You are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

6
7

[–] maaaaa 6 points 7 points (+13|-6) ago  (edited ago)

I'll say it one more time. If you're retired or unemployed, living at or below a subsistence income, those phones are a godsend. You can't do nothing, apply for a job, make an appointment, ask friend or family for help, etc. without a phone, messaging and email. Phone booths are a thing of the past. Job applications are all done over the Net.

2
15

[–] anotherdamnartist 2 points 15 points (+17|-2) ago 

Go to the god damn library.

0
3

[–] Tor1 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

But then heavenly baby Karl Marx will cry red tears in the people's afterlife paradise.

[–] [deleted] 1 point 2 points (+3|-1) ago 

[Deleted]

2
1

[–] ekmc 2 points 1 point (+3|-2) ago 

Can't use a library's phone to receive calls from employers who want to interview you. At least not without spending all day in a library.

Plus there's other benefits like being able to call 911 - no pay phones anymore!

5
2

[–] Dr_Shekel_Nigger 5 points 2 points (+7|-5) ago 

if you're unemployed...get a fucking job! no excuses; this is evolution, not a Disney movie

[–] [deleted] 4 points -4 points (+0|-4) ago 

[Deleted]

6
-4

[–] midnight_rider 6 points -4 points (+2|-6) ago 

Right! I mean you're clearly so highly evolved, I'm surprised you don't live in Tibet at a monastery or run a Native American sweat lodge..

0
0

[–] 10855081? ago 

The problem is they hand them out at bus stops and shit to people that already have phones. It's not uncommon for someone to have more than 1 of them seeing how all you have to do is call them and say the battery won't take a charge and they will send you another for free no questions asked. Like most "helpful" government programs it's completely ruined by corruption and incompetence.

0
0

[–] maaaaa ago  (edited ago)

The reason they replace them so easily is because they're not worth a crap. You can buy the hardware on Amazon for $15. And the plan is limited to 500 meg of data a month. So anybody who does more than voice, text, and email, needs to upgrade, which isn't covered by the Government. That 's why the companies like them. For every phone delivered they get an opportunity to upsell.

0
0

[–] littul_kitton ago 

I agree. And it's not a new idea. The Founders of the U.S. built subsidized communication into the Constitution, by granting Congress the power to create post offices and even post roads. Plugging everybody into the telecom economy is also in support of the General Welfare clause.

Almost everything the Obama administration did was destructive, and most of the exceptions were merely foolish. Universal uncensored communication was one of his few successes, even if he just intended to whore up a few more votes in a single election.