Once again we see a government program designed to buy votes with a fig leaf of “helping the poor” is rampant with fraud and has blown away its budget. And we will do… nothing.
“By the third quarter of 2012, the number of Lifeline subscribers in Maryland had risen almost 100 fold to 645,000” compared to three years prior, industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg told Congress.
“Moreover, the current number of Lifeline subscribers in Maryland is almost double the number of low income households in the state” who are eligible.
The FCC says it has since instituted some reforms to put a damper on fraud. Until recently, applicants could self-certify their eligibility, and the FCC found millions of dollars of abuse when it finally checked.
But it only sent letters saying “don’t do it again, or you might be fined” to people who lied on their forms to obtain multiple phones or obtain them even though they had high incomes, it said at the hearing.
Why stop at 1 Obamaphone, when you can have 2, or 10 or 1000!
Obama to taxpayer: Ya mule! Work harder!