We all remember the Obama phone lady last year. Well, this program has been going on since
the Reagan administration. And of
course, many have the mentality that if it’s free, it’s for me:
The
Lifeline program—begun in 1984 to ensure that poor people aren't cut off from
jobs, families and emergency services—is funded by charges that appear on the
monthly bills of every landline and wireless-phone customer. Payouts under the
program have shot up from $819 million in 2008, as more wireless carriers have
persuaded regulators to let them offer the service.
Suspecting that many of the new subscribers
were ineligible, the Federal Communications Commission tightened the rules last
year and required carriers to verify that existing subscribers were eligible.
The agency estimated 15% of users would be weeded out, but far more were
dropped.
A
review of five top recipients of Lifeline support conducted by the FCC for the
Journal showed that 41% of their more than six million subscribers either
couldn't demonstrate their eligibility or didn't respond to requests for
certification.
The
rest of us who don’t scam the system are aware of the litany of surcharges on
our bills. This is another example of
do-gooder stupidity.
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