sad sad joke.

Anonymous said...

OMG OBAMA PHONES!

You have nothing better to worry about than whether some poor people get an hour's worth of free telephone time every month?

The phones are provided FREE by TracFone. The minutes (a whopping 60 mins a month) come from the USF fees. There are all sorts of requirements to sign up.

Why is this a good idea? If you're unemployed and looking for a job, prospective employers can contact you. Access to emergency services in the event of an emergency.

It's better than subsidizing banks, wall street, and other government fat cat private contractors so they can give their rich, greedy a**hole executives gigantic bonuses and outlandish perks.

And remember, a lot of today's 'poor' (aka used to be middle class) are unemployed or underemployed due to the recession and are NOT lazy jerks.

Anonymous said...

Whatever happened to hard work? I am so sick of working each year to pay for all the damn entitlements. In return for the cell phone, find some govt labor for them to do- clean trash from the street, cut grass etc. There is something to be said for govt handouts- they are abused and we pay for it.

Anonymous said...

Hey - Cell phones for all. It's a right, not a privilege.
Why we pay taxes.

Anonymous said...

Think this a good idea for Senior Citizens & the disabled but----we pay far to much now for those out there producing one child after another! I could hardly believe it! Another example of Gov blowing tax payers money!

Anonymous said...

If the justification for this useless spending were to provide a means to contact emergency personel, roaming, long distance,
text messaging and 70 minutes would not be offered.
For emergency use, 15 monutes is more than adequate.
It is an Obama world.

joealbero said...

anonymous 11:29, OMG, yes, we're worried about phones. You see, you ddn't read about this in the MSM, you read and learned about it on a Blog. That being said, what else has obama done without our knowledge. You'd say and do anything to defent this jackass. Go back to your momma and let her feed you with that silver spoon. My guess, you've never worked a hard day or even know what one is. That's ok though, momma will take care of you, "anonymous".

Anonymous said...

You're worried about free phones? And I read about this back in March. Where was this article back then? I have also had a job since I was 14, so suck it. I'm not the one who pals around with mafia members.

Anonymous said...

ain't that some shi_, and I pay $250 a month for a family plan. what was I thinkin !!!!

stars and bars forever said...

well, cell phones really match up here because most of the ones getting them are very steeped in cells anyway.

Anonymous said...

I want my free internet and computer!

Anonymous said...

What will be next? Will they get free cars so they can drive to those jobs? Will they get free clothes so they have something to wear to the jobs? Where does it end. These people HAVE phones they just dont want to give out their number to welfare or unemployment so they can sit on their lazy behinds all day. Now they give them phones that they wont answer anyway.

Daddio said...

What happens once those 70 minutes are used up? It takes just 10 minutes over an hour to burn those minutes, and then what?

Do they get another "free" phone?

Greg C said...

I am probably one of the few people here who is against the Welfare State, and not just selectively outraged at a few Big Government programs.

That said, consider this. You probably want people to get a job. IF these people are looking for employment, they probably need a contact number for applications and to schedule interviews. So unless you are one of the very few who oppose welfare completely, is it such a bad idea if it can help people find jobs?

I'm certainly not a fan, but when it comes to government waste I can probably think of Trillion$ of things to advocate cutting/eliminating before I worry too much about something like this.

Anonymous said...

The SafeLink Wireless program is under the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program, which was created in 1984 to ensure landline phone accessibility to rural and poor communities. Lets see...who was president? God? Nope but pretty close when chatting about politics....yup, the big RR..

In modernizing the act, the recipient is allowed either one land line or the cell phone. This was changed under George Bush. So, it really is not an Obama phone but a Bush phone...

Anonymous said...

I should have waited for my Obama Phone. All I have is a Tracphone. I work for a living and so does my husband. I have worked (full-time) since I was 19-years-old. I am 54 now. I would feel guilty for taking and receiving all my life like generations of lazy people do. I know there have been people down on their luck but these people seem to fall through the cracks. Those in our country illegally and as "red carpet guests" such as the Somali people don't realize how good they have it in the United States.

Anonymous said...

I agree that this "Bush Phone" can not only help people to dial 911 but also help them to get a job and thereby get them off welfare. The Sullivan Report shows how by having a cell phone low income people can earn more money every month and thereby adding to the economy. All in all I think it's a really good thing.

Anonymous said...

What I would like to know is why none of the major news channels like CBS, NBC, or ABC didn't make people aware of this. Another give away program from the Obama administration. The more the democrats give away, the more votes they get on election day. Keep the entitlement people happy and make the people who work pay more. What is this country coming to. I was always taught to work for a living but I guess the entitlement people are taught to try to get more from the government and let the people who work pay. Their philosophy is they deserve it. When are people going to wake up. Socialism at its best. What's next? Big screen TV's for Christmas? Oh they already have them with their welfare money.

splittingATOMs said...

I would just like to say, that this phone should definitely not be referred to as an Obama phone. It has been around since before our current president was even elected. And now a days, a phone is not so much as a luxury as it is a necessity. We need phones to contact love ones, the authorities, call for help during emergencies, and call one's boss when one can not make it to work. Safelink provides the bare essentials by giving a basic phone and about 60 minutes of talk time. If more time is needed, then additional talk time can be purchased, but, like i said, this phone should not be used for recreation, but for emergencies only. Just my thoughts.

Anonymous said...

ok my name is hilary umm yea for the ppl who think other get so much money on foodstamps u can shut the **** up for me my husband and our 5 month old we only get $150 a month when u have baby food and food for your self it adds up and one more thing we dont have land line cuz every greedy ass company wanted 50-60 dollars before we chould get it we dont have that kind of money sitting around our 1 bed room a apartment when u add up dipers, wipes, rent,water and everything eles we are lucky if we have 10 bucks at the end of the month dont get me wrong my husband works nights in a local pressroom but $350 a month dont pay for everything i have a safelink phone and for your in formation and yea it is nice to be able to call my little girls doctor when shes sick or know i can call 911 if something happens if u got a problem o wait i bet people that make rude post are rick asshole that have nothing better to do grow up and get a life

Unknown said...

The safelink phones are not "obama phones." The product is being mislabeled by people who do not know their facts. Safelink phones are provided by tracfone and have been around for many years before obama was even elected.