What is the USPS?
The United States Postal Service (USPS) traces its roots all the way back to 1775 where it was established by the Second Continental Congress with Benjamin Franklin serving as the first postmaster general. Currently, the USPS is the nation’s largest civilian employer with 600,000 employees. Despite this impressive history and record, the USPS is in trouble.
To better understand the trouble the USPS is in, we need to first examine how the USPS is funded. Although the USPS is a Civic Institution, it does not have a stable and direct income from taxpayer funds. It relies on revenue generated from stamps and other service fees.
While the coronavirus has significantly affected the USPS, the agency has for a long time experienced losses. The increasing use of email and digital communications has resulted in the USPS seeing a decline of 103.5 billion pieces in 2000 to just 55 billion in 2019.
What is Going on with USPS Now?
The USPS is required by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006 to pre-fund retiree health costs in advance. This has led to the USPS operating at a loss since 2007. Currently it has $160 billion in unfunded liabilities. Things are so dismal that it is predicted that the USPS will run out of money in 2021. Given the already dire situation, the current pandemic is the last thing the USPS needs. The virus has caused a sharp plunge in customer demand and has placed extra strain on the USPS to provide for its employees.
Congress has generally been avoiding this issue. One of the most important items the USPS delivers is election ballots. President Trump has been averse to helping out the USPS. Some help was seen in the CARES Act which provided the agency with a $10 billion emergency loan. However, David Williams, the vice chairman of the USPS board, resigned alleging that the conditions imposed by the Treasury would turn the agency into a political tool. The USPS is in threat of being manipulated by the Republican Party to further their political agenda.
Who is DeJoy? Why does he Matter?
In June 2020 Louis DeJoy, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee was sworn in as Postmaster General. DeJoy has no experience working in the post office. As a successful businessman, he is a known Republican donor who has made several large scale donations to a number of prominent Republican figures. Combined with his lack of experience and bias, many are worried that his actions will undermine the agency as Postmaster General.
DeJoy has authorized multiple policy changes to help reduce costs. The reduction of late trips is one such policy that has garnered criticism. Late trips are when mail is delivered after hours so that there is as little leftover mail as possible. This will lead to further delays in deliveries. The USPS is also limiting the max number of overtime hours that mail carriers can work. Similar to the reduction in late trips, this policy would lead to an increase in undelivered mail being left at distribution centers. DeJoy has taken it a step further and has dramatically changed the agency’s leadership by removing or reassigning 23 top executives.
How Will this Affect the 2020-2021 Election? What can I do?
All of these changes that are meant to cut back on labor and transportation costs have caused people to worry that ballots will not be received in time for the upcoming election. It is strongly encouraged that you request your ballot as soon as possible. The tight deadlines to request and return ballots have led to the high probability of voters not getting theirs back in time.
For anyone who is planning to mail in their ballot, it is recommended that you give your ballot at least a 15-day round trip from receiving your ballot to mailing it in. It is always best to do things earlier than later. If you are not planning to mail in your ballot then you can return your mail ballot in-person to a local county elections office. There are also some states that have secure ballot drop boxes that are an option.
The USPS is a meaningful and significant part of our country’s history. It would be a crime to our people to see such an important institution be brought down because of further failure brought upon through its defunding.
To fix the funding problem there needs to be policy changes. Donating is a sweep of the floor of a run-down home. One of the biggest challenges to the agency is the PAEA Act which requires prefunding of retirement health costs out of current income. Voting to enact different legislation would help the agency change its institutional framework to one that is more favorable to it. Additionally, don’t forget to vote. The USPS is a perfect option for anyone who is wary of voting in person on election day.
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Written by By Elizabeth McBride from Sarasota, Florida
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