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| Time | Text |
|---|---|
| Thanks for watching! | |
| Yes! | |
| Everybody in Cleveland, low minority, got Obama phone! | |
| Keep Obama in president, you know! | |
| He gave us a phone! | |
| He's gonna do more! | |
| As the Obama phone video continues to go viral, the video has prompted many Americans to criticize the welfare state and the pitiful results most welfare programs have produced. | |
| One such program is the Lifeline Benefit Program, which has received rave reviews from the Obama phone lady and other low-income residents. | |
| I have about like six in my personnel. | |
| Each and every one of these phones work. | |
| At home I know I have about thirty and all I'm on. | |
| Do you think it's a good idea for the federal government to charge three dollars on your cell bill to give people free cell phones? | |
| I don't think so. | |
| I think a cell phone's not unnecessary, so I don't think the government has this right to do that. | |
| Not at all. | |
| That's completely garbage. | |
| I mean, I pay a hundred plus a month for my cell phone. | |
| I don't see why they're handing out free cell phones to other people. | |
| No. | |
| Why not? | |
| Well, I think it's a product. | |
| If people want to buy it and can afford to buy it, they should. | |
| But I don't think the government should be handing them out. | |
| Handing somebody a cell phone is an opportunity to get a job. | |
| It's an opportunity to call back your employer. | |
| There is no more public phones. | |
| So you can't just ask them to shove them in the public phones. | |
| They've been reduced by 90% in this country. | |
| So I think there should be a program. | |
| But every American who has a cell phone to pay $3 without being asked, that's not American in my book. | |
| So it should be optional? | |
| It should be optional. | |
| Um, I don't think so. | |
| I think that's a controversial question, but I think basic human rights like food, shelter, healthcare should be given by the government, but not commodities like cell phones, no. | |
| Yeah, you see, I do have an issue with people reducing really complicated issues down to quick sound bites. | |
| Generally, people that are receiving government benefits aren't living the high life and living in comfort. | |
| So, I don't really have a problem with following the edict of helping the people that need the most help. | |
| I do. | |
| I think it's important to give a little to get a lot, and obviously we've all gotten a lot. | |
| I went to public school, I drive on the roads, I ride my bike in bike lanes, so I do believe in giving money so that other people can have something that I already have. | |
| Generally speaking, I don't have a problem with providing poor people with cell phones, especially when those poor people are women with children. | |
| And without cell phones, they find themselves in danger. | |
| We don't have pay phones anymore, so people can't just walk around the corner and use a phone. | |
| So a low-cost, bare-bones cell phone for safety only makes sense. | |
| The FCC, which oversees this initiative, says phone ownership among this group has increased by an estimated 12% since the program began in the 1980s. | |
| According to the Cato Institute, since President Barack Obama took office, federal welfare assistance has increased by an estimated 41%. | |
| The organization also notes that over the past half century, both the federal government and local governments have spent an estimated $15 trillion trying to combat poverty. | |
| However, during this time, the poverty rate has only decreased by about 4%. | |
| Is that stealing? | |
| I think it is because it's not the citizen's rights. | |
| I mean, it's not the obligation of the citizens to pay for other people's cell phones. | |
| It's stealing in a sense. | |
| In short, yes it is. | |
| What if it went to poor people? | |
| I'm not the richest guy either. | |
| I'm not poor, but I don't have a lot of money and I spend some of my money on my cell phone, so why can't other people? | |
| I don't think so. | |
| Why not? | |
| I think we all get a lot from the government. | |
| So I got roads, I got public school, etc. | |
| So I think public services are for the good of everybody. | |
| Well, I don't know if it's stealing. | |
| I think it's probably excessive spending on the federal government's part. | |
| I think, as far as three dollars go, you know, I don't think it's stealing from the American public. | |
| But I do think, I don't know, I guess you would have to, The public should be informed, is what I'm saying. | |
| So you should have access to the information of where it's going. | |
| If you don't, then I don't know if I would want to label it stealing, but I would label it wrong. |
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