TracFone has been offering free prepaid cell phones to many low-income families who otherwise may not be able to afford any kind of mobile communication or land line for that matter.  The issue is one of quality of life.  IT simply makes your life better (and easier) if you have access to a cell phone.

TracFone's SafeLink program provides free cell phones to needy families.  The program is paid for by the Universal Service Fund, which collects money from taxes on everyone's phone bills.

Unfortunately, TracFone's proposed plan has been denied by the South Carolina government over some tax issues.  In other words, the free phones that TracFone would provide are prepaid, which means no bill gets sent home in the mail.  Since there is no bill, the state of South Carolina can't collect the tax for the Universal Service Fund. 

It seems a little odd to me that TracFone is not allowed to provide free phones and service (and let's be honest here, there is incentive for them to get their phones in the hands of more people) under the auspices of the USF, but those receiving the phone would then have to pay into the fund that is meant to support them.

It's ridiculous, it's politics, and once again, it's all about money.  Or I could be way off!!!  It just seems that way.  Either way, if you're reading this post and live in South Carolina, you can call the Public Service Commission and tell them that you want the SafeLink program to come to your town.

Read more about Safelink.