Though the program is administered by the federal government, funding comes from cellphone carriers, who pass the costs on to customers through the universal service fee charge that many see on their monthly bills.
Lifeline providers receive a subsidy of $9.25 per month for every nontribal Lifeline customer
23 states offer additional funding for subscribers
For example, Lifeline providers in California receive $13.75 per month in addition to the $9.25 federal subsidy. As a result, some CA Lifeline providers are able to provide subscribers w unlimited voice minutes and unlimited text messages.
1. Regular phone customers pay the Universal Service Fund fee to carriers.
2. Carriers pay USF money collected to USAC
3. USAC deposits USF funds in a private bank account. USAC funds Lifeline providers based on how many Lifeline subscribers they have. USAC's private bank account has $9 Billion in assets.
isn't this something ? A lot of people get rich off the govt welfare programs
More than 5,500 people were found to be enrolled for two phones, while the program was paying for nearly 6,400 phones for persons the government has listed as having died.
Samples from the report:
Percentage of Lifeline beneficiaries claiming eligibility via participation in Medicaid and SNAP that GAO could not confirm as appropriate:
Michigan 46% (Medicaid) and 67% (SNAP)
Georgia 47% (Medicaid) and 48% (SNAP)
6,378 individuals reported as deceased were enrolled. These numbers likely understate the number people reported dead who are enrolled
GAO tried to enroll 19 subscribers w fictitious data that did not support eligibility. 12 of the 19 were approved.
GAO was unable to confirm eligibility in 36% of 3.5 million enrollees it examined.
note: some of the numbers may differ from the article. In those cases I used numbers straight from the GAO report
"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein
“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020
“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker
June 30, 2017, 07:34 PM
V-Tail
quote:
Originally posted by MikeinNC: Shut it ALL down.
Stop it. Right. Now.
If somebody truly needs a "lifeline" phone, make it a lifeline and nothing more. A simple, dumb phone. No camera, no "app" capability, no internet, nothing except 911 connectivity and maybe a very limited amount of talk time.
No text except maybe for hearing impaired.
You want a smart phone? Get a job and pay for it yourself. Like the rest of us do.
הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים
June 30, 2017, 07:47 PM
tatortodd
The 0bama administration had Acorn affiliated groups out increasing the number of subscribers. It was as ethically run as their voter registration programs and loan/grant programs. I saw some undercover videos showing the groups advising people to lie and cheat in order to get one or two.
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
June 30, 2017, 08:04 PM
MRBTX
I hope Trump has somebody on this to eliminate it. Al Capone was more ethical than magical Erkel. The size of the bullet we dodged with Trump grows every day.
June 30, 2017, 08:07 PM
MPB
quote:
6,378 individuals reported as deceased were enrolled. These numbers likely understate the number people reported dead who are enrolled
Apparently 6,378 deceased individuals can indeed contact family from the grave!
June 30, 2017, 08:12 PM
erj_pilot
I'm sure y'all remember this back in 2012.....
"If you’re a leader, you lead the way. Not just on the easy ones; you take the tough ones too…” – MAJ Richard D. Winters (1918-2011), E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil... Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." - Isaiah 5:20,24
June 30, 2017, 10:37 PM
mcrimm
I'm shocked.
What was next, an ObamaPorsche
I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown ................................... When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham
June 30, 2017, 10:41 PM
r0gue
My elderly parents decided to take them up on the offer. They can't even be bothered to charge the damn thing, let alone be patient and technical enough to use all those zaney buttons... Useless waste. Insanity
June 30, 2017, 10:49 PM
YooperSigs
Can you hear me now? I damn sure can. Insanity.
End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles
June 30, 2017, 10:51 PM
Sailor1911
Tip of the iceberg.
Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.
“If in winning a race, you lose the respect of your fellow competitors, then you have won nothing” - Paul Elvstrom "The Great Dane" 1928 - 2016
June 30, 2017, 11:07 PM
sdy
like many of the things the federal govt does, this becomes a money maker for the "providers" of the service. They want more and more to sign up for obamaphones. It expands their customer base.
********************
Way OT but:
# of mobile phones by country
China 1,321,930,000 India 1,170,178,305 U.S. 327,577,529 Brazil 284,200,000 Russia 256,116,000
This list ranks the countries of the world by the number of mobile phones in use. Note that it is not the number of phone devices that are being given here, but the number of phone numbers in a country. While this difference may not affect the figures of the developed countries given below, many people in many developing countries have dual-SIM mobile phones with 2 SIM cards installed
