Free cell phones are now a civil right

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didymus said:
Cell phones are not a necessity, much less a civil right.
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I am pretty sure you are right on this, because I don’t have one–never have. This is despite the fact that I am one of the “rich half” of Americans who actually pay federal income taxes. I resent being told that I must provide a luxury item to others when I choose not to provide one for myself.

The two largest line items in my budget are gifts and taxes. It is my judgement that my gifts do more good than my taxes. If you look at their actions, rather than their public statements, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet agree with me. While they are on record for higher taxes on the rich, they are not making voluntary donations to the US Treasury. They are donating billions of their own money to private charities. While I may not share their priorities in every case, their overall giving does a lot more good than the federal government would do with that money.
 
didymus said:
Cell phones are a new toy created by our consumerist culture to convince us we just have to have the newest thing (probably buying it on credit). Far from enhancing our lives it is degrading our society and destroying our ability to communicate with each other.
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Are you advocating that we all live like the Amish? This is precisely their argument against technological innovation. I like the Amish, but I wouldn’t want to live like they do.
 
bellasbane said:
Are you advocating that we all live like the Amish? This is precisely their argument against technological innovation. I like the Amish, but I wouldn’t want to live like they do.
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Cell phones are acceptable in many Amish communities.
 
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=411190&highlight=obamaphones

Second commenter made a link to Snopes, which says that yes the program is real, but the fact that the Obama administration put it through isn’t. But if you read through the article, yes, the LIFELINE/Linkup program (that provides discounted LAND LINES) has been around since before Obama…

but if you check around, the SafeLink program (which provides the cellphones) came about in 2008. Was launched in 2009. reuters.com/article/2009/09/29/idUS211134+29-Sep-2009+PRN20090929

A cellphone is NOT a neccessity, a land line is. That’s why there’s lifeline. This is going above and beyond, IMHO. BTW, I’m under the poverty line, I think - last year I grossed ALMOST 5k. Even I can manage to squeeze out the $40 a month for my Metro PCS. Granted every other month there might be a two week gap of service if I’m struggling…
 
seekerz said:
Having a cell phone is not a right, but if we are for helping the poor with the necessities of life, considering that some type of phone is a necessity …
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Yes a landline is pretty neccessary, in case of a fire, emergency…and yeah even for employment, and Seekers, I just want to say it touches my heart to read people make these kind of statements being that I know alot of people in need that feel like no one cares…

But I also feel I need to tell you, that despite me being at poverty level, despite having four people cramped into a one bedroom apt right now…despite everything, a poor life really isn’t SO bad. I’ve been handwashing and hang drying clothes all day. Life is simple, its different, but it’s not so bad. We don’t have that much, and your charity is greatly appreciated - but don’t feel guilty because you have things that you have earned.

Going above and beyond the NECESSITY is what is creating this entitlement mentality that everyone seems to have these days.
 
qui_est_ce said:
Cell phones are acceptable in many Amish communities.
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Perhaps you are thinking of Old Order Mennonite communities? I don’t believe the Amish are OK with any type of phone - at least not for personal use.
 
bellasbane said:
Perhaps you are thinking of Old Order Mennonite communities? I don’t believe the Amish are OK with any type of phone - at least not for personal use.
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Nope, Amish. They are not hard-connected to the outside world like landlines and electricity from the power company. Some bishops allow them.

It’s a myth that the Amish do not embrace any modern technology.

,
I traveled around the countryside of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Everywhere, there were freshly planted fields, farmhouses with handsome, immaculate barns and outbuildings. At one farm we passed, a woman was sitting a hundred yards from her house on the edge of a kitchen garden. She wore the traditional garb of the conservative Old Order - a long, unadorned dress sheathed by an apron, her hair covered by a prayer bonnet. She was sitting in the middle of the garden, alone, the very image of technology-free simplicity. But she was holding her hand up to her ear. She appeared to be intent on something, strangely engaged.
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“Whenever you see an Amish woman sitting in the field like that,” my guide said, “she’s probably talking on a cell phone.”
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wired.com/wired/archive/7.01/amish.html
 
I hope these people do not also have a computer, because if you do, Google provides free phone service from your computer. No sense to duplicate services.
 
qui_est_ce said:
Nope, Amish. They are not hard-connected to the outside world like landlines and electricity from the power company. Some bishops allow them.
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The Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, etc. all have a congregational form of church structure. No Bishops. No hierarchy at all.
It’s a myth that the Amish do not embrace any modern technology.
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,
wired.com/wired/archive/7.01/amish.html
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The woman sounds like Old Order Mennonite - they dress the same as the Amish but are more (slightly) likely to embrace technology (like electricity in their barns). They also live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and unless you ask them, you really can’t tell what sect they belong to just by the way they dress. Many use buggies, etc.

But hey! Specific rules depend on the congregation so it’s nearly impossible to generalize about them as a group. Sounds like the “cell phone” controversy may be leading to another schism - which is how they resolve pretty much all their controversies. A group will break off from the church and start a new one down the road with it’s own set of standards.

It can get confusing at times…:confused:
 
On one hand, after working at McDonald’s for five years with people who had money for fancy phones, cable television, and nice hairstyles for themselves and their families but not for money for gasoline to get to work or to pay their rent every month, I sometimes question how poor people really are. I hope that these phones are truly being given to those who need it and pray that God, through His followers, will help them get what they need to get on their feet.

Then again, after not having Internet in high school for a while, I can definitely see how cell phones or the Internet are necessary for succeeding in today’s society–being without Internet while in school was more of a hardship than it would seem. Also, after college, I was considering getting a land line rather than holding onto my cell phone, but cell phones can cost far less for more services–long distance through land lines is hard to come by at low rates, or at least it seems so after my research (which is admittedly limited). (I make enough money; I’m just cheap…)
 
exoflare said:
No comment necessary.

pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_749344.html

nypost.com/p/blogs/capitol/free_cell_phones_are_civil_right_htTMcKQFrjdvyl9A6NHPdP
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In Australia, people who couldn’t afford landlines. Use to still have their landline or house phones set for incoming calls only. It was to help them with employment etc. The only number you could dial was the triple 0 emergency number. I thought it was a good idea. Not quiet sure if it still goes on though.
 
bellasbane said:
The Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, etc. all have a congregational form of church structure. No Bishops. No hierarchy at all.

:
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We have lots of Amish in NE Indiana, and they do have bishops, but they are not equivalent to a Catholic, Episcopal, or Lutheran bishop. They preside over a single congregation. Most sects would call them pastors.

Even some inner city storefront churches sometimes call their leaders bishop, but they don’t bother claiming apostolic succession. They are preachers who wanted to upgrade their image.
 
bellasbane said:
This is just plain ignorant.
…
As for the highways, they are still subsidized by tax payers, despite the fact that they are “exclusive” to cars. Try riding your bike or walking along the shoulder of a highway and see what happens when a police car goes by.
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I should mention that I design, build and permit roadway work for a living. I deal with the state and federal funding bureacracy daily. Roads are not a ‘subsidized’ by the taxpayers via general revenue funding. Roads are easily paid for by the gas taxes generated by the cars that use them. It is only because the gas tax (MFT) funds have been raided by the pols to pay for OTHER things (bike paths, light rail, etc) that there are shortages. In effect, it is the car users that are subsidizing the walkers, bike riders and train riders, not the other way around.

You attempted to equate ‘free cell phones’ to ‘free roads.’ I’m merely informing you that you well and truly pay for the road you are using every time you fill up your gas tank.
 
As an employer. No phone number = no job. Corporate dosn’t even care about a perminant address. A PO Box will do. Cell phones give homeless and people who move a fighting chance.

We arent talking about droid or apps or fancy ringtones. We are talking very basic dial and answer. I had a mentally ill neighbor who had one to call 911 and her shrink. It was better than her screaming or burning the place down.

Weither other poor people have their priorities wrong is irrelevant.
 
purplesunshine said:
As an employer. No phone number = no job. Corporate dosn’t even care about a perminant address. A PO Box will do. Cell phones give homeless and people who move a fighting chance.

We arent talking about droid or apps or fancy ringtones. We are talking very basic dial and answer. I had a mentally ill neighbor who had one to call 911 and her shrink. It was better than her screaming or burning the place down.

Weither other poor people have their priorities wrong is irrelevant.
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About three times while I was (recently) on welfare, they made me attend ‘employment connection’ - it’s this program where you go and look for a job but really everyone plays on facebook 😛 (partial joke) - also where I first heard about ‘Obamaphones’ everyone was so excited that they were handing out celly’s…

Anyways at that place, they have a wall with phones all along it. Anyone can give out any one of these phone numbers as their ‘home number’. Next to the phone is a script, and if the phone rings, anyone can answer it, but they have to follow the script and record a msg for the person for whom the call was intended.

I mean they already have services put into place for people who can’t afford a landline with Lifeline.
 
seekerz said:
Having a cell phone is not a right, but if we are for helping the poor with the necessities of life, considering that some type of phone is a necessity in our society (few public phones anymore, need to communicate over long distances) and considering that cells are cheaper than landlines - I don’t really see what the big deal is. My only caveat would be that phone records should show regular efforts at getting a job that can support the user/family.

Sometimes stories like this smack of resentment of the poor. (He went and squandered his inheritance, why does he get a fatted calf and a feast and all?)
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Well, I don’t doubt that a free cellphone and minutes to go with it is handy. Handy for making connections with jobs, perhaps. Handy socially. Handy in emergencies.

But one can’t help thinking a car is even handier. You can actually get to work if you have one. One could perhaps wonder if free cars were next, but then, the government decided to hand out big subsidies to middle class people with mostly serviceable “guzzlers” and DESTROYED all those cars they traded in instead of giving them to poor people.

But then, that might have made sense.
 
Scott_Lafrance said:
Where is the “right to free communication” provided for in the Constitution? and if the people of PA don’t like it, maybe they should stop voting idiots into their state offices.
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They were smart enough to get rid of Rick Santorum.
 
Charlotte408 said:
About three times while I was (recently) on welfare, they made me attend ‘employment connection’ - it’s this program where you go and look for a job but really everyone plays on facebook 😛 (partial joke) - also where I first heard about ‘Obamaphones’ everyone was so excited that they were handing out celly’s…

Anyways at that place, they have a wall with phones all along it. Anyone can give out any one of these phone numbers as their ‘home number’. Next to the phone is a script, and if the phone rings, anyone can answer it, but they have to follow the script and record a msg for the person for whom the call was intended.

I mean they already have services put into place for people who can’t afford a landline with Lifeline.
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umm. You could give 1,000 people free $30 month cell phones or pay someone $25k and have 5-6 lines in the phonebank for the free service…that probably helps about the same number of people. Nevermind the phonebank likely isnt 24/7 or in the home for emergencies.

And addressing the car question. I will hire and schedule someone without a car around a bus schedule or in tandem with friends who can give them a ride. When you have a job you can get a car. Having a car helps but is not as manditory as a phone.
 
Landlines may soon be dead. Cellphones may be all that’s left.

AT&T has asked the FCC to let it phase out its land line network (PTSN, or public switched telephone network.)

Currently there is a Universal Service Fee charged on telephone bills which is supposed to subsidize landline telephone service in underserved areas.

And I think I have heard somewhere that the FCC has asked telephone companies to establish a date certain for the end of land line service.

It may not happen for awhile, but I suspect it’s on it’s way. Still, I’ll miss my dial tone. It’s still there when the power goes out.
 
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