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It's not fair that people who work, save, and pay for their cell phones are forced to fund the Lifeline program that pads the pockets of people like Carlos Slim, the foreign billionaire who has repeatedly been named the World's Richest Man.

The cell phone companies add to the problem. Every one they give out, they get money for from the federal government. So they have an incentive to give as many away as possible. And that's exactly what they're doing, and they're making a killing.

So you keep raising these taxes, and all of a sudden the business community says, 'Why are we here? We can go someplace else and use their phones.' That's one of the problems that directly affects the business community.

Telephones are a virtual necessity - not a luxury - and the revenues collected by this tax flow into the general fund. But this once temporary tax remains and costs American taxpayers, our small businesses and families almost $6 billion dollars a year.

The cellphone is humanity's biggest platform. If we can't use it to change education or health care, then shame on us.

A lot of individuals out there carry a lot of proprietary information on their mobile devices, and they're not protected. It's a very target-rich environment.

Should the federal government be giving people cellphones?

Inexpensive phones and pay-as-you go services are already spreading mobile phone technology to many parts of that world that never had a wired infrastructure.

People are very protective of their cell phones, how it's used, where it's used and how much it costs. It has become a very personal issue for a whole lot of people in this country.