- Joined
- Apr 19, 2008
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As a kid, I lived way out in the boondocks. I'd read all the books at the tiny village public library. The USPS was my lifeline to the larger world. Kinda like Elly in this feel-good story about the USPS.
Seriously, read it, it's wonderful.
The USPS hasn't received Federal monies in years; postage stamps pay the costs. But the problems of a crippling legal requirement that retirement/pension monies be fully funded in advance (unlike any other U.S. business), and the growth of the Internet have caused some money problems.
Now, when we need delivery to our homes, and an increase need for mail-in absentee ballots, USPS is really hurting. Some of this is because the bulk mail (catalogs, etc.) that pays the way for other mail is not being sent right now because of self-isolation, essential workers only, etc. That's a big drop in income.
The Senate has proposed special Coronavirus funding as part of a bill with several measures for financial and medical aid of various kinds; Trump says he'll veto any bill that gives any funding to the USPS.
Trump has been overtly hostile to the USPS. He called it a joke. His idiotic assertion is that the USPS needs to raise prices just for Amazon. His reason? Trump doesn't like Jeff Bezos, who owns Amazon, because Trump doesn't like the Washington Post, also owned by Amazon. In other words Trump wants to hurt Bezos by hurting the USPS and all of us who depend on it.
The beauty of the USPS, established in our Constitution, is that everyone is the same. Everyone pays the same flat rate for first class mail. You can get your first class letter on a dirt road in northern Maine or in Los Angeles, for the same flat rate. We're equal.
So do yourself and a friend a solid. Buy some USPS stamps or some notecards or postcards. Mail some letters. Let someone know you're thinking about them or missing them.
And leave your carrier a thank you note. They have a rough job at the best of times. It's really hard now.
Seriously, read it, it's wonderful.
The USPS hasn't received Federal monies in years; postage stamps pay the costs. But the problems of a crippling legal requirement that retirement/pension monies be fully funded in advance (unlike any other U.S. business), and the growth of the Internet have caused some money problems.
Now, when we need delivery to our homes, and an increase need for mail-in absentee ballots, USPS is really hurting. Some of this is because the bulk mail (catalogs, etc.) that pays the way for other mail is not being sent right now because of self-isolation, essential workers only, etc. That's a big drop in income.
The Senate has proposed special Coronavirus funding as part of a bill with several measures for financial and medical aid of various kinds; Trump says he'll veto any bill that gives any funding to the USPS.
Trump has been overtly hostile to the USPS. He called it a joke. His idiotic assertion is that the USPS needs to raise prices just for Amazon. His reason? Trump doesn't like Jeff Bezos, who owns Amazon, because Trump doesn't like the Washington Post, also owned by Amazon. In other words Trump wants to hurt Bezos by hurting the USPS and all of us who depend on it.
The beauty of the USPS, established in our Constitution, is that everyone is the same. Everyone pays the same flat rate for first class mail. You can get your first class letter on a dirt road in northern Maine or in Los Angeles, for the same flat rate. We're equal.
So do yourself and a friend a solid. Buy some USPS stamps or some notecards or postcards. Mail some letters. Let someone know you're thinking about them or missing them.
And leave your carrier a thank you note. They have a rough job at the best of times. It's really hard now.