Conservatives shouldn't be mad about the phone program

[wolfstrike]

i see a lot of conservatives angry about the phone program.
i think there is a real lack of understanding.

phone service costs freaking nothing.

it takes nearly the same amount of effort to make a phone that it does to make a calculator.

calculators are sold at the Kwiki Mart for 10 bucks, they're cheaper if you go to the 99 cent store.

do you know why you think a cell phone is worth 400 dollars? ...salesmanship.

cell phone, internet, tv service, is nearly 100% profit.
it costs nothing to provide those services.

i have a friend that went into cell phone and internet service providers.
the deal is, they let you keep 100% of the customer's bill for a trial period, then 50% after that. ...minus taxes.
it's all profit.

yes, the government buys things worth $5 for $5,000, but that's its own issue


(not only that, but the more free phones that are provided, the more people the Department of Homeland Security can hire to watch everyone else walk around as a blip on a map)

[allan38]

Oddly enough the free phones are not taxpayer funded. The service funding is through the Universal Service Fund paid by some of the country's largest phone companies.
Most of the phones are sold by Carlos Slim's companies, they make $10 per phone.

The government program was originally enacted under President Reagan's administration in an effort for poor Americans without access to phones to have a way to contact prospective employers, arrange for healthcare, and be in touch with their children's schools.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2215966/Mexican-billionaire-making-millions-American-government-program-gives-poor-free-cell-phones.html

Not a bad idea in concept. Allowing Obama to take credit for it when it was the "compassionless, mean spirited Republican" Reagan who signed it into law is frustrating.

[jpsmith1cm]

My phone bills have a Universal Service Fee on them.

The "phone companies" don't pay for this.

WE DO!

[corny]

I want my obama phone......

gimme my obama phone so I keep up with my homies and sh*t....

obama done gave me a phone..... but I cant text on it...... that cheap bastard.....

[AStudent]

My phone bills have a Universal Service Fee on them.

The "phone companies" don't pay for this.

WE DO!

I agree, although I don't have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is nearly every major carrier moving to limited data plans.

[syndicated]

i see a lot of conservatives angry about the phone program.
i think there is a real lack of understanding.

phone service costs freaking nothing.

it takes nearly the same amount of effort to make a phone that it does to make a calculator.

calculators are sold at the Kwiki Mart for 10 bucks, they're cheaper if you go to the 99 cent store.

do you know why you think a cell phone is worth 400 dollars? ...salesmanship.

cell phone, internet, tv service, is nearly 100% profit.
it costs nothing to provide those services.

i have a friend that went into cell phone and internet service providers.
the deal is, they let you keep 100% of the customer's bill for a trial period, then 50% after that. ...minus taxes.
it's all profit.

yes, the government buys things worth $5 for $5,000, but that's its own issue


(not only that, but the more free phones that are provided, the more people the Department of Homeland Security can hire to watch everyone else walk around as a blip on a map)

Lol.
Cell service is free? Who pays for the towers, the routers, the hard to understand CSR's in India? How about the software that manages the network?
Tv? Who pays for the production of the content? Who lays the cable? Launches the satellite?

[Gib's Son]

I..... but I cant text on it...... .

You can if you pay for the upgrade. Who's the cheapskate now? :whistle::grin2: Oh, you can also buy extra minutes.

[Tool-Slinger]

My phone bills have a Universal Service Fee on them.

The "phone companies" don't pay for this.

WE DO!

WE HAVE A BINGO!!!!

[Brian GC]

The amount of money AT&T pays for maintaining and upgrading their cell towers is very high. It is so complicated they hired the multi-billion dollar company, Bechtel, to be their primary contractor for this work.

In a way it is no extra cost for a cell co. to give service to a new customer. The infrastructure is up and running already, so giving the first months to the seller of the plans in understandable. But I call BS on a new phone being worth $400. That is just the penalty price for no contract or not buying their insurance plan.

[corny]

Look at the fees and surcharges on all your bills and then call the company and ask them what it is for.

I did this with the cable bill years ago and finally after calling the cable people, the city, the county and then the cable people again.....all I got was...
"The government allows us to put that charge on the bill"

We have a tax here if you go thru a drive thru.....in addition to sales tax. But.... We also have a dine in tax......in addition to sales tax.

Watch your personal income tax go down and watch the fees, surcharges and taxes increase.

Its like the city here....... if the property taxes dont go up this year.....the sewer fees will......

[AStudent]

Look at the fees and surcharges on all your bills and then call the company and ask them what it is for.

I did this with the cable bill years ago and finally after calling the cable people, the city, the county and then the cable people again.....all I got was...
"The government allows us to put that charge on the bill"

We have a tax here if you go thru a drive thru.....in addition to sales tax. But.... We also have a dine in tax......in addition to sales tax.

Watch your personal income tax go down and watch the fees, surcharges and taxes increase.

Its like the city here....... if the property taxes dont go up this year.....the sewer fees will......

Yup, but as I said before...I don't care about having to pay more. In my opinion paying more is the cost of living in a great nation where we don't have to worry about starving, or being attacked every day.

What ticks me off is when companies want to raise prices but offer fewer or inferior services.

[Pete838]

What a load of sheeeite.
-If a "fee" is mandatory and enforced by the government IT IS A TAX.
-Adding a few hundred or thousand extra devices to each tower on a cellular network is not free. They must increase capacity to accommodate the extra traffic, or paying customers will receive decreased quality of service and take their business elsewhere.

I swear some people must live in a parallel universe. It truly unreal how their minds work.

[coolwhip]

What a load of sheeeite.
-If a "fee" is mandatory and enforced by the government IT IS A TAX.
-Adding a few hundred or thousand extra devices to each tower on a cellular network is not free. They must increase capacity to accommodate the extra traffic, or paying customers will receive decreased quality of service and take their business elsewhere.

I swear some people must live in a parallel universe. It truly unreal how their minds work.

Like Bizarro from Superman.

[toocoolforschool]

Ever watch "The First 48" every single murdered victim has a cell phone laying next to him with all the info the cops need, or the murderer steals the phone and they track it.
Cell phone service and internet serice is not a cheap about 600 bucks a year for each in my case. MIFI and boost mobile.

[Brian GC]

Do you have any idea how much Disneyland hoses AT&T for them to install pico-cell antennas on their property? They royally bend them over. I wouldn’t be surprised if AT&T pays Disney $100k a month for it. But they make it back in a place like Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort where they only have one cell tower that covers a 15mi radius.

[chaard]

Get em while they're hot.

http://springfield.craigslist.org/zip/3397989013.html