Upon going to a bar last night, I overheard some people talking about the "Obamaphone" - a program they claimed had started under President Obama - which provides free cell phones to low-income Americans via taxpayer money. I had merely heard about this through the grapevine and while my BS radar was going off upon haring about it, I still hadn't researched the matter greatly. I decided to stay quiet last night until I researched the matter further and decided to finally do that this afternoon.
So, what's the real story? As my gut instinct told me, it's nonsense.
Courtesy of the fact-checking site, Factcheck.org, the following was reported:
"Q: Has the Obama administration started a program to use 'taxpayer money' to give free cell phones to welfare recipients?
A: No. Low-income households have been eligible for discounted telephone service for more than a decade. But the program is funded by telecom companies, not by taxes, and the president has nothing to do with it."
What I find most humorous about the fact-check is what I read toward the tail-end of the analysis, where it stated:
"The president has no direct impact on the program, and one could hardly call these devices 'Obama Phones,' as the e-mail author does. This specific program, SafeLink, started under President George Bush, with grants from an independent company created under President Bill Clinton, which was a legacy of an act passed under Franklin Roosevelt, which was influenced by an agreement reached between telecommunications companies and the administration of President Woodrow Wilson..."
That's right, ladies and gentleman - the "Obamaphone" started under Republican President George W. Bush. Not only does it not cost the taxpayers any money, it was started, not under the Democratic and current President Barack Obama, but under George Walker Bush.
http://www.examiner.com/article/gop-debunked-obama-phone-does-not-exist-program-started-2008-under-bush
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/the-obama-phone/
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/27/924011/the-truth-about-the-obama-phone/
So, what's the real story? As my gut instinct told me, it's nonsense.
Courtesy of the fact-checking site, Factcheck.org, the following was reported:
"Q: Has the Obama administration started a program to use 'taxpayer money' to give free cell phones to welfare recipients?
A: No. Low-income households have been eligible for discounted telephone service for more than a decade. But the program is funded by telecom companies, not by taxes, and the president has nothing to do with it."
What I find most humorous about the fact-check is what I read toward the tail-end of the analysis, where it stated:
"The president has no direct impact on the program, and one could hardly call these devices 'Obama Phones,' as the e-mail author does. This specific program, SafeLink, started under President George Bush, with grants from an independent company created under President Bill Clinton, which was a legacy of an act passed under Franklin Roosevelt, which was influenced by an agreement reached between telecommunications companies and the administration of President Woodrow Wilson..."
That's right, ladies and gentleman - the "Obamaphone" started under Republican President George W. Bush. Not only does it not cost the taxpayers any money, it was started, not under the Democratic and current President Barack Obama, but under George Walker Bush.
http://www.examiner.com/article/gop-debunked-obama-phone-does-not-exist-program-started-2008-under-bush
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/the-obama-phone/
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/27/924011/the-truth-about-the-obama-phone/
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