The United States Postal Service does not take one dime of taxpayer money. You've heard this, I've heard this, and it is something postal employees say to me time and time again. For the most part, it is absolutely true.
It is what postal unions won't tell you that should scare every taxpayer.
Before I scare you, let me say that the USPS is home to hundreds of thousands of dedicated, hard-working American citizens. Many veterans wear the uniform of the Postal Service with as much pride as they wore the uniform of the armed services. Unfortunately, they and the taxpayer, are being fleeced by politicians, union leadership and a service unwilling to change.
There are those who say "privatize it." Unfortunately, no one will buy it. UPS and FedEx need the Postal Service, and the relationship is less adversarial and more symbiotic today than ever.
There are those who say, "get rid of it, I will use email." Unfortunately, you can't get pills via email, send toys to the grandkids via email or conduct some commercial enterprises without the mail.
It is not a choice between having a Postal Service and not. It is a choice of having a Postal Service that works, does not take taxpayer money and meets the needs of a 21st-century information society or a Postal Service whose only hope of survival is a taxpayer-funded bailout.
First, the facts.
In 1971, Congress created the USPS as a self-supporting, independent agency. According to the Office of Personnel Management, "Congress granted the USPS fiscal independence in exchange for a promise of fiscal responsibility." The USPS got independence, what taxpayers did not get was fiscal responsibility.
Thanks:theledger.com/article/20120529/COLUMNISTS03
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