said by b10010011:Actually the "lifeline" phone program was started by Ronald Reagan in 1985 to provide free phones to low income families.
This program was then expanded to free cellular phones by the Bush administration in 2008.
Funny. I found a site that mentioned the program actually started in 1996 under Clinton. »
www.patheos.com/blogs/ph ··· ma-phon/Not sure how accurate that is, but it still shows that the whole debacle started prior to Obama - which I think was the point you were trying to make.
Of course, no matter who it started under, it still doesn't mean that the program was a particularly good idea. As I understand it, the program has our telcos paying a fee to support Lifeline - which is then happily passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices. At the end of the day, it still means that you and I pay more to support the burgeoning welfare state of people who shouldn't be granted the privilege of owning a cell phone at others' expense.