According to this, if you're a taxpayer, you're about to get screwed again. But if you're a person who gets one of those Obamaphones? You're about to be as delighted as this young lady:
The FCC is "proposing to expand its Lifeline program to help subsidize Internet service for low-income Americans." It's a $1.7 billion program, and Republicans are against it, naturally, because there's a crap-ton of "waste and inefficiencies" in it.
I'll wait over here while you stop being shocked at the government wasting your hard-earned money.
The update has been made a "priority" now, because it needs to "adapt to current technology." Basically, we're talking about upgrades to smartphones, y'all.
Yep:
One senior FCC official noted...that studies have shown smartphone use is popular with low-income individuals.
You think they're popular with low-income individuals, FCC? Really?
I'm super-hoping that they used taxpayer money to do the studies to figure THAT genius information out, because wow.
But at least they're making some reforms to the program:
The commission will ask if establishing a "neutral third party administrator" would be better than having telecom companies handling sensitive customer information they would not otherwise have. The commission will also ask if the overall program should be capped with a budget.In the meantime, the proposal would require providers to maintain customers' eligibility information to help with oversight. The proposal would also require companies to retain records for 10 years.
It's such a huge relief that these customers won't have any of their private information shared with anyone, and I can't believe there is a commission that has to ASK if the program should HAVE A BUDGET.
This is why we can't have nice things ("we" meaning taxpayers...the folks in this program will more than likely get killer smartphones...you know).
Just thought I'd let y'all know that when you're busy getting ready to go back to work tomorrow (some of us work seven days a week, who am I kidding?), you need to really get fired up and put some pep in that step. There's a person out there that is depending on you to get them a really awesome smartphone sometime in the near future.
YAY YOU!
