The United States Postal Service is federally funded government agency that we take for granted as a utility that will always be there, like roads or water. But the national Post Office is in dire danger. A great deal of the USPS’s budget comes from stamps, and with mail volume (which was already low before this crisis) having dropped 1/3 since the national coronavirus shut down, the Post Office is running out of money and time.
The USPS has requested funding from the federal government to the tune of $89 billion. This is to make up for future losses as well as current shortfalls in budget, which total $67 billion, with $13 alone hitting this month amid the coronavirus crisis. Democratic lawmakers are all for giving this essential service the money they need.
“At a time when America needs the Postal Service more than ever, the reason we are so needed is having a devastating effect on our business,” Megan J. Brennan, the postmaster general, told the New York Times. “The sudden drop in mail volumes, our most profitable revenue stream, is steep and may never fully recover.” Ms. Brennan makes an excellent point, so why isn’t the Post Office getting funded?
Because Donald Trump is a garbage president. That’s why. Trump, failed businessman and failing president, doesn’t like the postal service and thinks they can fix everything by just charging a bit more for packages. “They lose money every time they deliver a package for Amazon or these other internet companies,” our horrible president said. “If they’d raise the prices by, actually a lot, then you’d find out that the post office could make money or break even.”
But … why? Who hates the Post Office? I mean, yes, we all hate going to the post office, but now more than ever the mail is essential for socially distant commerce and just staying sane and alive. The answer, of course, is Republicans hate the Post Office because they hate everything and really love money.
Republicans and “small government” conservatives who would rather no one be taken care of, or have things like roads or healthcare, are all for privatization of the Post Office and have been for years. They see the USPS as a burden but also a way for business to make more money, and would rather see bad service and higher prices (that benefit them) then actually fund the service that all Americans use.
It might be very hard, politically, for Trump to kill the USPS, even if he wants to. #SaveThePostOffice has been trending on Twitter all day, as people realize how bad the situation is. It’s clear the agency needs aid, which should be part of any new stimulus bill, and that we should probably stamp return to sender on Trump as soon as possible.
(via: The New York Times, Image: Pexels)
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