Postal Service deserves permanent bailout

[struggle4progress]

APR. 14, 2020
By Eric Levitz

Imagine if the United States had a federal agency so well run that it had maintained a 90 percent approval rating even as the public’s trust in other institutions had cratered. Imagine this entity also created hundreds of thousands of high-quality, middle-class jobs at a time when such positions were in short supply — while providing a valuable, publicly subsidized service to rural areas in desperate need of federal support.

Now, let’s say that some historic calamity dealt the U.S. a massive economic blow, triggering Great Depression–era levels of joblessness this year and putting America on pace to suffer upwards of 9 percent unemployment through the end of 2021. Let’s further stipulate that this crisis also happened to make the overwhelmingly popular agency’s services indispensable for meeting consumers’ needs and preserving the integrity of U.S. elections.

Finally, let’s say American taxpayers could fully fund this hypothetical agency for about $14 billion a year — in other words, for about one-tenth of the amount of money Congress has added to the Pentagon’s annual budget since Donald Trump took office.

Would you describe this agency as disastrously unaffordable and demand that it slash jobs, reduce employee benefits, and cut service to low-density areas as soon as possible? ...

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/the-postal-service-bailout-coronavirus-covid-19-congress.html

[struggle4progress]

1. No bailout for one of the country's largest veteran employers

ELIZABETH HOWE
APRIL 14, 2020 - 12:41 PM

With 97,000 veteran employees, the United States Postal Service is one of the country’s largest veteran employees — and it’s facing significant financial hardship at the hands of coronavirus.

Postal workers are needed now more than ever to deliver essentials across the country including prescriptions, food, household necessities and — of course — mail. But the USPS has projected it will lose more than $22 billion over the next 18 months as a result of the virus. Long term, that deficit could reach $54 billion and “threaten our ability to operate.”

“As Americans are urged to stay home, the importance of the mail will only grow as people, including those in rural areas and senior citizens, will need access to vital communications, essential packages and other necessities,” Megan J. Brennan, postmaster general and CEO said in a statement Friday.

“As Congress and the administration take steps to support businesses and industries around the country, it is imperative that they also take action to shore up the finances of the Postal Service, and enable us to continue to fulfill our indispensable role during the pandemic, and to play an effective role in the nation’s economic recovery,” Brennan added ...

https://connectingvets.radio.com/articles/no-coronavirus-bailout-for-usps-veteran-employer

[Cha]

3. That's an excellent point! This needs to be known

far and wide!

SOPO!

[Cha]

2. Thank Goodness people are writing about this!

Save Our Post Office!

SOPO!

[Brother Buzz]

4. I hear the orange anus will fully fund the Post Office.....

as soon as they announce the new Donald J. Trump stamp.

[sorcrow]

8. Trump stamp, it'll never work.

People will spit on the wrong side!

Best regards,
Crow

[murielm99]

9. +1,000!

[struggle4progress]

5. Bail out USPS

By The Pitt News Editorial Board
APRIL 12, 2020

... Congressional Democrats, for the most part, are advocating to prioritize USPS in upcoming relief bills. Republicans, meanwhile, are largely opposed to expanding government funding to anything other than small businesses right now. The Trump administration rejected the bailout on Saturday, which wasn’t unexpected, considering Trump’s long standing battle with USPS stemming from the conservative ideology that postal service should be privatized.

If the government doesn’t provide funding for USPS, we’re all going to feel the repercussions. It won’t just affect employees. It will likely harm every American who relies on USPS for anything — which is essentially anyone who sends or receives mail. In the time of COVID-19, mail service is more important than ever.

To put it simply, use of the mail system has plummeted in the past few weeks due to the coronavirus. Without government intervention, USPS employees will be laid off, adding to the already astronomical unemployment rate the country is already facing — the worst since 1940, in fact.

And should the USPS continue on its downward trend, citizens should expect to see reduced mail service. This means mail will take longer to reach its destination and might not be delivered daily. Due to stay-at-home orders and additional precautions, many people are relying on mail service right now to get their critical medications in a safe way. Given the size of the United States, if mail service is underfunded or becomes privatized, then people could be waiting days longer to receive medicine. It will also likely increase the price of postage itself, making mail in general less accessible ...

https://pittnews.com/article/157137/opinions/editorial-bail-out-usps/

[Under The Radar]

6. Congress makes them pay $5 billion a year in pension funds

....and they are 50 years ahead. Meaning that any future postal worker that is born today his pension is already funded.
Just allow them to keep two or three years of that.

[struggle4progress]

7. Would reject bailout package if it included aid to USPS

CONNOR PERRETT
APR 12, 2020, 5:33 AM

... In addition to the senior White House official, The Washington Post reported a congressional official also confirmed the president threatened to refuse to sign the $US2.2 trillion stimulus package known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act if it contained any relief money for the postal service.

As The Post reported, Sens. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, and Ron Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, added a last-minute $US10 billion loan to keep the postal service function in the short-term. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had said lawmakers’ plan to offer $US13 billion in funding to the postal service could derail the entire package.

“You can have a loan or you can have nothing at all,” Mnuchin said.

.... lawmakers last month warned that the postal service could shut down in less than three months ...

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/trump-rejects-bailout-that-included-aid-to-usps-report-says-2020-4

[c-rational]

10. K&R The Post Office is not just another busines, but an endearing Anerican institution. It must be

saved.

[lastlib]

11. Sure, I would "describe this agency as disastrously unaffordable and....

...demand that it slash jobs, reduce employee benefits, and cut services....." --IF I was a block-headed, greedy Repuglikan blood-sucking leech who salivated over the idea of killing it so greedy profiteers like me and my buddy Jarvanka could swoop in and take over its business while raising prices, busting its union, turning its employees into overworked automatons, gouging its customers at POS, so I could rake in obscene profits, AND destroy American institutions for Vladdy-Daddy.

Yeah, IF I was a repug, I'd do that.