$9.95 Comcast internet if your child gets Free Lunches, + $150 netbook and computer training

9.95 Comcast internet if your child gets Free Lunches
http://internetessentials.com/index.html

If you're eligible you can also qualify for a $150 netbook and computer training.

It's a 1.5 Mb line, about enough for non-hd Netflix/youtube. Since it's cable it'll be plenty fast for gaming.

To qualify for $9.95 a month Internet service and a low-cost computer, your household must meet all these criteria:

Be located where Comcast offers Internet service
Have at least one child receiving free school lunches through the National School Lunch Program
Have not subscribed to Comcast Internet service within the last 90 days
Not have an overdue Comcast bill or unreturned equipment

How to apply

Call 1-855-8-INTERNET (1-855-846-8376) to request an application
We will mail you an application. Complete and return it, along with lunch program documents from your child's school
We will notify you by mail about the status of your application. Allow 7-10 days for a response

thanks LucaBella / Screaming_Fork

this is not a hot deal for taxpayers

It is a good deal for taxpayers - who work and still qualify for the free lunch program. Family of 4 qualifies at $37K. While it may be slower than other options, it is still better than no internet.

I don't know if senior (No Kids) low income will qualify for this deal?

skh12 said:   this is not a hot deal for taxpayers

How so? This is a Comcast deal, not a government welfare program.

And to your point, I got free lunches as a kid during years when work was rough for my dad, a carpenter. Small things like that allowed us to afford to stay in a better school district. A neighbor who worked for IBM gave us his old computer when I was 8, and a few years later I took to programming. Thanks to government loans and grants, I got a lot out of state university when some of my classmates couldn't afford to stay.

Now I am filing as a single person in the 28% bracket. I pay a crapload of taxes, and I probably will for the next 40 years, thanks to the American Dream of social mobility. I am one less technologist in the private sector that had to be hired overseas. Many of my classmates who were on the free lunch program are damn hard workers in highly scientific or high-demand jobs. If anything, that shame of having to show the little pink card was motivation enough to say, "I can do better than this" and appreciate what little we did have. But you're right. We should let free-loading 8-year-olds go hungry to save a few bucks, because it's bad for the economy.

danielle5985 said:   skh12 said:   this is not a hot deal for taxpayers

How so? This is a Comcast deal, not a government welfare program.

Unfortunately, there is no way to know if anyone will register their children for the free lunch program when they otherwise would not to get this deal.

Ultimately, although this may be a genuine attempt to help the less fortunate, incentives like this discourage many from improving their economic situation. Why work work harder to increase your wages when you get keep getting free lunches and cheap internet for staying at the same level?

I guess I can check it out and let you know
thanx

My kid says that most of his classmates that are on welfare, food stamps, free lunch, whatever, all have really nice smartphones with 4G internet. It really bugs him since he has a cheapo TracFone with basic service. I'm sure this would really grind his gears.

harlock001 said:   My kid says that most of his classmates that are on welfare, food stamps, free lunch, whatever, all have really nice smartphones with 4G internet. It really bugs him since he has a cheapo TracFone with basic service. I'm sure this would really grind his gears.

How do YOU or YOUR kid know that those parents are on welfare or get food stamps?? you all need to take the $$ you save on these forums and go buy you some business to mind.

NONE of these judgmental comments have a THING to do with Comcast trying to expand their customer base....

my family doesnt qualify for free/reduced lunch nor do my kids have a cell phone at all...but we have FIOS....

spacejamz said:   
Ultimately, although this may be a genuine attempt to help the less fortunate, incentives like this discourage many from improving their economic situation. Why work work harder to increase your wages when you get keep getting free lunches and cheap internet for staying at the same level?

You're right. I should have never graduated high school; I lost my ticket to the free lunch and crappy internet gravy train.

harlock001 said:   My kid says that most of his classmates that are on welfare, food stamps, free lunch, whatever, all have really nice smartphones with 4G internet. It really bugs him since he has a cheapo TracFone with basic service. I'm sure this would really grind his gears. Yeah, well...keep doing what your doing, as one day all these kids with the latest greatest at their fingertips will face reality of having to pay for it; but they will have the nicest of rims on their piece of crap car, lol. Of course it extends into adulthood and all about choices. Ive had to evict someone who hadn't paid rent, but had mentioned Jenny Craig while paying a maintenance visit. Months later, after eviction, saw them eating out at Maggianos Itailan.

danielle5985 said:   spacejamz said:   
Ultimately, although this may be a genuine attempt to help the less fortunate, incentives like this discourage many from improving their economic situation. Why work work harder to increase your wages when you get keep getting free lunches and cheap internet for staying at the same level?

You're right. I should have never graduated high school; I lost my ticket to the free lunch and crappy internet gravy train.

It is unfortunate that there are many people out there with the mindset I described. It is great that you not one of them.

They call them contracts that people get stuck with before they lose their job, are put on disability etc. Maybe they should throw their phones away to please you visually or pay the ridiculous "early termination" fees instead of buying food or paying a bill with that money AND STILL having to find a way to communicate with one another? OR maybe this is a cheaper way to communicate in the end for the family. Phone utility costs are outrageous, many plans come with free phones to sign your life away for a few years and if you don't have cable or a home phone you are probably breaking even in cost's.

WHO CARES? Rarely does the visual image represent the true situation anymore. If that were the case than I would be at least upper middle class and so would all the gardeners my neighbors hire (while we just do it ourselves so we can eat...lol). They drive brand new trucks with $600 monthly payments (at least that is what my ex husband was paying on his truck) but won't pay more than a quarter at a garage sale... IMAGE IS BULLSH!T these days.

JMMfw said:   It is a good deal for taxpayers - who work and still qualify for the free lunch program. Family of 4 qualifies at $37K. While it may be slower than other options, it is still better than no internet.

Except if your family makes 37k a year AND you have a child you're not paying any federal taxes. I can't comment on SS or State.

danielle5985 said:   skh12 said:   this is not a hot deal for taxpayers

How so? This is a Comcast deal, not a government welfare program.

And to your point, I got free lunches as a kid during years when work was rough for my dad, a carpenter. Small things like that allowed us to afford to stay in a better school district. A neighbor who worked for IBM gave us his old computer when I was 8, and a few years later I took to programming. Thanks to government loans and grants, I got a lot out of state university when some of my classmates couldn't afford to stay.

Now I am filing as a single person in the 28% bracket. I pay a crapload of taxes, and I probably will for the next 40 years, thanks to the American Dream of social mobility. I am one less technologist in the private sector that had to be hired overseas. Many of my classmates who were on the free lunch program are damn hard workers in highly scientific or high-demand jobs. If anything, that shame of having to show the little pink card was motivation enough to say, "I can do better than this" and appreciate what little we did have. But you're right. We should let free-loading 8-year-olds go hungry to save a few bucks, because it's bad for the economy.

I think the general consensus here is you're the exception, not the rule. It's fantastic you've made something of yourself, but let's face reality here. The majority of these children are not growing up to become business leaders. They're blue collar workers at best.

That being said I'm not proposing we don't give poor children "free" food. While I'm generally a staunch conservative, I believe ALL children should receive food and healthcare at the expense of every taxpayer. Children are our future and if we don't encourage their health and growth, both physically and mentally, how can we expect this country to continue to be what it is?

EDIT: Ouch, what's with all of the red? Is it the fact that I believe we should feed and provide healthcare to all children or the fact that class mobility in the US isn't what it was even 50 years ago?

I TOTALLY AGREE.

harlock001 said:   My kid says that most of his classmates that are on welfare, food stamps, free lunch, whatever, all have really nice smartphones with 4G internet. It really bugs him since he has a cheapo TracFone with basic service. I'm sure this would really grind his gears.

Another great Family Guy show... (link)

And to danielle5985: I am very happy for you. Not all people on welfare have the same outlook on life, money or social mobility as you do. Some people view welfare as a way to make ends meet temporarily (as your family did) while others look at welfare as a life long source of alternate income.

BUT, to stay ON TOPIC, I guess I'm glad to see Comcast offering people that are in a bad spot some assistance.

danielle5985 said:   skh12 said:   this is not a hot deal for taxpayers

How so? This is a Comcast deal, not a government welfare program.

And to your point, I got free lunches as a kid during years when work was rough for my dad, a carpenter. Small things like that allowed us to afford to stay in a better school district. A neighbor who worked for IBM gave us his old computer when I was 8, and a few years later I took to programming. Thanks to government loans and grants, I got a lot out of state university when some of my classmates couldn't afford to stay.

Now I am filing as a single person in the 28% bracket. I pay a crapload of taxes, and I probably will for the next 40 years, thanks to the American Dream of social mobility. I am one less technologist in the private sector that had to be hired overseas. Many of my classmates who were on the free lunch program are damn hard workers in highly scientific or high-demand jobs. If anything, that shame of having to show the little pink card was motivation enough to say, "I can do better than this" and appreciate what little we did have. But you're right. We should let free-loading 8-year-olds go hungry to save a few bucks, because it's bad for the economy.

I have a very similar story. I got free lunches as a kid too for certain periods. I got financial aid to go to college including pell grant money. I'm now an engineer paying back those free lunches several times over and then some with my tax bills. However my dad was an electrician.

sklar said:   Realistically the recipients of this deal are probably getting a cheap, older, used or refurbished modem, and the $10 a month they're paying more than covers the cost of the gear and the minimal bandwidth they're getting. The free school lunch thing is just a metric to identify really low income families who probably cant afford internet service. If they were getting free DOCSIS 3 modems and 20/4 service for free, then the comcast customer base would be paying a little bit to subsidize that...but they arent.

I also grew up with nothing and had to get one of the lunch ladies to make me a free peanut butter sandwich every day. There wasnt a low income program, but someone kept a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread for the poor kids. But you had to ask for it in front of the other kids and the lady that made them made you feel like a schmuck for asking for it. I ended up teaching myself programming and went on to make a six figure salary. Its really about taking advantage of opportunities, trying hard and making a lot of your own 'luck'.

But most poor people make bad decisions and do stupid things with money, so its easy to isolate them and make fun of what they do. Heck, if they made good decisions and were good with money, they wouldnt be poor!

While many decry social programs, both public and private, we drive on publicly funded roads even though lots of people dont own cars. Many of us with kids send them to public schools, while there are lots of people without kids. We depend on fire and police departments, although many of us have never needed them.

Its called 'society'. We do things for the greater good of as many people as we can, and try to help along those less fortunate.

Good on Comcast for offering this program. While it might not be a factor in making poor kids into white collar workers, it'll at least help educate and entertain kids who need it at an affordable price.

For clarity, offering this program was REQUIRED of Comcast for the FCC to certify their merger with NBC. Corporations only care about making money, they have no concept of society. The rubber stamp FCC put a few lame conditions on the merger like this to make a show of the process. This is the price Comcast had to pay to achieve a further lock on a vertically integrated structure with few competitors; when you consider the relatively small number of people this will actually benefit relative to the huge numbers of people who will be herded into a Comcast/NBC product for lack of choice, the cost is unacceptable.

JMMfw said:   It is a good deal for taxpayers - who work and still qualify for the free lunch program. Family of 4 qualifies at $37K. While it may be slower than other options, it is still better than no internet.

I can't imagine raising a family for at 37k, that would be atrocious in the state I live in.

Looks like I see where my tax money is going. And most of the free lunches go in the trash.

Classmates may have free lunch and iPhones with 4g, but it is all what they have. So it is great deal, will share with parents of my school.