U.S. Postal Service Mail Fraud

[Better Believe It]

This column may be reproduced in its entirety on DU with attribution. BBI

Week In Review
A Weekly Column by Bill Onasch
Webmaster of KCLabor.org
December 5, 2011

Mail Fraud

When I was in morning session kindergarten the postman would come as I was finishing breakfast–and then again as I was getting ready for my post-lunch nap. During this era of twice a day mail deliveries (just once on Saturday), the cost of a first-class stamp was three cents–equivalent to about 27 cents today. (Current first-class postage is 44 cents.)

But that was when the Post Office was run by the government. Today it is a not-for-profit corporation, receiving no tax payer subsidies–but subject to congressional supervision. Congress created an artificial crisis, that threatens the US Postal Service with bankruptcy, by demanding an unreasonably rapid set-aside of funds to guarantee future pensions.

This is now used as an excuse to drive many satisfied USPS customers to private sector profit centers as it’s announced first-class mail as we have known it will be discontinued. Current overnight deliveries will take 3-4 days. The impact of this service degradation will be harsh on newspaper subscriptions, small businesses dealing in mail orders, and residential customers who can’t afford to use FedEx.

It will be harsher still on USPS workers as the process of eliminating tens of thousands of jobs begins along with demands to renege on current contract wages, benefits, and working conditions. African-American postal workers will be particularly hard hit as they join a Black unemployment pool that grew even in the recent report that claimed the overall jobless rate declined.

There was a time when this would have been unthinkable. Politicians used to fear messing with the postal service as much as they dreaded taking on Social Security. But with the White House and Congress so far getting away with sharpening their long knives to go after our most sacred entitlements–anything goes.

http://www.kclabor.org/wir1252011.htm

Good & Welfare ...
Copyright Issues. The original content we provide is now copyrighted and may not be reproduced by commercial media without our consent. However, labor movement and other nonprofit media may reproduce with attribution.
http://www.kclabor.org/good&welfare.htm

[Lionessa]

1. The term "going postal" just keeps ringing in my head. I wonder what the fallout will be

of those mass layoffs and closures.

[Better Believe It]

2. Well, hopefully not that.

[mysuzuki2]

3. Instead of doing away with 1st class postage, why not

charge advertisers 1st class rates. I bet that would turn the finances around pretty quick.