Do those on Government Assistance NEED a Phone?

Posted on 09 September 2009 by


safelink

I recently came across Safelink Wireless, which is a service that will give a mobile phone with free minutes every month to those who are on State or Federal Assistance.  Safelink is run by Tracfone.  This got me thinking about our government priorities. Do those who are on assistance really need a mobile phone?  Does the government think about these things before they do them?  Why does someone who has no income need a mobile phone?  Why was it a mobile phone and not regular land line service?  I just don’t get it.

My wife checked it out for my father-in-law, and she learned that he qualifies for the phone plus 68 minutes a month.  I wonder how much a mobile phone with ~68 minutes, multiplied by however many thousands of people will use the service, will wind up costing taxpayers?

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Joel is a system admin for a local college in Columbus, OH. While he loves Linux and tend to use it more than anything else, he will stoop to running closed source if it is the best tool for the job. His techno passions are Linux, Android, netbooks, GPS, podcasting and Personal Media Players.

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  • Carly Z

    On the other hand payphones are rapidly disappearing, both from urban areas and highways. There might be a public safety savings in getting people phones they can use for minor emergencies (I missed the bus, my tire is flat) as well as big ones (I’m in a scary neighborhood and everyone is packing heat.)

    Just a random thought.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Michael Anderson

    I look at it this way – the government decided some time ago that phone access was a right rather than a privilege, and we are all paying to put lines to out of reach areas and provide phone access to low-income families. This is a natural extension of that … and I’d be surprised if it percolated up to being a policy decision.

    Also, we always have to be careful about stigmatizing those who need government assistance – as we have seen in the last year, it can and does happen to just about anyone. And cell phones have become nearly a necessity if you are struggling to work and also find employment matching your old income.

  • CaySedai

    Or for schools to contact parents if there is an emergency with their kids.

  • CaySedai

    (sorry for double posting)

    another use: for someone looking for a job to be able to put a phone number on their job applications. I’ve listened to my boss critique cover letters and resumes. I’m sure not having a phone would disqualify people from being considered.

    (this is not saying it won’t be abused by some, but that’s how things are)

  • Lex

    I’m being watched. There’s a TracFone banner ad at the top of this page !

  • http://www.indiginz.co.nz indiginz

    yes, they do. (-:

  • then

    Of course they need phones! In today’s society you’re a nobody if you don’t have a phone number. Land lines are no good for those who are homeless or live in shelters, cheap hotels and other places where they can’t have a phone line of their own.

    As already was pointed out here: you can’t apply for a job if you don’t have a phone number (or, you can, but you probably won’t get any job). People need to be able to stay in touch with employers, authorities, social workers, relatives, doctors, priests… And payphones are really getting scarce. Not to talk about how awkward it would be to have to take care of your personal business on a busy street with a long line of people standing behind you, waiting for their turn.

    As for the cost: 1 minute 16 seconds per day per person — I’m quite sure the American taxpayers can carry that “heavy” burden… Especially since SafeLink customers can buy exra airtime if 1 minute 16 seconds per day isn’t enough. There are no price quotes yet on SafeLinks web site, but I’m quite sure those extra minutes will cost enough to cover at least some of that “free” use.

  • markntravis

    No one “needs” a cell phone. If they were a requirement we would have been born with one.

  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    Total aside: markntravis – that reminds me of what my mom used to say about my dad’s time in the Air Force, that “if they wanted [you] to have a family [they] would have issued you one. ;-)

    On topic: I can remember the “olden” days when the average person did not have a mobile phone, and most people had to actually plan things out where if an emergency occured or plans changed they could be somewhere where they would be able to make a call, or they had to rely on the kindness of store clerks.

    There were people who didn’t have land lines back then, because there were other bills to pay or they were homeless, and no one ever talked about giving away free land line service that I recall.

    Sure if these programs were for 100, 1000, or even 100000 people, the burden dispersed over all the hundreds of millions of people paying taxes might not be so awful. But when you start adding up all the different programs we already pay for, and all the things that still need paying for, and all the other things that will come up that need paying for…I can’t help but feel like taxpayers are being nickel and dimed to death.

  • falooda

    i believe it may be necessary for emergency purposes.. wow, never heard of that be4