Insanity means doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. But it seems that nobody has told Congress, or those running the United States Postal Service, this. The USPS has been running for years under a business model that’s simply unsustainable. Time and time again, the agency’s mismanagement has led USPS to the brink of bankruptcy, yet Congress continues to “solve” the issue by throwing more money at the Postal Service without addressing the actual root of the problem.
Recently, Congress decided to consider a new postal reform bill that, on paper, is supposed to address USPS’s structural issues. The new bill was not unexpected. Postal Reform ActThese deficiencies are not fixed and taxpayers’ lives made easier. It does, however, provide USPS additional subsidies to help it compete in the package and mail delivery markets.
Let’s step back and consider what taxpayers are being asked to support in this latest effort to remedy USPS. We have an organization with billions of dollars in cash on hand that isn’t required to pay any taxes to the government.
Considering the Postal Service’s massive war chest and tax-exempt status, USPS should be able to efficiently serve its customers and keep up with the changing business landscape. Instead, it’s been unable to match its deliveries to our country’s rapidly growing population.
USPS made 2 billion delivery last year and suffered losses of more than $1.5 million during busy holidays. USPS was categorized as an “adequate” in 2009 due to its financial woes. high-risk organizationGovernment Accountability Office.
Allow that to sink in. USPS has been “high risk” for 13 years, and Congress still expects American taxpayers to prop it up despite its existing, insolvent business model. Congress simply can’t pass the Postal Reform Act as it’s currently written.
We need our lawmakers to amend this new legislation to include some decent, common sense language that guarantees our hard-earned money isn’t funneled into USPS’ clearly failing business model. Reform is not about subsidies just for the sake.
Reform involves analyzing and fixing problems at USPS. This will allow the company to keep pace with customer needs. In an age of rapid shipping, much of commerce takes place via the internet. For years now, American consumer habits have changed, and decades-old business plans just aren’t relevant today.
The success stories of private package carriers are clear to see. There’s nothing preventing the Postal Service from doing likewise. Only thing that stands in the way of this is legislation.
Legislators in Washington have the chance to really reform USPS instead of pouring additional taxpayer dollars into a system we know just doesn’t work. There are common sense fixes that would reform and modernize the Postal Service, but those solutions just haven’t been added to theAct on Postal Reform. Right now, our elected leaders need to vote “No” on this bill.
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