What is the role of Government? The question seems simple. Yet disagreements over the answer have given rise to nations; including our own. And we still argue its merit. The basic responsibilities of our government - to maintain order, protect us from domestic and foreign threats, pass and enforce laws designed to protect us, and uphold our God-given rights – are generally agreed upon. But anything outside of that is up for debate. I recently did a story where I asked people their opinions on this, and the responses were interesting.

My story centered on a little-known Federal Government program called LifeLine. It started in 1984 as a way to provide land line phones to low income earners. But like many government programs, it quickly expanded. In 2007, when land line phones were king, the program cost $800 million. Today it's $1.3 billion, thanks to the rise of cell phones. To keep pace, the government started to give free cell phones with 250 minutes a month. Pennsylvania got on board a few years back.

The government justified the program by saying it helped people get connected with family, employers and emergency services, when needed.

CBS-21 spoke to one government employee who said this: “We held our national LifeLine Awareness Week in September of this year, right around the flooding. Many people were stuck in their homes during the flooding and if you are stuck in your home and water is coming up to your doorstep and you don’t have telephone service, what are you going to do?”

Now, we learn the government wants to expand the program again to include subsidized internet service to low income earners. According to the FCC, the current program is outdated because high speed broadband is vital in today's world. The federal government says reforms will fix admitted accountability and efficiency problems within the program (it turns out single homes were getting multiple subsidies). So when it expands it should be more effective.

When news broke of LifeLine's possible expansion, I was assigned to get reaction from the community. I assumed it would be easy to get both sides of the story. I was wrong. I couldn't find anyone who supported the program.

One person said, “I don't think it's fair for the people who are working hard. I don't think the poor should be handed something for free.”

Another stated, “I feel like it's the same people who get all the perks. It kind of bothers me. I pay for my stuff. I feel low income people get everything.”

One woman added, “It seems like we give too much money away. We need to be smarter. Giving things away is not the way to improve.”

One man said he would be fine with the program if the internet was only utilized for job searches or continuing education. But he felt most people would abuse it, so he was against it.

For this story, I spoke to people in various age brackets and cultural backgrounds. I'm quite certain they do not vote for similar politicians, yet they were all opposed to this program - which politicians fund with our money.

The American experiment was founded upon self reliance and limited government. Over the course of our nation's history, we have shown a willingness to venture beyond the Founding Fathers' original Constitutional intend and bestow upon the federal government broader powers. But the line concerning the government's role has to be drawn somewhere; apparently that line is at free cell phones and internet.

Chris Papst is a two-time Emmy award winning reporter for CBS-21. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter@chrispapst.