The richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, is profiting from the sale of the “Obamaphone” and conservatives aren’t happy about it one bit!
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The term “Obamaphone” actually stems from a federal program called Lifeline, which has been around since the mid-1980s and provides applicable low income and disabled Americans with communication devices.
According to the FCC:
“Lifeline is a government benefit program supported by the Universal Service Fund that provides a discount on phone service for qualifying low-income consumers. Lifeline helps ensure that eligible consumers have the opportunities and security that phone service brings, including being able to connect to jobs, family, and emergency services.”
However, Republicans have misrepresented the program to appear as a socialist scheme that redistributes wealth to the poor. They also bashed the program because the Obama administration expanded it to supply cellular phones for the poor and disabled.
Slim, a Mexican telecom mogul worth $70 billion (net) and supporter of President Obama, owns a controlling stake in TracFrone, which earns $10 on every phone that is provided to working class Americans.
Fox reports that, “The company, whose president and CEO is Frederick “F.J.” Pollak, also makes money from extra minutes and data plans it sells to subscribers who get phones and service through the government’s Lifeline program.”
One of the biggest right-wing critics of Lifeline is Rep. Tim Griffin, who is pushing to end the program that he feels is providing poor people with a “luxury item.”
Griffin said:
“I’m not against a company making a profit. If they are making money off the program, the blame goes to the federal government for creating the program.”
Griffin also recently introduced a bill to end the Lifeline program, which cost $1.6 billion in 2011, up from $772 million in 2008. The program is funded by mandatory fees added into consumers’ phone bills, then funneled to the Federal Communications Commission and states.
Griffin said, “This program is rife with waste and abuse. It’s set up in a way where people can receive multiple phones for free.”
“I simply do not think that the taxpayers should be footing the bill for someone’s cell service and social interaction. If that’s the case, what should the government pay for and not pay for? Let’s just start paying for everyone’s gas.”
SOURCE: My Fox
