Don’t Write Off The Postal Service

By Darlene Mitchell April 26, 2020 July 2, 2020 Coronavirus COVID-19, Donald J. Trump, President, Government, Mail-In Voting, Social Media, U.S. Postal Service

The post office is in big financial trouble.

The United States Postal Service is in big financial trouble partly related to coronavirus country wide stay home orders and other economic issues.

Don’t Write Off The Postal Service

By Wes Hessel

Laying Post Office

The United States Postal Service (USPS) roots are so deep, they predate the country itself. Benjamin Franklin was appointed by the British Crown in 1737 as Postmaster of Philadelphia. In 1753 he was promoted to one of two Joint Postmasters General for the American colonies. On July 26th, 1775, the Second Continental Congress confirmed Ben Franklin as the first Postmaster General of the United States. In 1792 the congress created the United States Post Office through the Postal Service Act.

Service Oriented

In 1970, postal workers went on strike. They became the first federal employees to engage in collective bargaining. In 1971, the Post Office was reorganized into an independent federal agency and was renamed the United States Postal Service. By 1983, USPS received no public service funding, except as noted by Wikipedia, “subsidies for costs associated with disabled and overseas voters”.

Times Change

with so many business closing, postal delivery has been reduced, along with income.

The closure of so many businesses and colleges has reduced post office income.

The United States Postal Service had surpluses in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. However, first-class mail income peaked in 2001. The agency faced intense competition from FedEx and UPS for parcel and express shipping. Furthermore, email and social media, dramatically reduced Postal income. One national crises followed by another also hurt the Postal Service income. First, 9/11, then the Great Recession and now the COVID-19 pandemic.

At A Loss

The agency has worked hard to advance automation and reduce locations through consolidation. Despite those efforts the agency is still running a major deficit. In 2016, the Postal Service took in about $71.5 billion dollars in revenue, but had an operating loss of about $5.6 billion. A significant chunk of that year’s loss was the $5.8 billion in unpaid required health care costs for retired workers. The congress is working to remove the obligation of those payments and erase the debt of prior defaults. On 2/5/2020, the U.S. House passed The USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382). Mitch McConnell sidelined a parallel bill in the Senate.

They Still Deliver For You

The Postal Service, continues to handle a gigantic volume of letters and packages. Last year the USPS moved 142.6 billion pieces of mail. That included 54.9 billion First Class items, 6.4 billion parcels, and 75.7 billion marketing mail outs, to about 160 million distinct delivery points. A 2012 CNN Money article cited an Oxford Strategic Consulting efficiency study that compared the USPS to mail service in other “G-20” countries. According to the study, the Postal Service handled an average of 268,894 letters per employee. The second most efficient postal service was Australia Post, moving 166,776 pieces per worker. The USPS is easily the most efficient postal service in the world.

Stamp Of Approval

The USPS is the most efficient mail delivery service in the world.

The United States Postal Servoce is the cheapest and most efficient mail delivery service in the world.

Despite complaints to the contrary, the Postal Service continues to be the best buy compared to other nations. Using prevailing costs, the USPS base postage rate was 55 cents. The United States covers 3.8 million square miles, with an average of 85 persons per square mile. By comparison, Japan covers 140,728 square miles, with almost 900 people per square mile, with a base postage rate of 72 cents. Germany covers 134,623 square mile area, with 600 persons per square mile, and Deutsche Post’s letter rate is equal to 84 cents. And up it goes – France’s La Poste serves a nation of 247,270 miles square with a ratio of 271 people per square mile, charging what equals $1.14 in U.S. dollars and cents.

Deliver This!

In 2016, according to Axios.com, the USPS shipped 60% of all Amazon packages. As of May 2019 the US Postal service was second behind Amazon’s own service, Amazon Logistics, delivering a full third of the retail juggernaut’s estimated roughly 7 billion parcels shipped annually worldwide.

Holiday Mail

The busiest time of the year for the Postal Service is the Yuletide season. In November of last year, USPS estimated that it would deliver 20 million packages per day overall, but with an additional 8 million per day through the holidays. The USPS further estimated they would carry (at least the proverbial last-mile) 800 million parcels between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. Clearly, the Postal Service delivers more to homes that any other shipper.

Neither Rain Nor Sleet…

Our mail arrives whether it is raining, snowing or in melting heat.

The mail carrier delivers whether snow or sun.

Although it may not have the same romantic reputation it used to have, mail carriers and other postal employees labor through everything from the potential triple-digit heat in the Southwest in high summer to the deep cold and wind chills of Alaska’s worst winter blasts. They endure interminable retail customer lines and collect bin after bin of last-minute tax returns on April 15th (though not this year…) Now they are working through the current COVID-19 crisis on top of the usual hazards (the weather, dogs, etc.)

Beyond A Courier Service

If you are wondering, the famous saying, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”, is the unofficial motto of the USPS. The motto is carved into the front facade of the James A. Farley Building. The Farley Building, built in 1912, is located in Manhattan, NY, and is the main post office for our largest city. The unofficial motto of the USPS comes from the English translation of a passage from Herodotus’ Histories. The heroes of the quote were the couriers of the Persian Empire’s extensive courier service.

Mailed It

American film and television have had a love/hate affair of sorts with the Postal Service. Television gave us two iconic mail carrier caricature bumblers first on “Cheers” – Cliff Clavin – and then Newman on “Seinfeld”. There are also some very positive images, as well. “The Shop Around the Corner”, the 1940 Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan film classic, has the two falling in love as pen-pals. OK, the 1998 remake “You’ve Got Mail” with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, itself a modern masterpiece, resorted to email…..

Court Kringle

Millions of kids write Santa Claus each year.

In the move Miracle on 34th St. the post office delivered bags of mail addressed to Santa to the court house

One of the greatest moments of holiday films is the scene in the original “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) where the legitimacy of Kris Kringle as the real Santa Claus is established when a team of postal workers delivers bags upon bags of mail addressed to Santa AKA Mr. Kringle to the courthouse where his competency hearing was underway. If the Post Office says he’s the real deal, then who is the jurist in the movie, the Hon. Henry X. Harper, to disagree?

POstables, Post Haste

The most recent United States Postal Service centered media is the television series,“Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, on Hallmark’s Movies & Mysteries channel. It’s stories hub around the four main characters, Oliver, Shane, Rita, and Norman. The four fictional postal workers are assigned to the Dead Letter Office in Denver, Co. Their mission is to deliver previously undeliverable letters and parcels. With providential help, those undeliverable letters get to their destination, usually just at the needed time. The team eventually dubs themselves “The POstables”. The fearless foursome have become cult favorites.

Trump Goes Postal Over The Postal Service

What does “The Donald” have against the USPS? In one of his infamous Twitter tirades in December 2017, he typed: “Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE!”

Behind The Scenes

Donald Trump has proposed privatizing the post office.

For starters, as a Forbes article that month pointed out, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post. That is an important metric; the Washington Post, being a known and dependable critic of the thin-skinned Trump. Secondly, in June 2018 Trump offered a huge government restructuring proposal. That proposal included a section to reorganize the Postal Service, aiming at privatization. It isn’t too hard to imagine Trump allies rubbing their hands greedily at such a potential. Or, perhaps, Trump may see a place in his own corporate empire for a way to benefit from future juicy federal contracts.

Nooo, No

Not surprisingly, the American Postal Workers Union took serious issue with Trump’s proposal. Mark Dimondstein, postal union president warned of the potential dangers. According to Dimondstein, Trump’s privatization plan “would end regular mail and package services at an affordable cost”. Rural residents and online business would be the most harmed. And, of course, there is the issue of the November election. The strong possibility of the need for an expanded “vote-by-mail” option is a serious consideration. With COVID-19 possibly resurging in the fall a vote by mail system would further threaten Trump’s already unlikely re-election; especially with a massive voter turnout.

Sign Here, Please

Purchasing first class stamps is a great way to support the USPS. Celebrity testimonials are also popping up everywhere. “The Big Bang Theory” creator Bill Prady, notes his first job as a writer was to come up with a script for the beloved Muppet piano player, Rowlf the dog. The story line centered on a Postal Service press briefing, focused on, what else, dog bites. Other leaders have added their two cents, or is it 55 cents? Association of Flight Attendants President Sara Nelson tweeted that the Postal Service is a “vital part of the public health response”, noting that millions of Americans obtain their “life-saving and life-supporting medicines, supplies, food, and other essential goods” through the mail.

Lick It And Like It

The United States Postal Service is receiving widespread support on the internet, by petition and independent fund-raising. As a Tweet from @usmailnot4sale on April 12th said, “We need to get Congress to act. Send them a message. Then a letter. With your favorite stamp!”

I bought the stamps – now I just need to find an envelope…How about you?