16 May 06 21:38, mark lewis wrote to Roy Witt:


 ml>> my no frills landlines cost me ~$30US each... when i say no frills,
 ml>> i mean it, too... no caller id, no 3-way calling, no voicemail,
 ml>> nothing extra 'cept maybe touchtone capability...

 RW>> That's espensive. Before Uncle Sam adds his share, mine costs
 RW>> $9.95/month. It totals to nearly $15 with Fed, State and local
 RW>> taxes.

 ml> i used to have a "number to nowhere"... no lines or anything... it
 ml> was a "remote call forward" number that was programed by
the telco to
 ml> forward to my main line... it was $9.00 a month... then it started
 ml> going up... a whole slew of additional fees authorized by the FCC (i
 ml> think)... things like long distance access, tty service, 911, and
 ml> other stuff that was physically impossible to do, use or take
 ml> advantage of since it was an inbound number only... when it doubled
 ml> in cost to $18.00, i had it terminated...

 ml> i don't recall and can't lay my hands on a current bill right now but
 ml> about 1/3rd is these other fees that the gov't allows them to charge
 ml> to spread out the cost... that's alltel, though :(

That's all phone companies. What got me in California was the charge for
telephone services for those on limited income (SSA) and those on welfare.
That wouldn't be so bad, but the state also took some off the top of the
state income tax to further pilfer the tax payer's pocket.


Roy
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