The Postal Service and Democracy

Dear Mr. President,
I watched a panel discussion on the plight of the U.S. Postal Service and the financial crisis caused by Congress’s demand that the USPS fund health benefits for retirees 75 years into the future, their refusal to refund $11 billion in overpayment of pension benefits, their refusal to allow the postal service to sell other products as services in many other countries do, their reluctance to let them raise rates and yet, their insistence that they be self-sustaining. From out here on the hustings it’s pretty clear that there’s a conscious, concerted effort to put the USPS out of business and that was the view of 3 of the 4 panelists, but that 4^th panelist, a young right wing privatization hawk, was frightening in her religious fervor and absolute certainty in the power and benefits of privatization. She simply ignored any fact that challenged her dogma, believed privatization would free the postal service to become more efficient and profitable and dismissed the unreasonable burden of the USPS having to pay $5.5 billion a year for future health benefits with “every company has to fund their pension benefits,”—ignoring the fact that no company or government agency has ever been required to fund them 75 years in advance—and on and on. Most frightening however, is that this young woman—and there are many more like her—has no concept of what democracy is, no concept of community or compassion or the greater good; only “efficiency,” “profit,” “privatization.” As one of the panelists pointed out, “In small towns and rural areas, the post office is the glue that holds the communities together.” A postal service is a fundamental part of a democracy. The young right-winger countered that comment by saying that writing letters and delivering mail are no longer necessary; there are other ways to communicate today – email, smart phones, fax machines… and besides, the post office obviously doesn’t charge enough or they’d be breaking even. Look at Fed Ex and UPS. They’re thriving.” Your silence on the Congressionally-manufactured crisis in the USPS speaks volumes, Mr. President. Another pillar of democracy is on the ropes, another service for the greater good on the verge of being wiped out. We are no longer first in the industrialized world in much of anything except war. You are not the sole cause of this, your predecessors had a lot to do with it, but you seem to be going along with the program and that does not bode well for the future of America.