Monday, December 10, 2012

PARADISE LOST: CA TO PROVIDE FREE CELL PHONES FOR HOMELESS

In California, the unemployment rate may be above 10.2%, and the state debt may be above $16 billion, the state’s GDP may be in serious trouble and businesses may be leaving in droves due to ever-increasing tax rates, but that isn’t going to stop the gravy train for the state’s poor and dispossessed. - Breitbart News

The new program will give beneficiaries some 250 minutes of time and 250 free text messages every month.

◼ On the other hand: Overcriminalization: Jail Time for Charging a Cell Phone, Drying Clothes - David Jackman/Heritage's Foundry

Did you know that you could be put in jail for charging your cell phone? Or for hanging your clothes out to dry? These are just two examples of recent events illustrating the burden that overcriminalization puts on the poorest among us.

Late last month, a homeless Floridaman, 28-year-old Darren Kersey, was arrested for charging his cell phone at a public charging station. The charge? “Theft of city utilities.”

Sergeant Anthony Frangioni justified his action in the police report, stating that “theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this bad economy.”

How much does this so-called theft cost? “Cell phone chargers…run about seven cents a month,” said a spokesperson for Tampa Electric Company.

This arrest is especially questionable since there are free charging stations for electric cars all around the Sarasota area. Thankfully, the judge threw out the case due to a lack of legal justification for the arrest.