Why aren't those who stutter & stammer charged a lower per-minute rate, on long distance telephone calls?

jack: then using that logic, would someone who is a slow talker be eligible for a lower rate, also? to the phone company, a minute is a minute, an hour is an hour, a month is a month.

And discrimination based on handicap, is a violation, I have been told, of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The playing field must be “level” for EVERYONE!

September 6, 2008, 1:20 PM EDT

jack: i am a little confused by your comment and how it relates to what you asked. in your question, it seems as if you are saying someone with a stutter should get a discount. in your comment, it seems you are saying they should not. or did i misunderstand. if you were commenting on my comment, i was not saying there should be discrimination based on handicaps. i was saying i don’t see how having a stutter should make the rates be different. am i misunderstanding you or am i misunderstanding you?

You are misunderstanding me. But that’s OK. I’ve been misunderstood, most of my life.

People with genuine physical problems should be given, IMHO, special considerations or dispensations (using the non-theological definition of “an exemption from some rule or obligation”), as, for example, a dog can ride on a city bus, if it is accompanying a blind person.

Stutterers/Stammerers have no control over their speech patterns, unless they are reading aloud from something, or have their words memorized, before speaking them, and this means that it is sometimes very difficult for them to speak extemporaneously, especially during impromptu telephone conversations.

I’m saying that if a person does indeed have a genuine speech problem, that telephone companies should charge a lower per-minute rate, simply because it takes longer (sometimes) for those afflicted to communicate with others, and they should not be penalized because of that, with the same rates as someone not “restricted” to taking more time to make thier points in a conversation.

I’ve seen this brought up before at public PUC hearings (when a telephone company is seeking rate increases) and even though telephone company officials and PUC panelists express sympathy for the handicapped person speaking, nothing is ever done about it, and I think something should finally be done to address this problem, until such time as flat-rate monthly charges (including unlimited long-distance) become “the norm” at telephone companies, universally.

I believe that cell phone users no longer pay for long-distance per-minute charges. At least, that is my situation. Every call is charged at the same rate, regardless of distance.

September 6, 2008, 1:51 PM EDT

A one legged person should only have to buy one shoe and pay half price for a pair of pants. A person missing fingers should only have to pay for 3/5ths of a glove. The blind shouldn’t have to pay for anything because they can’t see it.

Those who make fun of the speech-impaired, are truly disgusting to me.

They are the same kind of people who point and laugh, at a mentally-retarded busboy, or a paraplegic in a wheelchair.

September 6, 2008, 2:53 PM EDT

HOW do you come up with this stuff?!!!

I’m just naturally BRILLIANT, I guess.

September 6, 2008, 5:47 PM EDT

if it’s any help, it seems most phone companies have the phone bill part of a bundle, where you pay one price for the phone part anyway, at least that’s been my experience the past few years/areas i’ve lived. gone are the days i spend $8 for an hour conversation with a friend a few counties away.

Should men with erectile dysfunction and delayed ejaculation pay less per hour for escort services? Just something to explore.

In both instances, a commodity is being exhausted in larger amounts due to an individual’s physical disability. What do you think, jack?

Before I can answer that question, you will need to supply proof that there are any “escorts” who are paid “per hour,” and exactly how I may contact them, to utilize their services.