Phones were the freebie du-juor. More inclusively, it'd include welfare in general , food stamps (free food), free education, free homes/mortgages, free healthcare, free retirement, free cars, free transportation, free this, free that.
Some people want everything for free - and politicians desirous of keeping their careers and building the machine are not only willing to give it to them, but realizing just how important freeloaders are to their careers and their goals are desirous of building the base of people who expect everything for free.
And sadly, one of the targets of this government largesse has always been the black community - turning it into a community of people who expect everything for free while forcing them back into the very thing they (and we) struggled so hard to free them from in the first place - slavery. Fortunately, the black community is beginning to realize the damage that's being done to them and are starting to speak up.