More spreading the wealth around

[OgenRwot]

Just got this email from Sprint:

Pursuant to 4 Code of Colorado Regulations 723-2-2846(e), adopted on March 17, 2010, Sprint is required to provide the below notice to customers affected by the Colorado High Cost Support Mechanism (CHCSM) rate element (also known as the "Colorado Universal Service Charge").

You may have noticed a charge on your telephone bill for the Colorado Universal Service Fund. This charge is required by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to pay for the Colorado Universal Service fund established by state law.

What is the Colorado Universal Service Fund?
It is a fund to ensure that basic telephone service is affordable in Colorado. Money from the fund is used to support basic local phone service in areas where costs to provide service are high. This allows local phone rates to remain reasonably comparable across the state. Payments are made to telephone companies that serve areas with high costs and meet other PUC requirements for the funding.

What services is this charge applied to and who pays it?
This charge is assessed as a percentage of your in-state telecommunications services for local, wireless, paging, in-state long distance and optional services. The charge is not applied to interstate services. All telecommunications customers in Colorado pay this monthly charge.

What is the monthly charge?
The monthly charge is currently set at 2.2 percent, which was effective July 1, 2008. The PUC may adjust the charge over time depending on how much money is needed for the fund and to make sure that customers do not pay more than is necessary.

Total bull shit if you ask me. If you can't afford a cell phone don't get one.

[cowboykjohnson]

+1

Get a landline with vonage, because the commercial told me to!

[SSChameleon]

Back when I worked at ATT my customers would ask me about this charge. It's a charge that goes to the phone company to provide service in areas that would otherwise not be profitable enough to get phone service. For instance, if it costs $300,000 to run a phone line to a small mountain town where the phone company would only make $5 a year the phone company won't provide service and the people wouldn't get land line service.

States started adopting these policies after medical emergencies occurred in rural towns and people died because someone had to drive down the road to a bigger town to call for help. The 'evil' phone company wanted to make a profit and refused to provide service because they were losing money on the deal. (turns out the business world is very good at putting a price on human life)

Now most states have a universal service fund so everyone can have access to a phone. While I'm usually pretty ticked about paying extra I do have to admit I liked fishing in Seldovia AK and being able to call my wife to tell her about the silvers I caught.

[CrufflerSteve]

It just an old policy in new form. A long time ago it was decided that universal phone service was the goal. Business subsidized residential and urban subsidized rural. The Chameleon has it right. Cell phones are way expensive in the US compared to some countries. If you don't have a fully wired country cell is the way to go.

Steve

[HBARleatherneck]

This is about small town America. How cost effective is it for the phone companies to run phones to (pick mountain or plains town with small population)? so, back in the day, they decided every town should get it. Remember this isnt the only socialized deal around. How about your police and fire? Schools are socialized. not just medicine and telephones.

I dont use schools or police. I live out in the country. by the time the cops got here, we or the criminals would be dead. If I am dead, I dont need a report thank you. And by the time the fire department gets here our house will be gone. So socialized services abound.

Any of you guys use the library or parks? yeah socialism too.

[Hoosier]

I dont use schools or police. I live out in the country. by the time the cops got here, we or the criminals would be dead. If I am dead, I dont need a report thank you. And by the time the fire department gets here our house will be gone. So socialized services abound.

It's socialism whether you use it or not. And don't forget the roads you drive on to reach the boundary of your property, the right-of-way easements that allow the regulated power company to bring power to you. Would you have grid electric without some sort of universal service requirement for that regulated utility?

Yes, people, some forms of collective effort are worth it. Were it not the case, it wouldn't have been done since recorded time. Anytime someone argues that the issue is black and white and that any amount of socialism is bad, you should assume that person is promoting wrongly the idea that it's a Either/Or choice: a false dichotomy (thank you spell checker)

<joke>Winston Churchill asked a woman if she would have sex with him for a million dollars. She said yes, certainly. So he asked if she would have sex with him for $5. She was offended, and said, "What kind of woman do you think I am?" Churchill replied, "My lady, we've already established that. Now we are just haggling on the price."</joke>

So the question is; at what level of spending does it go from being a beneficial and just service provided by a government of the people, to being tyranny? Well it moves in increments and the forces pushing it aren't always as transparent as they should be.

H.

[HBARleatherneck]

this is what I am talking about Hoosier. nobody wants socialism, but they want... roads, law enforcement, fire, military, govt services, parks,etc, etc. etc. the list is endless. but, everyone now is against health care. if you get away from the rhetoric and tough guy stuff, Is it wrong to help people to be healthy and live well and or longer? dont people morally deserve to be healthy. yes, they do. should people pay for someone else? thats where we find ourselves as a nation. I see healthcare as much more important to me than, road, police, fire, schools. health is the basis of you life. nothing else matters.

oh and sorry to go off on the ops thread.

[Byte Stryke]

Just got this email from Sprint:



Total bull shit if you ask me. If you can't afford a cell phone don't get one.

It is a fund to ensure that basic telephone service is affordable in Colorado. Money from the fund is used to support basic local phone service in areas where costs to provide service are high.

Actually I did a little bit of digging around and while accurate the explanation you received is lacking on a few details.
This isn't a tax to provide CELL Services for lower incomes.
it's a charge to allow lower cost landlines to persons on fixed incomes.
Essentially it gives grandma a land line with basic local only services so she can dial 911 without paying a fortune.

So nope.. you are not paying for a cellphone.

[OgenRwot]

We pay property and state income/sales taxes for roads and other public services. I'm not complaining about that...well, not really anyway but that's for a different discussion. They allow phone services to be monopolized because it's not profitable to run multiple phone lines etc, they get to charge whatever they want (within reason and the corporation commission's guidelines) so they should already have all the costs of putting lines into remote areas already figured into their overhead. What we pay as our phone bill is regulated and allowed by the state government. Getting taxed on a cellular line to subsidize land lines because too many people are dumping land lines is what's bull shit. I'm not using a land line so I shouldn't be paying for one.