General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsUSPS is hanging on by a thread
Amidst the coronavirus storm, it can be hard to identify which aspects of American life should be tossed into the lifeboat of priorities. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is one of them. It is the largest postal service in the world. Yet like thousands of individual Americans battling COVID-19, its health is in danger. It may not survive through the end of the year.
The U.S. mail service predates the U.S. Constitution itself, which expressly empowers Congress [t]o establish Post Offices and Post Roads. The first post office sprung up in the colonies in 1639, when Massachusetts enacted legislation ordering that overseas letters pass through Fairbanks Tavern in Boston. Decades later, the King of England approved the office of postmaster general for America, a position held by Benjamin Franklin, who in 1753 initiated efforts to establish an intra-colony postal system. In 1775, the first Continental Congress appointed a committee to establish a postal system, resolving that the present critical situation of the colonies renders it highly desirable that ways and means should be devised for the speedy and secure conveyance of Intelligence from one end of the Continent to the other.
In 1792, President George Washington signed into law the first Postal Service Act, which established the first postage rates and post roads and created the United States Post Office Department as part of the federal government. In 1829, the postmaster general was made a member of the presidents Cabinet. Free delivery began in 1863.
Zip codes were added in 1963 to make sorting and delivery easier. In 1970, Congress passed the Postal Reorganization Act, which transformed the Post Office Department into a government-owned corporation called the U.S. Postal Service. It is directed by a board of nine governors, including the postmaster general, each of whom is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. As private competitors entered the mail delivery market, Express Mail was introduced in 1977. In 1982, Congress halted direct subsidies to the USPS, although rate funding remains for nonprofit organizations and small publishers.
Read more: https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/493920-usps-is-hanging-on-by-a-thread
Laelth
(32,017 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 22, 2020, 08:13 AM - Edit history (1)
This excerpt omits that crucial the fact. The government CAN NOT allow the USPS to fail without violating the mandate of the Constitution.
The USPS and the U.S. Army are both constitutionally mandated. Nobody expects the Army to generate revenue or operate on a balanced budget. Nobody should expect the USPS to generate revenue or operate on a balanced budget either.
-Laelth
Edited to add: The post above is factually and legally incorrect because the Article I language in the Constitution regarding Post Offices is decidedly optional, not mandatory.
Mea culpa.
Massacure
(7,522 posts)Article I, Section 8 states that, "The Congress shall have Power... To establish Post Offices and post Roads;". They may have the power, that doesn't mean they need to wield it.
questionseverything
(9,654 posts)we have long believed it was important, ties the nation together
they should be expanded to banking
Kablooie
(18,634 posts)questionseverything
(9,654 posts)is hard for some peops to get banking services
Laelth
(32,017 posts)The Article I language regarding Post Offices is decidedly optional, not mandatory.
Mea culpa.
-Laelth
sfstaxprep
(9,998 posts)That's the only way some of them can communicate and receive mail from the outside world.
More_Cowbell
(2,191 posts)The Post Office does a lot of "last mile" delivery for companies that have decided that rural delivery isn't profitable. I'm not sure everyone knows that when they order something and it says it'll be delivered by UPS, what happens is that UPS drops it off at the post office. A lot of rural areas are already cut off; they just don't realize it yet.
Rhiannon12866
(205,320 posts)Initech
(100,070 posts)It's the billionaire mega mansion country club conservative pricks that want it to fail.
Cha
(297,206 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Treasury if needed.
My optimism stems from riding with my grandad in 1950s on his rural mail route when he wasnt milking cows. So, not worth much.
coti
(4,612 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Midnight Writer
(21,762 posts)Any questions?
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)I'm so mad. Where is the money to EMPOWER USPS & FAMILIES?????
Galraedia
(5,025 posts)SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)Hotler
(11,421 posts)I don't see much fight from our democratic leaders about trying to save the Postal Service. They will AWOL when the repugs steal social Security.
sweetloukillbot
(11,017 posts)SunSeeker
(51,551 posts)But Republicans are traitors, so what else is new? All they ever do is cripple our country.
yellowdogintexas
(22,252 posts)I'm going to write actual letters to my elected officials instead of calling or emailing
Make them work a little harder.
Sign every letter #SaveThePostOffice
brooklynite
(94,545 posts)When you write a letter to your House Member or Senator, it doesn't go to their office; all mail goes to a security location to check for anthrax, explosives, etc. Given the current lockdown rules, I wouldn't assume they're being processed efficiently.