Is the postal crisis real or manufactured?
Jim Hightower in an article, The Truth About the US Postal Service, on Common Dreams contends that current United States Postal Service crisis is a manufactured crisis.
“The privatizers squawk that USPS has gone some $13 billion in the hole during the past four years… the service actually produced a $700 million operational profit (despite the worst economy since the Great Depression).”
“In 2006, the Bush White House and Congress whacked the post office with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act — an incredible piece of ugliness requiring the agency to PRE-PAY the health care benefits not only of current employees, but also of all employees who’ll retire during the next 75 years. Yes, that includes employees who’re not yet born!
No other agency and no corporation has to do this. Worse, this ridiculous law demands that USPS fully fund this seven-decade burden by 2016. Imagine the shrieks of outrage if Congress tried to slap FedEx or other private firms with such an onerous requirement.”
Mr. Hightower’s article is in agreement with the postal worker’s union statements and advertisements on this issue.
Politifact.com in reviewing the advertisement by the union stated they were half right. Yes the postal service is having financial problems due to this onerous burden of pre-paying health care benefits of employees for the foreseeable future. The” half right” came to play in that the union did not mention declining revenues from the amount of first class mail been sent, a decline of about 7.5% per year.
Ralph Nader essentially agrees with Hightower and the union: Nader: Postal Crisis “Manufactured”
“RALPH NADER, via Jeff Musto, info on Center for Study of Responsive Law website — In a letter to Sen. Joseph Lieberman and Rep. Darrell Issa, Nader writes: “The deep hole of debt that is currently facing the U.S. Postal Service is entirely due to the burdensome prepayments for future retiree health care benefits imposed by Congress in the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. By June 2011, the USPS saw a total net deficit of $19.5 billion … [this] deficit almost exactly matches the $20.95 billion the USPS made in prepayments to the fund for future retiree health care benefits by June 2011. If the prepayments required under PAEA were never enacted into law, the USPS would not have a net deficiency of nearly $20 billion, but instead be in the black by at least $1.5 billion.” Nader stresses that, in terms of retirees’ health benefits, the Postal Service is required to do things that “no other government or private corporation is required to do and is an incredibly unreasonable burden.”
Given the current rush by the Right Wing in this country to privative everything whether it should be or not, I do not doubt that this may be a move to force a large enough financial burden to “justify” privatization . I am sure several private companies would like to have the business that the USPS now enjoys. I doubt not that someone is working in the background to promote this.
One of the issues with the USPS is that they have to get approval from Congress for what are essentially basic business decisions. That is a tough way to run a business and to keep it efficient. This is especially so given the gridlock and antagonism that is the hallmark of our political system currently.
We have allowed the privatization of things that should never have been done so. In this category I will put prisons, schools, military support services, and many essential government services. Frequently what happens when privation takes place is a decrease in quality of service and the creation of second class workers. These companies have a tendency to use contract labor or to give much diminished benefits. What is wrong with everyone having a decent quality of living, especially if they are will to work to get it.
Given the generally feelings of the Right Wing about unions and public sector unions in general, I do not this is move against them. They seem to especially abhor the retirement and benefits that public sector employees receive. I am here to tell you, gravy train retirements and benefits are not the norm. If there is anything wrong with the public sector retirement system our legislatures should be working to fix it rather than kill mule for eating in the winter when it is not working?
I was recently talking to a Colombian. He found many things miraculous in this country. For instance, that a 1:00 appointment generally meant 1:00. He also found the USPS incredible. He stated that in his country no one used the post office for anything important, and they definitely did not send checks through the mail.
Benjamin Franklin did a wonderful job getting this national treasure set up and running. Why would we let Congress and the Right Wing run it into the ground.