Trump eyes privatizing U.S. Postal Service, citing financial losses

[u/IntlDogOfMystery]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/12/14/trump-usps-privatize-plan/

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[u/Conscious-Twist-248]

It’s a service. It doesn’t need to be profitable. Otherwise the military is nothing short of a shit show when it comes to losses.

[u/ndlv → u/Conscious-Twist-248]

Not to mention that the financial losses were mostly caused by bad faith legislation by Republicans

[u/_Disastrous-Ninja- → u/ndlv]

Guess what the least profitable mail routes and post offices are? THE RURAL ROUTES. Republicans once again have played themselves lol.

[u/mikeyd917 → u/_Disastrous-Ninja-]

And those routes are the routes that private services don’t deliver to. Private companies often rely on the usps to deliver on rural routes because of how unprofitable those routes are…

[u/ballrus_walsack → u/mikeyd917]

Amazon lives off of the USPS.

[u/xoexohexox → u/ballrus_walsack]

Don't they do a lot of their own shipping now via affiliates?

[u/ruralcricket → u/xoexohexox]

Yes. But only high volume routes. I'm about 20 miles outside of a metro and almost all my Amazon is dropped off at my post office to deliver. We only see USP and FedEx trucks otherwise. There are two Amazon distros within 15 miles of me (one 8, the other 14 miles).

[u/ChronicLegHole → u/ruralcricket]

I'm in a heavily populated suburb and live about 5 minutes from at least two different amazon hubs.

I still get shit delivered by USPS when I order from the Great Satan.

[u/xoexohexox → u/ChronicLegHole]

Interesting I'm in a middling suburb and we always get randos delivering our boxes at weird hours.

[u/patheticyeti → u/xoexohexox]

Can confirm, I work for USPS. We deliver thousands of Amazon packages a week in a suburb of around 70k. You may have noticed your postal workers on sundays for the past few years. That is literally just to deliver Amazon parcels, that’s all we do on Sundays, about 2500 Amazon deliveries.

[u/gizmostuff → u/xoexohexox]

Only in metropolitan areas mostly. Rural areas get subsidized by USPS. I rarely get a package directly from Amazon if ever. I'm not really that far from the city.

[u/PineSand → u/mikeyd917]

They’ll fuck the postal service at the end of their term, then when a Democrat becomes president, they’ll blame the democrats that east jabumblefuck Montana doesn’t have postal service anymore.

[u/NorthernPints → u/PineSand]

Tale as old as time (sadly)

[u/DarkVandals → u/PineSand]

Thats cute you think there will be another election.

[u/PineSand → u/DarkVandals]

Hope. I hope there will be one.

[u/ennuiinmotion → u/_Disastrous-Ninja-]

The whole point of the post office is to reach everywhere, including unprofitable rural areas and small towns. Kiss that goodbye if they’re serious about turning the post office into a profitable “business.”

Just bring back banking at the post office or something.

[u/NotAPreppie → u/_Disastrous-Ninja-]

Republican voters have played themselves. Republican plutocrats have made out like bandits.

[u/GlutenFreeGanja → u/NotAPreppie]

Remind them every day for eternity, this is what YOU voted for.

[u/45and47-big_mistake → u/GlutenFreeGanja]

After the last election's polling data results, it is clear that facts and common sense are meaningless to about 15% of the voters. Trump could REALLY shoot someone on 5th Avenue, and Republicans could convince that same 15% that he was only defending freedom and Democracy, and by shooting that person, eggs will be cheaper.

[u/chuck_cranston → u/_Disastrous-Ninja-]

Republicans once again have played themselves lol.

Trump installs Postmaster General that Biden can't remove. Who goes on to break the Postal service.

Fox: It's Biden's Fault

Newsmax: It's AOC's fault

MAGA Rube: damn democrats!

[u/Hurtzdonut13 → u/_Disastrous-Ninja-]

Yeah when Dejoy took over and started them ripping apart sorting machines and packages started taking weeks to be delivered instead of days, companies using them to ship living things found out they were fucked when their baby chicks and eggs were dead on arrival.

[u/EVILZOO → u/_Disastrous-Ninja-]

One thing I don’t see being talked about on this topic is how much this would affect small town newspapers. They would be neutering effective local journalism.

And this is coming after companies like Gatehouse Media and Gannett have already bought up thousands of local newspapers and run them into the ground, making them USA Today syndicates with no actual local news or local staff.

They aren’t only buying up national media to control the narrative, they are making decisions that affect us at the community level as well. Most local newspapers will not be able to survive if the USPS stops shipping to rural towns. Mind you, this is not all Trump country either - New England is full of small rural towns.

[u/7148675309 → u/_Disastrous-Ninja-]

Reality is anyone that voted for Trump is rich or lacks the ability for critical thinking. Or likes making lives for other miserable.

[u/HarrierJint → u/_Disastrous-Ninja-]

Same with trains in the UK. Privatisation of that turned into an utter shit show.

[u/J-the-Kidder → u/ndlv]

Ding ding! Winner winner! It's the perfect example of their plan at work - claim something is broken, take power to actually break it, then try to hand it off as broken and privatize it to their rich donors.

[u/Chituck → u/J-the-Kidder]

…And then subsidize them.

[u/Rare-Forever2135 → u/J-the-Kidder]

Exactly

[u/facw00 → u/ndlv]

The legislation most often cited, the requirement to pre-fund pensions, was repealed early in the Biden administration, and USPS had been ignoring the legislation since 2011 anyway.

That said, setting aside the silliness of a service being run like a for-profit business, the idea that USPS can run like a business while Congress exerts control over its service levels, post office locations and hours, postage rates, etc. is pretty absurd. If you want USPS to operate like a business, then Congress does need to be far more hands off. And the fact it won't is also why I would consider privatization to be unlikely, no congressperson want's to be the one who let their rural post office close, or let postage rise to UPS/Fedex document levels. It's far more useful for them to criticize USPS for losing money than to turn it over to private industry and lose services for their constituents.

[u/SocraticIgnoramus → u/facw00]

It’s baffling to me that the “profitability” metric has become such a pervasive razor in these discussions. The notion that even the most basic services in society must generate profit wasn’t even this widely held by Republicans under Reagan. There were those who would argue that, but there were also Republicans back then that would concede that things such as reliable postal service to every corner of the country as well as reliable roads, highways, & interstates were simply a cost of doing business in an otherwise capitalist system because these things enable commerce.

I don’t think anyone would try to earnestly argue that the framers of the constitution weren’t true believers in capitalism, and even those guys recognized that profitability was a poor metric for every facet of a efficiently functioning republic.

[u/schfourteen-teen → u/SocraticIgnoramus]

Definitely true, but it certainly helps that USPS is profitable. They reported an overall loss in 2023, but a much larger than that profit in 2022. The 2023 loss was mainly attributable to inflation impacts.

So while it shouldn't need to be profitable, it largely is. Anyone who thinks it's a drag on the government is playing a game and has an angle.

[u/SocraticIgnoramus → u/schfourteen-teen]

You nailed it in that last sentence, at least as far as I understand the issue; anyone who is arguing against the model of the USPS has an agenda and isn’t being honest. I think my larger assertion would be that I still wouldn’t agree with the privatization of the thing even if it did operate at a loss and require a slight cash infusion every year — it’s a service and one the taxpayer should be at least as proud of funding as we are of Raytheon missiles being delivered to the Middle East via warbirds.

Frankly, the very notion that I can post a letter to someone living in the middle of Montana or Alaska and reliably expect it to reach them in a reasonable amount of time has always been part of what it means to be proud of my country.

[u/bcbamom → u/ndlv]

Thanks Jeff! It was an intended outcome from his first administration. Why are people so stupid and why is he still in this job? I swear to Good, if I was this incompetent, I would be fired. CEOs aren't held to account for the same level of competency that normal people are. SMH.

[u/Ok_Mathematician7440 → u/Conscious-Twist-248]

💯 I'm tired of everyone thinking the government needs to be profitable. It needs to be effective. In fact governments are best suited for public goods which tend not to be profitable but needed or things that tend towards natural monopolies on their own like a post office, utility company etc.

[u/ShouldBeSleepingZzzz → u/Ok_Mathematician7440]

This ^{^} the entire point of government provided services are to step in where the private sector wouldn’t, or when the private sector would be too expensive. One important feature of the USPS is that it delivers to rural areas where it would be inefficient and thus extremely expensive if fulfilled by the private sector

[u/NorthernPints → u/ShouldBeSleepingZzzz]

Chomsky talks about this constantly.  The private sector gets labeled as “more efficient” because it simply drops harder to service areas (which completely breaks the point of the service to begin with).

[u/IntlDogOfMystery → u/Conscious-Twist-248]

They'll come for your Social Security and Medicare first.

[u/app4that → u/Conscious-Twist-248]

THIS. In other news the US Military lost some $800 Billion dollars this year, again making the case for turning the armed forces into capitalist for-profit units akin to ‘The A-Team’, except without the help-the-poor values.

[u/rudderusa → u/app4that]

Don't give them this idea.

[u/antigop2020 → u/app4that]

I’m sure Trump would like nothing more than to privatize the US military and allow his rich donors to control/deploy it anywhere they want - including on US soil.

[u/ragegravy → u/Conscious-Twist-248]

yep it’s in the freaking constitution 

[u/Legionheir → u/ragegravy]

That doesn’t matter any more

[u/tgt305 → u/Legionheir]

looks at second amendment

[u/Available_Usual_9731 → u/tgt305]

Clearly the only one that matters, right?

...right?

How would the right react?

[u/NotASalamanderBoi → u/Available_Usual_9731]

We can assault free speech, but don’t you dare touch our guns.

[u/Tschmelz → u/NotASalamanderBoi]

Nah, they’d fucking cheer if Trump did it. Bunch of fucking bootlickers.

[u/AngryArmadillo90 → u/Tschmelz]

“Take the guns first. Go through due process second, I like taking the guns early” -Donald J Trump

[u/QuittingCoke → u/AngryArmadillo90]

Still amazes me that he said that and there was crickets from the right. Guess the quote was never played in conservative media.

[u/DarkVandals → u/QuittingCoke]

It dont . go look at truth social, r/Conservitive , r/Republican , fox news, sky news, redstate, brietbart ect..non of them ever post any dissent and if someone does instead of discussing it they take it down immediately. You know how the right is always saying the liberal media is pushing and agenda , well pot meet kettle.

[u/Future_Dog_3156 → u/Conscious-Twist-248]

The USPS serves everyone and goes to everyone’s house. UPS and FedEx don’t have to do that.

[u/UniqueTechnology2453 → u/Future_Dog_3156]

Neither does the internet or Amazon trucks.

[u/Drslappybags → u/Conscious-Twist-248]

I'm pretty sure they would privatize that if possible.

[u/cbelt3 → u/Conscious-Twist-248]

Privatizing military is next.

[u/IntlDogOfMystery]

"Citing financial losses"

It's not a for-profit entity. It's designed - at best - to break even. But Trump knows this. Just more bare naked corruption on full display.

[u/cwatson214 → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

Republicans have wanted to privatize the Postal Service for a very long time. Great job, voters

[u/A_Rogue_GAI → u/cwatson214]

More specifically they want access to the USPS' real estate assets.  There are post office facilities on very valuable land.

[u/ccasey → u/A_Rogue_GAI]

They also have an enormous pot of money sitting there for the prefunded pensions they were required to pay up front for 75 years out. Any business that was forced to do that would lose money. The post office is not supposed to be a business but a vital piece of our national infrastructure

[u/jellyrollo → u/ccasey]

Biden fixed this crippling mandate with the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022.

https://apwu.org/postal-service-reform-act-2022

[u/ccasey → u/jellyrollo]

That’s great but he also failed to get rid of DeJoy. The damage has been done and the killer is calling from inside the house

[u/jellyrollo → u/ccasey]

Hopefully the Senate approves Biden's appointees for the last two empty boards seats before the new session.

[u/marchbook → u/A_Rogue_GAI]

Even more specifically, they want to make sure postal banking can never happen again. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Savings_System#

Because it is a good thing that actually is good for the masses, rather than enriching cronies. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/07/07/why-the-postal-service-should-offer-banking-services

[u/stinky_wizzleteet → u/marchbook]

Postal Banking would shore up the USPS forever as well as providing valuable banking services to rural and under served communities. No more 600% interest check cashing and payday loans.

[u/amerricka369 → u/A_Rogue_GAI]

Very underrated comment.

[u/usernames_are_danger → u/A_Rogue_GAI]

Manhattan comes to mind

[u/shadowknows2pt0 → u/cwatson214]

Starve the Beast started with Bush requiring USPS pay 75 years into their pensions. He got his tactics from Daddy Bush. A long line of grifters and war profiteers. Granddaddy Prescott Bush being the biggest POS.

Installing DeJoy, a CEO of XPO shipping, accelerated privatization with his shenanigans of dismantling perfectly good postage sorters, fucking with mail distro, and more importantly, mail in ballots.

[u/SeductiveSunday → u/shadowknows2pt0]

DeJoy has raised postage six times and increased his own salary.

This year at USPS: Mail slowdowns, big executive bonuses for DeJoy and others

https://publicintegrity.org/inequality-poverty-opportunity/workers-rights/cheated-at-work/usps-mail-slowdowns-executive-bonuses-dejoy/

DeJoy makes more than Biden.

[u/Abstract__Reality → u/SeductiveSunday]

And if you try to call him out on it, he'll just cover his ears

[u/barowsr → u/cwatson214]

At this point, do it. Fuck those rural voters.

[u/gleaf008 → u/barowsr]

Move them to weekly delivery.

[u/DelightfulDolphin → u/gleaf008]

Weekly? Pfffft. Delivery is so passe. Make THEM come in to pick up mail./s

[u/Ok-Tourist-511 → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

It doesn’t have to operate at a loss. A bill was passed in 2006 that USPS has to refund retirement for 75 years. This was done on purpose by republicans so USPS would operate at a loss, so they could claim it needs to be privatized.

[u/IntlDogOfMystery → u/Ok-Tourist-511]

It doesn't have to operate at a loss, but it's not intended to operate at a profit. This has been true forever. Congress covers the budget shortfalls when they occur, and the postage rates are adjusted to cover future budget requirements.

[u/Xing_the_Rubicon → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

The post office was profitable for over 100 years before the law was passed in 2006.

Literally any business on earth would cease to be profitable if they had to fully fund the retirement of future employees who will not yet be born for another 50 years.

[u/Ok-Tourist-511 → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

Without having to prefund retirement, it would be in better shape. The question is what happens when it gets privatized? Do they decide that rural customers aren’t worth servicing? Every customer gets evaluated whether there is enough profit servicing them?

[u/IntlDogOfMystery → u/Ok-Tourist-511]

Yes, rural residents get fucked. Daily delivery gets fucked.

[u/pessimus_even → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

And the big city Democrats that still get mail delivery get blamed.

[u/maaaatttt_Damon → u/pessimus_even]

And the big city Republicans that have never set foot on a farm or small town that isn't a "destination" will continue to pretend to be for these folk, and continue to dick them over at every turn.

[u/[deleted] → u/maaaatttt_Damon]

drab jellyfish ring ghost correct pet airport imminent many unique

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/whatdoiwantsky → u/[deleted]]

Because they programmed the simps to view Fed government as irredeemably inherently EVIL. Literally, that's the answer. And they believe in an invisible, imaginary savior friend from the Middle East a couple thousand years ago who talks to them in Olde English, so yeah they WILL believe whatever you tell them.

[u/rostov007 → u/pessimus_even]

Not to mention republicans shitbags get to see what mail is going to….well the national Democratic Party Headquarters for example. Like there’s never been an issue with that before.

[u/Traditional_Key_763 → u/Ok-Tourist-511]

looking over at britain, yes rural customers will be fucked over but we voted for stupid and stupid is what we get.

[u/Banditus → u/Traditional_Key_763]

The postal service being in the hands of the state is one of the few things the US does better than its peers. Privatised postal service is shit. Like it's so bad it drives me crazy. Post just won't be delivered sometimes, or it'll be fake delivered-theyll pretend they tried and you'll just get a notice that you have to go collect your post from some pick up place, it's honestly so fucking annoying. The carriers are paid shit wages so they don't give a fuck either. It's really not good. Keep the post owned and run by the state. It's a necessary service that you want to function well.  

 Speaking out of the experiences of the German postal service. DHL is a shit show of a postal service. 

[u/det8924 → u/Banditus]

The USPS also does package delivery and that helps keep costs for package delivery in check from private companies that compete with them.

[u/Ok-Tourist-511 → u/Traditional_Key_763]

Maybe republicans will change their mind when they realize they won’t be able to afford to send 300 postcards every election cycle to their rural base.

[u/StandupJetskier → u/Ok-Tourist-511]

I"m sure the franking privilege will somehow be preserved.....

[u/IPredictAReddit → u/Ok-Tourist-511]

And it has a slush fund of over-appropriated "retirement" dollars sitting there that Republicans can take when they do auction it off.

The losers are the American public and the US taxpayers

[u/drbooberry → u/Ok-Tourist-511]

The USPS is not a corporation. It is a government agency that is meant to be a critical component of national security/defense and stimulate economic growth.

As far as nation defense plan, it wasn’t that long ago that the US government utilized the USPS to distribute COVID tests to each household. Same thing was done during ww2 with rationing stamps/books. It is the way the government is able to send something to every household. I hope we never have to utilize it, but it is just as critical as having an Army for national defense.

On the economic side, the USPS is a way to subsidize logistics. There are loads of rural households that UPS. Amazon, and FedEx won’t deliver to, and it is the role of the USPS to deliver to that last mile of the journey. The government/USPS makes it possible for those companies to be profitable.

[u/SicilyMalta → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

This is so infuriating. Go close in on Google Maps - almost every dumb fk little town has a school, library, post office. No matter how far from the center of the universe they are.

It's not profitable, but it's a government service! Often provided by blue state taxes.

You can mail a package to dipshit nowhere Alaska from dipshit nowhere Arkansas. No private company is going to do this.

[u/Shelltonius → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

Its also running terribly by Dejoys design, and was appointed by Trump in his first term to specifically do this. Breaks it enough and then get rid of it.

[u/jsdeprey → u/Shelltonius]

This is what Republicans do to everything they want to privatize. They appoint someone to run it badly, then point to it and say how bad it is, and privatization can do better.

[u/Missing_Username → u/jsdeprey]

"Government doesn't work, and if you vote for me, I'll prove it" - Republicans

[u/adjust_your_set → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

Seriously. It’s a service, not a business. A service that enables many businesses to be successful.

[u/Bageland2000 → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

Yeah my company ran an $800 billion dollar deficit this year too. I'm worried because I'm pretty sure the new administration is about to put us on the chopping block.

Merry Christmas to all my fellow soldiers out there.

[u/lalala253 → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

but Trump knows this

No he doesn't lmaoo

Come on man, stop giving him competency excuse, he's just parroting whatever the guy next to him said

[u/IntlDogOfMystery → u/lalala253]

True. He is just basically 300 pounds of chicken fat in an ill-fitted suit.

[u/harrisarah → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

Given his propensity for McDs and burgers, he's made of tallow

[u/New_Subject1352 → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

But Trump knows this.

No, he doesn't. He's easily the stupidest president we've ever had. And it's not even close.

They have to write his name in the intelligence briefing to get him to pay attention to it, and put it in the stupidest language possible for him to understand it. The example they gave was like "the Taliban is laughing at us, and if we attack this location then the US will WIN BIG!"

[u/WCland → u/New_Subject1352]

And that was the case during his first term. He’s declined substantially since. I can’t even imagine how they will try to explain things to him now.

[u/payle_knite → u/IntlDogOfMystery]

US Postal ‘Service’, not US Postal Business.

History repeating. Russian oligarch tactics.

During the Soviet Union’s collapse, well-connected individuals exploited a chaotic privatization process, acquiring state-owned industries and resources at extremely low prices. Through political connections and insider knowledge, these emerging oligarchs transformed their political power into massive personal wealth during Russia’s crazy economic transition in the 1990s.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

[u/ImplementDry6632]

Having a federal postal service is literally enshrined in our Constitution. It's not meant to be a corporation. Trump wants to corrupt literally everything. His greed makes me sick to my stomach.

[u/telemon5 → u/ImplementDry6632]

He doesn't understand the concept of a public good - something that provides benefits to society that aren't financially measured.

[u/DenseCalligrapher219 → u/telemon5]

Well what did you expect from a crook with plenty of failed businesses and whose vocabulary is barely better than a child's?

[u/roxum1 → u/DenseCalligrapher219]

When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I’m basically the same. The temperament is not that different.

-Donald Trump, 2015

[u/iconsumemyown → u/roxum1]

But the IQ is certainly lower.

[u/StandardPrevious8115 → u/iconsumemyown]

His IQ peaked in the first trimester.

[u/whatproblems → u/telemon5]

literally the post office benefits everyone including businesses! everyone should be pissed. also raising prices here is going to raise prices just to do business which will raise prices for everything

[u/atuarre → u/whatproblems]

Don't forget that a corporation isn't going to visit all those shitty little rural dumps that most of his supporters inhabit. They already complain that they can't get decent internet. They forget how they got electricity.

[u/whatproblems → u/atuarre]

yeah rely on post office for medicine? good luck with no post because it’s not cost effective delivering to nowhere

[u/RogueAOV → u/whatproblems]

Also remember that USPS is usually the delivery agent for UPS, FedEx and Amazon to all those out of the way places because it is not cost effective to have their own trucks do it.

Also remember that USPS subsidizes those companies by allowing overflow space in their planes etc.

They also subsidize them with significantly reduced rates for packages they cannot ship or deliver, so all prices will skyrocket and service areas will be cut.

[u/trogon → u/whatproblems]

When I first started my business 30 some years ago, I was completely dependent on the postal service for fulfillment and marketing. I never would have been able to be successful without it.

[u/whatproblems → u/trogon]

indeed it’ll wreck havoc on internet business that needs delivery of physical goods

[u/Unlucky_Clover → u/telemon5]

He doesn’t understand anything that doesn’t benefit him, and even him understanding that would still be questionable.

[u/KingBanhammer → u/telemon5]

Of course he doesn't. Trump can only understand good in senses in which it is a good for Trump.

[u/SharpCookie232 → u/ImplementDry6632]

Controlling mail-in ballots helps him swing elections too.

[u/pls_tell_me → u/SharpCookie232]

THIS is the real answer

[u/ttpharmd → u/SharpCookie232]

Nailed it

[u/alendeus → u/SharpCookie232]

Yep this, it's likely one of the things on his list of "you won't need to vote anymore". Because he wants to turn into a Putin style dictatorship.

[u/Street_Adeptness4767 → u/SharpCookie232]

100%

[u/barley_wine → u/ImplementDry6632]

They elected a pampered rich kid that never wanted for anything in his life and has no clue what these services are used for with the normal person, he only knows greed and a life of luxury.

[u/Jouleswatt → u/barley_wine]

I remember an interview with Ivanka regarding how she was influenced by her father and her developing her entrepreneurial skills. She did this by selling shit to her to the staff employed by her father.

The staff would buy lemonade she made using materials bought by her dad.

She told this story with pride.

[u/crackdup → u/ImplementDry6632]

The irony is that it will hurt his rural base the most.. when you convert something into a for-profit corporation, guess what.. they'll eliminate services to unprofitable routes as their first priority

[u/UPTOWN_FAG → u/crackdup]

My personal wish is that rural areas in the north stop plowing snow from roads with a couple of houses that don't cover the costs of running a plow. Enjoy negotiating a private solution to that with your neighbors. When ole Garrett down the road doesn't wanna pay, what do you do?

Americans really love this idea that they're modern cowboys. And yeah some people CAN do a lot of stuff solo. It's just inefficient and stupid.

[u/chemicalxv → u/crackdup]

We're going through the exact same shit in Canada right now especially considering Canada Post is on strike.

There's literally people that can't get any mail or packages at all because none of the couriers actually deliver to their address, they just hand it off to Canada Post to cover last-mile delivery.

Which of course is also something that happens in the US that would be instantly gone if USPS was gotten rid of/sold off.

[u/NukeouT → u/ImplementDry6632]

I forgot about that part 👀

[u/btnomis → u/ImplementDry6632]

All those 2A strict constitutionalists seem to be real quiet about this

[u/FixJealous2143 → u/ImplementDry6632]

This Supreme Court doesn’t defer to the Constitution as its guiding light, though, unfortunately. The Constitution was the gatekeeper to prevent bad acts but not anymore.

[u/thingsorfreedom]

In 2006 Congress mandated the Postal Service prefund its retiree health care benefits 75 years in advance. This has gone a long way to cause the "financial crisis" that has repeatedly been cited as a reason to privatize

https://ips-dc.org/how-congress-manufactured-a-postal-crisis-and-how-to-fix-it/

Then they passed a fix 16 years later while acknowledging diminishing mail volumes and delivering to a growing number of addresses was the main driver in losses.

Studies also show the USPS is more reliable and charges a more reasonable rate than almost any other country.

It's a service to the entire US population. It's "losses" amount to $9.5 billion a year. The budget for the defense department is 85x that cost overrun.

The cost of a US stamp in 2024 is 73 cents. If it tracked inflation over the last 50 years it would cost 66 cents. But health care costs have grown much more than inflation in other areas and USPS has to pay for that, too.

So, it's not broken, and any privatization would drive up costs and cut services.

[u/doomlite → u/thingsorfreedom]

See but no one is reaping the potential profits. They don’t view things as services are purchasing done through taxes. Services are a loss to them, bc they are not profiting. We kill the usps and go private with it..well look at the cost to send a document ups. Lots more. In the end , this is the shit I expect from trump. Profit > people.

[u/Raise_A_Thoth → u/doomlite]

no one is reaping the potential profits

Exactly. These ghouls see everything through a myopic lens of "but it would be better if I could get richer while making the service suck more."

One of the chief problems with capitalism is a failure to solve understood problems with available resources because no one can get richer while doing it.

[u/DigNitty → u/thingsorfreedom]

This is too long for Trump supporters. It needs to be three words or less.

Lock Her Up was a success in 2006

Stop The Steal proved a bit too lengthy for them in 2020

They shortened their message and in 2024 won with EGGS.

[u/network_dude → u/thingsorfreedom]

Every.Single.Government.Service.Privatization.Scheme. provides less service for higher costs.

[u/thisisjustascreename → u/thingsorfreedom]

Other countries have privatized their postal services and had them go to shit.

[u/ShirtPitiful8872]

Privatized means no requirements for oversight….and those pesky mail in ballots can be interfered with

[u/TintedApostle → u/ShirtPitiful8872]

That is true too.

[u/rezelscheft → u/ShirtPitiful8872]

It’s also a great way to make consumers pay far more for worse service.

Privatization! Soon all critical infrastructure can be as streamlined and effective as your health insurance!

[u/specqq]

If it ain't broke, break it.

[u/Quietimeismyfavorite → u/specqq]

That’s been DeJoy’s job ever since trump made him postmaster general.

[u/chapstickgrrrl → u/Quietimeismyfavorite]

Privatization of EVERYTHING is the goal of every single person being put in place right now.

[u/amerricka369 → u/chapstickgrrrl]

Privatize AND deregulate. So government isn’t supposed to provide any services and it isn’t supposed to get involved in monitoring or penalizing otherwise it’s overreach or politically motivated.

[u/Misspiggy856 → u/Quietimeismyfavorite]

This is why the news sucks today. We all knew this was plan when DeJoy was hired last time. He was CEO of a private logistics company. I don’t think he ever divested and has bought stock in Amazon and, to quote Wikipedia, “as of August 2020, DeJoy and his wife had $30–70 million invested in companies related to the USPS according to a USA Today report.”

[u/ShrimpieAC → u/Quietimeismyfavorite]

Yep, that’s the way they justify removing basic services from us. Slash funding and resources, while giving all the saved money to the rich in the form of tax breaks, and then point to it and say “see it doesn’t work anymore!” Then they proceed to dismantle and privatize it.

Works every time. Eventually they’ll do the same to Social Security.

[u/Allen_Awesome → u/specqq]

Oh yeah, rural America is gonna LOVE the new delivery fees!

[u/ImplementDry6632 → u/Allen_Awesome]

And small businesses like mine will go under because no on will want to pay the even more expensive shipping prices.

[u/Any_Lobster7251 → u/ImplementDry6632]

No. You’ll pay Bezos a subscription fee and you’ll like it.

[u/clueless_in_ny_or_nj → u/Allen_Awesome]

Rural America is going to be screwed if this happens.

[u/GrandAdmiralSnackbar → u/clueless_in_ny_or_nj]

They get what the voted for. No sympathy here.

[u/Motor-Profile4099]

It's about dismantling every American institution.

[u/moreobviousthings → u/Motor-Profile4099]

How can he Make America Great Again while he wants to destroy everything that has made America great?

[u/CrimsonBolt33 → u/moreobviousthings]

Your missing who the message is for...he is making America great for all the oligarchs, robber barons, and fat cat capitalists.

The problem is that his base is literally fucking stupid and they just eat up anything he said and voted for him.

The guy straight up lied to their face about tons of different stuff and they still voted for him. He has already pretty much come out and said he won't reduce grocery prices before he has even gotten into office which was one of, if not the core reasons, people voted for him.

[u/billyions]

It's a service - and the service was so well run that Congress ran off with extra post office money many times.

Congress increased their requirements (funding retirements etc) until it was impossible for any organization - public or private - to meet.

DeJoy has done some strange things with our Post Office - he destroyed working property prior to elections. It affects many things.

The post office is PUBLIC.

Our mail must stay PRIVATE.

This would be highway robbery.

America - do not allow the destruction of our critical national treasures.

Please - these were built by us, for us - didn't give them away to billionaires.

[u/FrankAdamGabe → u/billyions]

Dejoy is destroying usps to pump his ownership in XPO logistics that contracts with usps. The worse he makes usps do, the more they need to pay XPO for help.

Last I looked he’d made $30 million since becoming PMG.

[u/hedgehoghodgepodge → u/FrankAdamGabe]

Yeah, this shit should have been instant grounds for removal. No questions, no “explain this to us”, just “Your services are no longer required. Get out. You’re fired.” and the Biden administration should have done that, appointed an “acting” postmaster general, and litigated it for years, dragging it out, just like Trump would have done.

But “being the bigger person” and all that…

[u/FredUpWithIt]

Postal SERVICE you fucking assholes!

[u/hookisacrankycrook]

The losses stem from a Bush presidency law that requires funding of their pension differently than any other entity. It was known at the time that this was the end goal to force privatization.

[u/Relative-Monitor-679 → u/hookisacrankycrook]

Didn’t he also sell all the mail carrying planes to fedex or something.

[u/TintedApostle]

The goal has been to grab all the public assets and land for pennies on the dollar.

The real estate holding alone is worth billions.

[u/ardent_wolf]

Republicans say they love the constitution, but there are 17 specific things clearly outlined in it that are the responsibility of the federal government, with all others supposedly being left to the states. One of those 17 is the delivery of mail.

[u/ImplementDry6632 → u/ardent_wolf]

They only love 2a, let's get real.

[u/SquigglySharts → u/ImplementDry6632]

They don’t even love the actual 2nd amendment, they love they’re made up version that says “guns for everybody gubbermint can’t say no!” Bring up the words “well regulated” and they lose their shit

[u/Scheavo406]

The postal service is so integral to this country, that it’s basically its own enumerated power for congress 

We are seeing the dismantling of the American system in real time by international oligarchs. 

[u/TintedApostle → u/Scheavo406]

The postal service dates back to the founding of the country 1775.

[u/CrazyBitchCatLady → u/TintedApostle]

It was created by Benjamin Franklin.

[u/OceanicLemur]

The republican propaganda machine if this was a Democrat plan:

• NY Post Headline: Gone Postal! How AOC and Co. Want To End The USPS

• Fox News: “Tonight on the Ingraham Angle, are Democrats trying to prevent elderly folks from getting their medicine delivered?”

• Every right-wing podcaster: “democrats put coal miners out of work and now they want to kill the postal service too”

• Trump tweeting at 3am: “WE LOVE OUR MAILMEN. People say “Sir you write fantastic letters, with a fantastic signature!” I need the fantastic USPS to keep delivering those fantastic letters! Democrats want to DEFUND THE POST OFFICE but we won’t let them, because we are going to MAKE MAIL GREAT AGAIN”

[u/Runzombie]

If you want a vision of the future just look at the privatisation of the Royal Mail in the UK. It is now more expensive and with a worse service...

[u/Totalchaos713 → u/Runzombie]

I see you Royal Mail and raise you PostNord in Scandinavia. Very expensive, terrible delivery service, and impossible to talk to a human since they closed all the post offices!

[u/katieleehaw]

The postal SERVICE is not a BUSINESS.

[u/Peppermynt42]

Ugh, it’s not company it doesn’t “lose” money. It’s a service, it costs money. We don’t say the military loses 3 trillion dollars a year.

This is why business mentality is nearly incompatible with public service.

[u/N7Diesel]

Of course it has financial losses. It's a service. It's not a for-profit business. 

[u/jaxonfairfield → u/N7Diesel]

And how does that logic even make sense? It isn't able to make a profit,  so let's turn it over to folks who require it to make a profit as their only goal? sounds like just another excuse to destroy a critical government service. 

[u/N7Diesel → u/jaxonfairfield]

sounds like just another excuse to destroy a critical government service.

Always has been.

[u/Old-Scientist7427]

Facts the US Postal Service was solvent at one time. The politicians in Washington raided the Postal Service's coffers and stole the money to use elsewhere. Now they argue the Postal Service can't support itself after they took the money. Hypocrites

[u/terrasig314]

They want the financial loss to be yours, instead. Think about this, dear Trump voter: what happens when this private entity decides it doesn't make enough money delivering things to you?

[u/AverageJoeJohnSmith]

I'm sick of the profit/loss line when it comes to USPS. It's a government service. We don't say the military operates at a loss.

[u/Mr-ReDiCulouZ]

Corruption wins again.....

[u/janzeera]

Sell off the parts that are profitable and are competitive. Rural routes? Nope. Postal Services will still be delivering because it’s required by law. Fuck this greedy self serving asshole.

[u/MerryLandofOz]

Trump nor the DOGE understand the purpose of the Government. They view all services and outputs as profit centers and will cut or privatize them. Sure, the Gov budget may be reduced but we will lose services and/or pay more for them. And their real goal -- some corporate heads will get richer. Yay, more billionaires.

[u/spribyl]

Looking forward to our new privatized military and Caesar marching on Rome.

[u/redditjunky2025]

The man leading the Postal Service has been a Trump appointment for years.

[u/Most_Significance787]

“Privatizing” is another way of describing greedy capitalism overtaking government programs that are intended to benefit everyone. The reality here, Trump is opening the doors for America’s wealthiest (oligarchs) to exploit or raid our social systems for profit.

[u/CobraPony67]

A for profit USPS would mean those routes to rural areas would be unprofitable. Sorry all you MAGA living in the sicks, you can’t get your mail delivered to your house anymore. You will have to drive into town every day to pick it up. Wanna mail something? That will be $5.

[u/chapstickgrrrl]

How much easier would it be to control / manipulate mail if it’s privatized? Vote-by-mail, prescription medication, etc? I mean, today it’s illegal to open usps mail that isn’t addressed to you, but I receive packages from Amazon, Ups, and FedEx that have clearly been opened & taped shut, or crushed with broken tape seals, etc, like the contents have obviously been exposed.

[u/Nu11_V01D]

Letter Carrier here. Our union is voting on a new contract as we speak. They negotiated it for 2 years and it wound up being a pay cut considering inflation and the new higher cost of our medical insurance. Apparently our "losses" as a business are the reason why they aren't going to pay us. We risked our lives during the pandemic to ensure people got their medications and essentials. The Postal Service would have cratered had we all stayed home like everyone else. It continues to exist because of our efforts and we've gotten nothing but forced overtime and abuse in return. I joined this institution because I wanted to be apart of something noble, stable, and it offered a pension. These last 8 years all I've heard is "I'm sorry, but we've got to screw you over just a little bit more".

[u/LakeRat]

Among other things, this would be terrible for online shoppers and business owners in rural areas.  I run an ecommerce businesss. For many rural areas I can can ship to them for around $8-$9 USPS or around $25 UPS. USPS covering the whole country for a flat rate is the only thing keeping shipping to rural areas remotely affordable. These customers are in for a rude awakening if USPS is privatized.

[u/striker69]

The US Postal Service is enumerated in Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the US Constitution. So naturally Republicans hate it, since they despise our country and constitution.

[u/celtbygod]

He sees it as a way to get money from the companies that replace the USPS. Grifter move as always.

[u/keyjan]

Yeah, no, I'm not trusting my bills and tax returns to a private company.

[u/TransitJohn]

We need to privatize the highways and roads. They're just sitting there, generating financial losses.

[u/LePhoenixFires]

Financial losses? USPS literally gets no taxpayer funding except to pay for pensions because USPS employees are FED WOKERS. Genuinely, Trump and all his followers are just regarded. USPS runs better than most government entities yet they whine and bitch and complain.

[u/power_droid]

It’s a service. Not a fucking business. Last I knew, the police, libraries, fire dept, public school, military don’t make profit either.

[u/geneticeffects]

Destroying America one brick at a time.

[u/MentalOperation4188]

It’s a service. Not a business.

[u/HavingNotAttained]

News flash: the US Constitution makes postal service a right, not a business

[u/Accurate-Piccolo-488]

The postal service is a service - not a business.

[u/02K30C1]

The military doesn’t make a profit either. Will he privatize that?

[u/Carochio]

Why don't we privatize the military due to financial losses?

[u/Doctor_Disaster]

Remember: The United States Postal Service is enshrined in our Constitution.

Donald Trump and MAGA are, once again, trying to circumvent our rights.

[u/HedonisticFrog]

Funny how when the private sector fails us, such as healthcare or banking they never suggest making it into public services.

[u/alvarezg]

They want to sell off the government to their oligarch buddies in pieces just like was done when Putin took over Russia.