One More For Our Bill Of Rights-The Right To Have A Free Cell Phone

I did not need to see this story today in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, especially when the country is going broke.  It seems that a cell phone is now considered a necessity in our welfare state.  In addition to housing assistance, Medicaid and food stamps you can also get a free cell phone and 250 free cell minutes every month in Pennsylvania and a number of other states.

This is all paid for out of the Universal Service Fund which is a required payment (a tax) on all telecommunications providers pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  This tax gets put on your cell phone bill by the phone company which then takes the money from you and is required to give free phone service to other people that are not you. 

Three months ago, Walters, 48, of Swissvale started using Assurance Wireless, a program of Sprint subsidiary Virgin Mobile that provides free cell phones and 250 monthly minutes to people receiving government support such as Medicaid or food stamps.

In Pennsylvania, two programs offer free cell service: Assurance Wireless and SafeLink from Tracfone Wireless, which specializes in "no-contract" cellular service. The federal Universal Service Fund, which all telecommunications providers support as required by federal law, pays for the programs.

Amy Storey, a spokeswoman for CTIA - The Wireless Association in Washington, said all U.S. wireless carriers charge consumers a fee to recover the cost of their contribution to the fund, which varies quarterly as determined by the Federal Communications Commission.

Assurance Wireless, which is in 26 states and Washington, D.C., started in Pennsylvania in February and is now being publicized in newspaper, TV and radio ads. The company reports more than 5.5 million people could qualify for the program in Pennsylvania. Gary Carter, manager of national partnerships for Assurance, was not able to provide the exact number of people who have signed up.

SafeLink, which has been available to Pennsylvanians for three years, is in 39 states. Spokesman Jose Fuentes could not provide an exact number of users in Pennsylvania, but said there are more than 2 million nationwide.

"The program is about peace of mind," Carter said. "It's one less bill that someone has to pay, so they can pay their rent or for day care. ... It is a right to have peace of mind.

I was at a meeting this week when one of  country's major health insurance carrier cited the statistic that well more than 50% of the calls they get on their Medicaid business was  now coming in on cell phone lines.  I thought that it was interesting that someone could pay for a cell phone but could not pay for other items.  Now I know better. 

I am all for helping people who need a helping hand.  However, where does it stop?  If peace of mind is a right do I have a right to have cable tv so I can monitor the news so I will have the peace of mind of knowing what I might not know?  How about paying for a pet?  Having a dog around makes most people have better peace of mind.  Better yet, I always have a lot more peace of mind when I am on vacation.  Are we going to pay for those as well?

This is madness and it cannot continue for much longer if we are to survive as a nation.