Chapter 21 1 Social and Domestic Policy

Female Speaker #1: And I want you to know this is the actual enrollment. Narrator: It was a little bit of good news for an industry with very few friends; the judge ruled the Federal Trade Commission has no jurisdiction to compile the Don’t Call list which already has at least 50 million numbers on it. Male Speaker #1: I think is a shame because I tell ya something, we are bombarded here. Narrator: The FTC called the decision clearly incorrect and on Capital Hill Congressman Billy Tauzin and John Dingell said they are ready to step in. Congressman Billy Tauzin: If the 50 million Americans listening do not call we know. Congressman John Dingell: No, no, no, call the judge. Female Speaker #2: Forty five percent off of the regular retail prices. Male Speaker #2: Thirty percent off your prescription drugs. Female Speaker #1: Only 69 cents per hundred dollars. Narrator: The stakes in this new legal battle are huge for about 4 million workers in the telemarketing industry, people like 23-year-old Alisha Bartlett a single mother in Salina, Kansas who is regularly yelled at, cursed at and hung up on. Alisha Bartlett: I have been called lots of things; an idiot and much worse beyond that. Narrator: And President Bush had a few choice words for Alisha’s industry when he inaugurated the Do Not Call list in the rose garden. President Bush: Unwanted telemarketing calls are intrusive, they are annoying and they are all too common. Alisha Bartlett: I can't believe that he said we were an annoyance you know, I mean that’s our jobs. Narrator: By some pessimistic predictions as many as two million jobs could be lost if the new system goes into effect. Most of them are in small towns like this one where there aren’t many other jobs available. Female Speaker: So you can save as much money as possible.

Content Provided by BBC Motion Gallery Chapter 21 2 Social and Domestic Policy Narrator: Telemarketers say they were looking for ways to become less intrusive when the federal government stepped in and they say they could have done it slowly while saving jobs. Male Speaker #3: In the American system the consuming public tells us what they want, and don’t want, not the federal government. Narrator: But millions of Americans have already told telemarketers they want to be left alone and experts say if the industry thinks one judge’s decision is a victory it’s sadly mistaken. Alisha Bartlett: Thank you for your time.

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