Nation magazine blogger John Nichols (a former Toledoan for my Toledo friends) reports in The Post Office Is Not Broke about all of the hype about the post office and how it is supposedly going bankrupt, an antiquated institution, etc. I personally and professionally have an interest in the state of the post office, since I run a mail-order business, and I have a local branch of the post office only about a mile from my house, which is walking distance in nice weather. My local branch of the post office is on the chopping block to be eliminated, along with several others in Toledo. It would be a sad day for our inner city neighborhood to lose its post office. I am more than willing to deal with changes that might be necessary, even if that means closing some branches or reducing mail delivery to five days a week. However, such changes, at least at the scale that is being proposed, are unnecessary. The U.S. Postal Service has had a requirement to fully pre-fund its retirees health care benefits. No other government agency or private company bears the same burden, which costs over $5 billion each year, roughly the amount that the post office is in financial trouble over. The U.S. Postal Service cannot compete, or run well, with this onerous burden. The U.S. Postal Service should be relieved of this burden. This will not endanger retirees, and will assure continued excellent service to the American people. Go here to help America’s postal employees press Congress to Save America’s Postal Service. Long live the U.S Postal Service!
