Tuesday, May 25, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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Like most people, I am sick and tired of being annoyed by robocalls. We have a device that is supposed to stop a lot of them but many still come through the filters. They are usually “because you have stayed at our hotel,” “your car warranty is due to expire,” “this is Windows and you have a serious problem,” and lately, “you have a serious legal problem.”
The Federal Trade Commission is totally ineffective in stopping this plague after no doubt spending millions trying to do so. Still, there were an estimated 45.9 billion robocalls in 2020 even after the FTC’s ineffective programs.
I suggested years ago a simple solution to stop most of them and was ignored by the FTC, probably because it was so simple and didn’t require hiring thousands of people. I suggest a one-cent tax be placed on each outgoing call in America. This would cripple the robocall industry. Do the math: 45.9 billion times one cent would add $459 million to the robocallers’ cost of doing business, and most of them would cease annoying us all.
For the average citizen who maybe makes 100 calls a month, $1 would be gladly paid to not be annoyed all day long.
I have never supported a new tax scheme but this is one I would heartedly be behind.
