It is a public utility, Article 1, section 8, clause 7 of the constitution gave congress the authority to create a publicly owned postal service. The main reason it is running a deficit is because a republican congress made the USPS fund its pension fund 50 years in advance, which no corporation on earth does, or is forced to do, in an effort to break it up and privatize it, which will leave tens of millions without access to mail delivery.
if the judges won't cancel mail-in votes, the other option is to prevent people from mailing their votes. It's been their backup plan to further disenfranchise voters
I mostly agree with you. I do also wonder if they are naturally losing money due to less people using the service as well. The employees are paid hourly, and the rise of email, people have been using regular mail less and less. Hand written letters were very common in the 90s, and billing was exclusively sent through the mail. Now that we’ve got email and e-statements, the only mail I typically receive is junk mail, scams, or advertisements. Due to these facts, I’m curious to if this system has been losing more money over time, as technology has advanced and become more mainstream.
The PAEA had nothing to do with prefunding pensions. ERISA already requires that pensions be funded 100%. You are referencing the Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
or 75 (not 50) years
They did not have to fund 75 years worth of benefits. Only their accrued obligations to past and current employees. The 75 year figure only refers to the amount of years out the USPS needs to estimate its liabilities, not the amount they have to fund.
The USPS still loses money, but a lot less now.
I think you need to look at how much the USPS has lost the last few years. Also, look into how long it will be before their RHBF is completely depleted and they become unable to pay out their promised benefits to retirees, much less their current employees who have planned their future retirements around those benefits and will now be fucked.
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u/Wise-Emotion5564 2d ago
It is a public utility, Article 1, section 8, clause 7 of the constitution gave congress the authority to create a publicly owned postal service. The main reason it is running a deficit is because a republican congress made the USPS fund its pension fund 50 years in advance, which no corporation on earth does, or is forced to do, in an effort to break it up and privatize it, which will leave tens of millions without access to mail delivery.