found. i was surprised i was able to get three of them. in violation of pretty much every, every program rule. if i can do it, being somebody who tells the truth not looking to defraud the government. look at people who are looking, how great their opportunities are. private companies get ripped off. they have more in send tich off to check. their own money. that s right. georgia is doing reforms within the state. to try to see if they can mess with the flawed incentive structure. and start charging $5 for consumers for an obama phone. if they have to pay for it. they are less likely to get, three, four, different that they don t need. jillian. better ways to help people!
even some in the mainstream media. if you are waiting for the government you will be in for a long wait. if they get it maybe soon more people will realize there are better ways to give. there you go. beautiful. real caring that. that s our show tonight. now, john stossel! what is real charity? when people are in trouble, say after a disaster, or simply when people are poor? americans instinct is to think how can government help after all who will help the people if not government. we libertarians argue that private charity would step in. individuals freely choosing to help. would enough of us help. most people say no. that s why, columnists say when it comes to helping the needy that s mostly government s job? well, listen, it would be great if people all reached into their hearts and solved all these horrible problems we have. history teaches us that doesn t happen. in almost every case where there is a government program it exists because the private effort
welfare. to the extent that the government is not supposed to be in the cell phone business, cell phone companies aren t in the welfare business, but once you do that, you see a lot of people signing up and many shouldn t have them. did you know before you started down this investigative project, did you know what that $2.50 charge was on your bill at all? i didn t. i m glad i know now. it kind of makes me mad but it s crazy that i was able to get them. and the estimate is how much in fraud a year? i m not sure on fraud. i know there is an audit a while ago that said about 41% hadn t been verified as eligible and hadn t confirmed. but i don t know what that adds up to in numbers. jillian, thank you. thanks. now to tonight s first hot button issue on gretawire.com. do you feel cheated by the lifeline phone program? vote yes because no one asked me if i wanted to pay into it or no, it s a good idea for poor people.
how easy is it to get a free cell phone from the government? the free phones are supposed to go to people who are very poor. one reporter set out to see how easy it is to abuse the lifeline program and stick you, yes you, with the phone bills to pay for it. the national review s jillian melcher is here to talk about it. good evening. were you able to get a free phone? not only that. i was able to get three. i m not eligible for any of them. how were you able to get them so easily? i think pretty much anywhere that you can get food stamps, they have vendors out on the street who are approaching you and saying do you have a free phone yet? and so i say no or when i did have one i said yes. and they would ask you whether you were on welfare of any kind. i said nope but i d sure like to be. that got me signed up. they pulled out their tablet and put in my home address.
so parents with disabled children, they re really concerned about this. brian: they should be. steve: the president promised if you want to keep your insurance, you can. danny werfel and the irs finding out the hard way, you can t. meanwhile, a lot of people have gotten cell phones, free cell phones from the government over the last number of years. some refer to them as obama phones. there is a columnist for the national review on-line, jillian melcher. she does not qualify for one because you ve got to be needy, right? well, because there is so little oversight, she was able to get not one, not two, but three obama phones. she was on last night explaining how. were you able to get a free phone? i was not only to get one, i was able to get three. i m not eligible for any of them. how were you able to get them so easily? i think pretty much anywhere you can get food stamps, they have vendors out on the street who are approaching you and saying, do you have a free phone