Here's hoping all our members on the East Coast are ok and will soon get their power back on. I know of one or two who were blacked out. Please post here if you have any experiences or pics to share.
Hurricane Sandy
Jack, I assumed you were doing the math. It all bewilders me too. But, I'm not picking on Ohio because I'm sure it's a growing trend everywhere. I just mentioned Ohio because I saw this article from the Dayton newspaper not long ago:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/subsidized-cell-phone-program-nearly-doubles-in-oh/nRDqC/
I might add: I learned quite unexpectedly that old mobile phones still work when I gave my little granddaughter an old phone to play with--fully charged of course. She accidentally dialed 911 and they answered. It was embarrassing. I apologized and they said not to worry...it happens often.
No, I think Ohio's unemployment rateis about the same as Missouri's, hovering between 7 and 8 percent. That's not good but better than many parts of the country. But the phones are for the unemployed or anyone in their family--not just one phone per family.
Any land line phone (or mobile phone for that matter) (that's hooked up or disconnected) will allow a user to call 911.
As I said before, that makes sense to me.
But this program has no limits. The argument is: How else can an unemployed person look for work? Over one million users in Ohio, alone, have these free mobile phones and the number is increasing exponentially.
There's a 250 minute limit per phone per month but many families are getting multiple phones--one for each family member then sharing the minutes.
If you collect on a Federally subsidized "flood Insurance policy" the government retains the right to mandate that you not rebuild on that site. The village of Cedar City across the Missouri River from Jefferson City was completely dissolved after the Flood of '93 using that option. The Federal government said we'll pay your claims but you have to move to higher ground.
As to why? Why should the Federal government be providing free mobile phones (including monthly service) to anyone who is unemployed, disabled, lower income or elderly? I think the ad goes, "If you or anyone in your family is unemployed, disabled, lower income or elderly, you're entitled to a free mobile phone... I "get" the thing about mandating that disconnected "land lines" should be able to call emergency services. That makes sense. But the former bewilders me.
It looks as if the vast majority of damage in New Jersey and New York is from flooding. Residents experienced an unprecedented storm surge breaking records which have stood since 1821. Unfortunately, most home owner insurance in the U.S. does not cover flooding. People and businesses in flood prone areas must carry a separate flood insurance policy subsidized by the Federal government. I would imagine, in fact, I'm almost sure many of the homes and businesses affected by the surge last night will not be covered for much of the damage. Those homes damaged by wind and fire should be covered.
updated by @harold-powell: 11/11/15 10:38:30PM
