factnotfiction

Just the other day, trump was blaming the demise of the postal system on Amazon and other bulk shippers for using the post office to deliver where they can'/won't.

And as always, the trump congress critters jumped on the bandwagon and refuse to entertain any thought of bailing out the post office

And here is an interesting article reflecting that

**************************************************************************************

There are two big stories this week about a subject that normally sounds painfully boring: the mail. Each is crucially important in its own right, but combined, they presage a nearly apocalyptic threat to American democracy.

The first is that the Donald Trump and Republican Party are engaged in an all-out war against the expansion of mail-in v****g in the era of C****-**. The flimsy outward justification is concern about v***r f***d, but of course, there is no evidence of significant v***r f***d surrounding mail b****ts. In fact, the only major scandal in the modern era around mail-in v****g was a corrupt scheme by Republicans in North Carolina—one that was quickly and easily discovered. Republicans aren’t exactly shy about why they want to restrict the expansion of access to mail v****g: they think that the more people are allowed to v**e, the better Democrats will do against them. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Republicans are far less concerned about the v***s than are Democrats, and that in battleground states with Republican legislatures like Wisconsin, there are far more polling places per capita in red districts than blue ones, which means not only longer lines but more dangerous crowding at polling places. It only adds to the Republican turnout advantage if most people have to v**e in person.

The opposition to mail v****g is amusing given that it has traditionally been advantageous to Republicans, and even now doesn’t much benefit one party or the other. But facing e*******l calamity after four years of Trump, plus a disastrous epidemic response and looming recession, Republicans clearly feel their best shot at keeping power is if as few people are allowed to safely v**e as possible. It’s a fundamentally immoral stance at odds with the principles of democracy itself. Unfortunately, taking self-serving positions contrary to values of basic decency is a hallmark of Republicanism under Donald Trump. It’s not a bug; it’s a feature.

The second story involves the Post Office itself. The United States Postal Service is set to run out of money by September. The previous round of emergency c****av***s aid did not take the long-beleaguered Postal Service into account. Conservative policymakers have been eyeing the USPS with hungry privatizing chops for a long time, and have been hamstringing it with ridiculous provisions like forcing the USPS to take into account 50 years of pension payments in advance in its budget, which no other corporation or public agency has to do.

Donald Trump loves to talk about what a “great American company” FedEx is, and conservatives would love to eliminate the postal service and give all of its operations to private shipping companies and private equity. Of course, long gone would be the days of sending a letter from coast to coast in a few days for a fraction of a dollar, but since when was that sort of thing a concern for Republicans? It’s just like with libraries. If the Postal Service didn’t already exist and you proposed it, it would be considered a ridiculous and wasteful socialist fantasy. In the modern era, Republicans would make sure it never came into being. Mainstream Democrats would means-test it so that everyone would have to fill out tax statements in triplicate to make sure that no one making over a certain amount got a free mailbox.

Are these two stories merely a coincidence? Perhaps. It is possible that just as Republicans are attempting to thwart v**e-by-mail to reduce v**er turnout in a p******c, they also just so happen to be defunding the Postal Service.

But what if it’s not? What if the plan is an explicit attempt to cripple the mail system itself as yet another argument against mail-in v****g, providing them an excuse to force people to v**e in person in a p******c or not v**e at all? It would be a villainous plot straight out of a James Bond film. But that doesn’t mean it’s not real, especially given the current administration. Even if it’s not intentional, the combined effect of both acts of bad faith would certainly be convenient for deeply unpopular conservatives whose only chance of holding onto ill-gotten power is to thwart democracy itself.

Democrats would do well to act as if they were facing opponents with the depraved moral instincts of a Bond villain, and think proactively. Any future assistance on legislation to Trump and McConnell over the coming year should be predicated on both saving the Postal Service and ensuring access to mail-in v****g across the country. An e******n in which one side is lulled into complacency about a p******c and has lots of polling places available, while the other is rightfully concerned for the public good and being crushed by long lines and crowded locations, is no true e******n at all. It’s a mockery of democracy and cannot be allowed to stand.

Sew_What

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution, known as the Postal Clause or the Postal Power, empowers Congress "To establish Post Offices and Post Roads".

....yea, let them try, it's in the Constitution...

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

If the democrats are so concerned about the USPS why didn't they include them in their stimulus package instead of the Kennedy Center and the arts and Museum? Liberal democratic socialist is almost getting funny.

Redangel62

As well as support i******s and the a******n industry.

woodguru

The GOP has been after privatizing the postal service for several administrations, they have defunded, underfunded, refused to let them implement revenue strategies such as retail sales of shipping supplies, made them set up retirement fund reserves that no private or government entity has ever had to fund in such a short period...all in an effort to break the postal service so that it could be privatized and cost the government far more money than it does.

So how much of a priority is the USPS compared to the airline industry (that is privately owned and will survive), or the ethanol industry (that we can do without very well)? The postal service is a no brainer, there is nothing to think about here unless there is a conspiracy to destroy it and hand it over to a private entity.

So we know if the postal service fails, the government is going to step in and spend billions to a private corporation to resurrect it. The private entity would have creative ways to use the retirement fund to offset expenses (read pillage these funds). Privatization would cost the government and people vast sums of money both short term and long term. The private entities are of the belief that people would pay far more to send items, and they would not be restricted as to other ways to create revenues with that entity, such as retail sales that the GOP was so dead set against.

woodguru

They did include it, at least $450 Billion that Mnuchin can use to help hard hit businesses, and the USPS is being hit hard, and is a far higher priority than airlines or oil companies. How much do you think it would take to help keep the post office afloat? I'll bet it isn't the $28 Billion Mnuchin thinks airlines "need".

roy

One reason trump agreed with money for the Kennedy center money.we don't know if democrates try ed to get money for the post office or not,it could have been a trade off for mitchs suntan lotion company in kentucky. Younger people don't depend on the post office like the older generation does.But if trump let's the post office go under many million of seniors will be highly pissed off.

roy

One reason trump said he would not sign the bill if it had help for the post office.And by the way trump said he agreed with money for the Kennedy center.Trump has made it clear for sometime he wants the post office gone,hecwants to hand it over to his buddies,I just wonder if he knows or cares how many millions of people especially seniors that depend on the post office.Sure be alot of v**es to loose.

laurig

Judging from the kind of service I have received lately I think it is already dead--

woodguru

You guys are so easily outraged about the silliest things, how much did the Kennedy center get? How does that compare to $28 Billion for airlines?

Peewee Loc: San Antonio, TX

I worked for USPS right after I graduated high school in 1972. They were losing money then and every year since. A board runs the USPS and they can raise rates on a lot of things. The board is the problem. A cushy job, you can't be fired, and you can run it in the red for decades. Things only government workers can get away with. If Trump can fix the VA can the USPS be very far behind?

Armageddun Loc: The show me state