[PJ] What should we do with a quasi-government agency that supplies a vital service to a small percentage of the American people but is becoming more expensive and less timely as time goes on?The United States Postal Service once helped connect this continental country from end to end. For many, it was their only connection to the outside world. Even today, remote areas of Alaska with no internet or phones are connected to the rest of us only via the post office.
But maintaining a postal service that can service areas like that as well as compete in the larger world of package delivery is proving to be a ghastly expense. There are a few million people living too far from a pharmacy who need the postal service to supply them with medicines they need to live. But outside of a few pockets of shut-ins and rural residents, the necessity of the USPS has vanished.
The Postal Service has a deal with Congress to relieve the USPS of a $5 billion a year payment for health and pension benefits. It’s contingent on maintaining Saturday delivery and continuing service to rural areas. The Postal Service Reform Act would separate 2 million postal workers and retirees from the federal program, creating a smaller, riskier pool of participants thus raising premiums on some workers.
Related: Intelligencer - Using the U.S. Postal Service Is About to Get More Expensive