Jay Evensen
  • Front Page
  • Opinions
  • Second Thoughts
  • Portfolio
  • Awards
  • About

Congress and the Postal Service — it's not 1957 any more

8/10/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
 The way Congress is acting, you would think it's 1957 again and the people of the United States will grab their pitchforks and torches if they can't get Saturday mail delivery.

How else to explain why the nation's lawmakers have gone on summer vacation without lifting a finger about the Postal Service and its mounting debt? If Noah had seen this big of a red sea coming his way he would have hurried up with that ark.

On Thursday, the service reported a quarterly loss of $5.2 billion. That was $2.1 billion more than what it lost during the same quarter last year.

Worse than that, it had to default on a payment to the Treasury to cover the cost of health benefits for future retirees. That's not just a sign the ship is in trouble, it's a hole in the hull.

Troubling as this news was, it wasn't a bit shocking. Many months have passed since the Postal Service said it wanted to close several post offices and eliminate Saturday mail delivery, just for starters. Even though the service receives no direct federal subsidy, it needed congressional approval for that.

But Congress seems to be covering its ears and shouting, "Blah! Blah! Blah! I can't heard you!"

In 1957, the Postal Service actually stopped delivering on Saturdays. It did it just once. The public outcry was so loud that Congress and President Eisenhower hurried through a $41 million funding plan to rescue it.

Back then the Postal Service was a government agency. Before granting the money, the House Appropriations Committee lectured postal officials about fiscal discipline and told them to start living within their means.

Apparently, members of Congress could do that back then with straight faces, and without looking like total hypocrites.

Does anyone believe the public would react similarly today, or that politicians would lose votes by allowing such an end to Saturday delivery? If so, would anyone find irony in the fact that those complaints likely would be emailed to politicians?

Times have changed. There are many potential solutions out there to the Postal Service's problems. This blog offers a few. But it's irresponsible for members of Congress to allow this important service to continue drowning in its own mess while they go home looking for votes.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Search this site


    Like what you read here?

      Please subscribe below, and we'll let you know when there is a new opinion.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture

    The author

    Jay Evensen is the Senior Editorial Columnist of the Deseret News. He has nearly 40 years experience as a reporter, editor and editorial writer in Oklahoma, New York City, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. He also has been an adjunct journalism professor at Brigham Young and Weber State universities.

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Campaign 2012
    Congress
    Crime
    Culture
    Iran
    Oil And Gas
    Poverty
    Steroids
    Taxes
    Utah
    Washington
    World Events
    World Events

    Links

    Deseret News
    Newslink
    Marianne Evensen's blog

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.