Posted on 09/08/2020 1:27:38 PM PDT by Kaslin
The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way American society values essential services and workers. Americans are developing a stronger appreciation for grocery stores, food delivery apps, and frontline healthcare facilities. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) also ranks high on this list as they continue to provide affordable service to millions of Americans.
Despite the fact that U.S. consumers rate USPS as America’s most essential business, the Postal Service finds itself in the crosshairs of a political effort to hobble the agency during a moment when it is needed most. Back in the spring, in the final hours of negotiations, emergency funding for USPS in the Phase III COVID-19 relief package was eliminated from the legislation entirely and replaced with borrowing authority conditioned on the Postal Service dramatically raising prices on package delivery services.
The imposition of a package tax would harm millions of American businesses and consumers -- particularly those in rural areas -- when it comes to the delivery of life-saving medications and social security checks and the ability of small businesses to compete and connect with customers.
Americans aren’t divided on this issue either. There is overwhelming support for providing the Postal Service emergency relief for emergency needs and in opposition to significant package rate hikes. In a poll conducted by Hart Research, 7 of 10 Americans oppose a “package tax” on package shipping. Meanwhile, 68% of Republicans, 77% of Independents and 87% of Democrats support emergency financial assistance to keep the agency running.
Access to Critical Healthcare
The Postal Service also plays an important role as part of the U.S. healthcare system, providing access for millions of Americans to the treatments they need to address chronic conditions. The Postal Service delivered over a billion prescriptions in 2019, and that number has gone up significantly as Americans increasingly turn to the Postal Service for medicine during the pandemic. Almost 90 percent of prescriptions shipped in the U.S. are delivered via the Postal Service. Unlike private carriers, the Postal Service operates as a public service. This allows the agency to deliver to every address in the nation and keep prices lower than those of private services.
Without the Postal Service America’s rural residents would no longer have access to affordable prescription delivery services. Individuals who don’t drive, have a disability or lack access to a pharmacy or healthcare facility would be stranded in a delivery desert with few options to access the treatments they need. Veterans are especially reliant on the affordable delivery services provided by the Postal Service to get the care they need. Nearly 100 percent of the mail-order prescription medicines issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are delivered by the Postal Service.
Economic Lifeline
During this time of economic uncertainty, the reliable delivery of packages and mail by the Postal Service is a critical source of stability for Americans. The Postal Service’s nationwide delivery network ensures that seniors continue to receive their social security checks and medications, families spread out across the U.S. can stay connected and e-commerce companies and small businesses can still deliver goods to consumers. If the Postal Service is forced to cease operations it would be especially harmful for small businesses and consumers in remote and rural areas, where private carriers either don’t operate at all, or they charge “rural surcharges”, which is the case in more than 20,000 U.S. zip codes.
A full 18 percent of Americans pay their bills through the mail, and more than 14 million Americans in rural areas have limited access to broadband. Residents of rural communities will continue to rely on the Postal Service to bank and pay bills. An inability to bank, pay bills and execute transactions would further alienate rural residents from economic activity and have a dire toll on rural communities as we enter an economic downturn that already has so many struggling.
Private Carriers Won’t Carry the Load
These scenarios make a strong argument for why we need an affordable, reliable and universal mail and package delivery network that can reach all Americans. But why couldn’t private carriers fill in those gaps in the absence of the Postal Service? Because meeting that service obligation would not be profitable for them.
The Postal Service is required by law to deliver to every postal address in every region of the country at a flat rate. An especially important mandate when you consider rural communities, where many residents cannot afford to pay a private carrier to deliver their essential goods. Reliance on private entities could further isolate already vulnerable populations. Private carriers don’t deliver to remote and rural areas because it isn’t profitable to do so. They depend on the Postal Service to do that for them. There would be no incentive to pick up that slack if the Postal Service went away, leaving those Americans stranded and without delivery access.
The U.S. postal system is the largest and most complex public delivery service in the world. Six days a week, USPS connects more than 159 million delivery addresses, in every corner of every state. Its services contribute more than $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy and support over 7.5 million jobs.
Fortunately, there is a movement in the Senate to shore up this critical service. The Postal Service Emergency Assistance Act would provide much-needed financial support for the Postal Service to cover revenue losses and operational expenses at the hands of COVID-19.
The Senate and our country’s lawmakers must do everything in their power to ensure this relief is achieved. Our country depends on it.
If Kramer is not careful he’s gonna get a visit from the Postmaster General who is pissed because he had to cancel a round of golf with the Secretary of State.
“Private carriers don’t deliver to remote and rural areas because it isn’t profitable to do so. “
We hear the same argument here in Canada. It’s bogus.
The current postal-service model relies on cross-subsidization, where revenues from (otherwise) profitable routes are used to subsidize unprofitable routes. Cross-subsidization within a monopoly service is not the only way to ensure service in rural and remote areas, at the same standards and price prevailing in densely-packed areas.
One simple alternative: identify these loss-making areas, and put contracts to service them up for bid. Service standards (price, time, etc.) would be spelled out clearly. The contract would go the low bidder. That would require the government to make an explicit subsidy, for service to each of those loss-making areas — but, it would also leave the remainder of the service making a profit.
I think this guy was pulling over at the beginning of his route and pulling out all the junk mail. Or what he considered junk mail. He would dump it later. it supposedly made his job a lot easier with out having to carry all the junk mail. He doesn’t realize that without the bulk mail the US Post Office would go bankrupt. A catch 22 I guess
The USPS gets paid for its delivery whether it gets delivered or not.
We'd have to do without bundles of phony mail-in ballots that DeepState USPS workers would have stamped with predated postmarks.
During and after the Civil War most towns had mail drop points. At times in Churches and other times in hardware stores.
USPS is not indispensable.
Then there is always technology, develop local printing point for letters with security and print them in town they are routed for.
Most people are capable of printing important letters from .pdf files.
Legal documents have paper backup, but the court houses all use electronic format to keep up with property ownership. Tax offices keep it all on computer, but can print any of it quickly.
Now, if the day ever comes when the power is gone and Communications are down, it will be a little dicey. We have 2 portable welder type power supplies. I have 3 solar panels, have had them a very long time.
The Amazon delivery fleet already gets expanded every year during holiday shopping season with U-Haul, Budget, and Penske rental trucks.
Problem solved.
I haven’t seen any here in the exurbs, just USPS.
I take that back, I’ve seen them in the virtue signalling ads about becoming 100% green energy by 2045, or something like that...
If the USPS is going to stay in business, then it needs a complete re-think and overhaul-and it isn’t needed 6 days per week, either-re-do it so it makes a profit or just let private carriers bid for the mail contract every 2 years...
I live in a rural area that is fairly remote-UPS, FedEx and even Amazon delivers out here-and even better, UPS and FedEx come all the way down your long driveway-mine is just under 200 feet-a short one-and leave your packages-of any size-on your porch/deck/patio if you ask them to-USPS rural carriers just throw your small and medium sized packages at your gate-or cram the smallest into the mailbox-large packages-meaning anything the carrier doesn’t want to lift-you will have to drive 11 miles to the rural substation and pick up. Is it any wonder most people out here choose delivery of stuff by private carrier?
I have no need to the USPS. I get most mail and activities done online. Anything mailed to me is purely redundant. If I need to mail something, private companies like FedEx, UPS or others are there as in an capitalistic society.
JoMa
...VERY few Amazon items come via USPS.
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Small, lightweight items do. And many retailers offer a *savings* (less and less difference, though) if you accept an extra 3-5 days delivery time where the initial part of the transit is through USP, FedEx or DHL delivering to the USPS, who does the final delivery.
I don’t remember the last time I sent snailmail or got any other than junk mail-I started getting my bills via email and paying them by bank draft as soon as that service became available-seems like forever since I bought a stamp-I don’t know anyone who doesn’t do the same thing, even out here in the boonies...
I follow boondocking RV YouTube channels, and there are many non-USPS means to get Amazon packages out in "deep country". The blue trucks may not be there, but the product gets delivered. And I know that my super rural former home town has UPS (and likely FedEx).
...use the post office daily to mail packages for my little tiny business...
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When I was in business, I used USPS to mail out the small retail orders and FedEx or UPS for wholesale.
USPS will even pick up your small packages if you want. Either I would put them in the mail box w/the flag up or leave a note if the package was too large for the box. I did all the address labels and postage through PayPal. Or I could generate the label and pay via computer and just drop them at the PO and there was a box for outgoing packages if my schedule didn’t coincide with USPS hours. This all saved me the time it takes to drive to the Post Office and the charges were the same.
It was affordable and efficient.
Get our mail from a more reliable service?
Once again tonight the USPS was supposed to have delivered a package to me (originally by 3:30), but around 6:15 the carrier must have pooped out and so reported “no access” to my house.
Get our mail.
Mow the lawn easier.
Just wait till you see what they do with mail-in ballots.
I wouldn’t exactly trust a private company to do a better job.
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