- Oct 19, 2012
- 11,390
- 2,652
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- Banned
- #21
The GOP needs to keep up with the changing electorate in the US. There are very sound ideas and some very competent people in the GOP, but, they seem only to address those they already have as supporters.
Yep ... all about freebies ..hey?
You are misinformed. The Lifeline program (Obama free phone) was created by Republicans during the Reagan administration in 1985.
"The creation of the Lifeline program -- which has now been dubbed the "Obama phone" -- during the Reagan administration was one of these attempts to ensure that the new fragmented and competitive telecom industry still provided the same public goods that the old monopoly did. Far from a government cheese handout, Lifeline was funded through a "universal service charge" on phone bills, and then administered by a private non-profit. While the distinction between a surcharge and a tax may seem technical, it was specifically selected to over a proposed welfare program — a straight-up handout referred to as "phone stamps." The Universal Service Fund was created to be a lean, nimble private sector beast.
The guys who came up with the idea for Lifeline were Republican Sen. Bob Packwood and Democratic Rep. John Dingell. The Reagan administration soon got on board, as The New York Times reported on December 27, 1983, in part because of "a growing recognition that the price of telephone service could become a 1984 campaign issue." Then other Republicans got on board -- Sens. John Heinz and John Chafee urged the Federal Communications Commission to "take concrete steps to ensure that local telephone companies offer lifeline programs designed to preserve affordable phone service," according to The Washington Post on September 15, 1985"
The Obama Phone's Roots in Government Deregulation - Politics - The Atlantic Wire