Comments on: Save the Mailman

By: Neil in Chicago

Neil in Chicago — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 22:41:55 +0000

To my great surprise, I must take partial exception, Fred.
The schoolteachers (though they didn’t do too well with M. Denny) are equally heroic, and certainly as indispensable to a democracy.
Which accounts, of course, for their having the same enemies gunning for them.

By: Paula Helm Murray

Paula Helm Murray — Fri, 04 May 2012 02:32:13 +0000

I love both my daily postal delivery AND the post office box I use for my professional stuff.

The whole budget thing the repugs did to the post office is a shitty decision. there would be no business in the United States that could continue with that burden.

By: Paul Loeschke

Paul Loeschke — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:35:14 +0000

My understanding of economics is rudimentary at best, but I’m getting the impression that if all the pre-pay obligations on the Postal Service were removed, we would have a part of our government, albeit a small one, that can actually pay for itself. The removal of the obligations would be a cost savings, correct?Does the House Budget Proposal reflect this in any way?

By: Lamont Cranston

Lamont Cranston — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:42:22 +0000

Like every other ‘reform’ they game it to fail so they can crow about it and government inefficiency and thus privatize it
The fixation would be ideological, something quietly chugging along doing its job without fault or loss or evil government intervention is anathema to the dogma they promote
Their even bigger target Social Security is a good example of this, it works but thats the last thing they want anyone to think about it

By: Robert Nowall

Robert Nowall — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:47:11 +0000

I can speak as both a postal clerk and a member of the APWU—whatever the leadership may say, the rank and file do not think that Republicans hate us any more than Democrats, or that our chances would be better with Democrats in. Our local just conducted a campaign to save our postal plant from closing—I say “our local,” but, to be fair, I was largely a supportive bystander—and coordinated efforts among both Democrats and Republicans as well as independents who don’t want to see a loss of service in the area. (This may also have led to sacrificing another plant, but we would prefer all stayed open.)

Now as for debt—it’s true that the retirement funding has replaced an unrealistic burden on the USPS, forcing the funding of retirement for postal workers not yet born, much less hired—and the funding has been done by borrowing. But the money goes to that amorphous body I’ll call “the US Treasury” here. It’s the same as the “Social Security lockbox”—the money that goes in is spent to fund the overinflated government and debt service incurred by Democrats, leaving nothing but IOUs of questionable worth. I hope to collect some retirement money shortly—I’ve started my twenty-fifth year—but I don’t know how much I’ll be able to, er, get.

I’m willing to be sacrificed to settle the problems of this generation…but, man, it’ll be hard.

By: J. Denney

J. Denney — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:59:08 +0000

A P.S. to my previous reply. Okay, so we vote the straight progressive, Keynesian Democratic ticket, we save the USPS, but we end up burying ourselves under trillions and trillions of dollars in sovereign debt and unfunded liabilities. The economy will melt down. CIVILIZATION WILL COLLAPSE. What good is our beloved USPS after the economic apocalypse? Someone please tell me: What then? Any answers? Mr. Pohl? Anyone?