By John Peck
Since 1775 when Benjamin Franklin became the very first Postmaster General, the USPS has faithfully fulfilled the many lofty goals that are now inscribed outside the entrance of the U.S. Postal Museum in Washington DC: “Bond of the Scattered Family; Enlarger of the Common Life; Carrier of News and Knowledge; Instrument of Trade and Commerce.”
Affordable universal reliable communication is not something many people can take for granted. In fact, the USPS was such a great American idea (like our national park system) that it has since been replicated across the globe. Under the pretense that the USPS is going “bankrupt,” though, Pres. Trump and other neoliberal free marketeers are hellbent to impose an austerity program and ultimately privatize this vital public service. During Trump’s last stint in the White House, USPS was forced to shutter half of its mail processing centers, leading to longer delivery times, and 10% of the nation’s post offices, mostly in rural areas, were put on the auction block. Despite all that, the USPS still enjoys some of the highest public approval ratings of any federal government agency. After all, who can you trust to make sure you get your spring seeds, baby chicks, or drug prescriptions in a timely fashion?
How did this quite preventable (and orchestrated) hobbling of the USPS come about? Well, one needs to go back a few decades when the government first opened the door for corporate competitors to undermine the longterm viability of the USPS. At just 73 cents to deliver a first class letter, USPS rates remain among the lowest in the industrialized world. Given the ongoing surge in more profitable package delivery, accelerated by the pandemic, private outfits like Fedex and Amazon were allowed to piggyback off the USPS’ amazing efficiency to ferry their own stuff (saving themselves up to 75% in the process). Contrary to some naysayers, the USPS does not get a dime from U.S. taxpayers — it provides a valuable public service at cost to consumers. So attacks on the USPS claiming its “horribly wasteful” are just flat out wrong.
The USPS is also hamstrung from taking advantage of other ways to expand its services that many people, especially rural folks, desperately need. For example, the USPS still offers money orders, but many other countries postal systems offer a much wider range of popular financial services such as checking and savings accounts, even low interest loans. One recent study found that the USPS could earn an extra $8-9 billion per year just by providing basic banking options to the millions of Americans who now subsist on the fringes of the financial system. It is no surprise that Wells Fargo is drooling over the possible demise of USPS (as revealed in a recently leaked internal memo), since they hardly want any other option for those now subject to their predatory lending practices.
Now is the time to speak up and ensure the proud iconic eagle of the USPS is not replaced by some anemic vulture version. The National Farmers Union is among dozens of organizations that have joined the Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service. And just like many family farmers rely upon cooperatives for their collective bargaining against agribusiness, postal workers also deserve to have their labor rights respected as fully unionized federal employees. Please contact your elected officials to ensure the future of USPS as a vital public good, and next time you are at the post office thank the workers for their essential service! As the unofficial motto of USPS carriers goes: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Neither should short sighted bean counters within the White House.
— John E. Peck is a WI Farmers Union member and operator (with his partner) of Yellow Dog Flowers and Produce near Brooklyn, WI in Green County. He also teaches Economics at Madison College and is executive director of Family Farm Defenders.
South Central Wisconsin Farmers Union is a member-driven chapter committed to enhancing the quality of life for family farmers, rural communities, and all people through educational opportunities, cooperative endeavors, and civic engagement in Rock, Green, and Lafayette Counties.
