Summary
Donald Trump is considering privatizing the US Postal Service due to its financial losses, a move that could disrupt shipping and push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of government.
Citing the USPS’s financial losses, Trump argued the agency should not rely on government subsidies.
While his specific privatization plans remain unclear, Trump previously clashed with the USPS during his first term, attempting to shift control of key functions like labor relations and rate-setting to the Treasury Department.
This move could significantly alter the structure and operations of the USPS if implemented.
I don’t think he will actually be able to pull this off. All federal agencies use USPS because they are govt employees, there are tons and tons of policies written about what has to be sent using USPS. Sure he probably could try to do this, but I imagine he will get a fair bit of pushback internally
Fuck the fascists. We fought the British over less tyrannical shit than what Trump is promising.
The beatings will continue until a revolution begins
Just like the first time
It isn’t a business, it is a service, it costs money that our taxes pay, so we don’t have to pay shitty private companies. (And it still makes money) “Let’s make the Mail just like ISPs” is a stupid take.
… it costs money that our taxes pay …
Nope. USPS is entirely internally funded. No tax money goes to it at all.
We should be making ISPs more like the mail.
Fun fact, lots of ISPs basically are, and Trump wants to ruin that as well. The coop I work for has a FANTASTIC network, and the pay is excellent as well. If it becomes a shitty profit seeking private company, that will all change.
The postal service doesn’t lose money, it costs money.
By this logic, the interstate highway system and the military both lose billions! Is Trump going to privatize them too?
Can’t spend money on sinfrastructure.
Get ready for more train derailments!
Don’t give it ideas.
Don’t forget National and State parks - public lands in general. WhY ArEn’T tHeY tUrNiNg a PRooooFiT??
You’re right, and that one isn’t even hyperbole. They earnestly want to turn the parks into oil fields and cut down the forests.
“Land of Many Abuses”
Dont forget the fire department
And police!
Thats not even a true statement.
The postal service makes money, but any surpless is automatically taken by Congress.
In the early 2000s the GOP passed a law requiring the postal service to upfront load the retirement funds of new employees, creating a massive debt burden.
Also, Congress has removed their ability to modernize equipment and fleets, forcing them to continue repairing aged equipment.
Not to mention, DeJoy, Trump’s installment during his first term, has done everything he can to dismantle any modernization because he wants the Post Office sold at rock bottom prices so he can buy it, get this, because he owns competing companies.
modernize equipment and fleets
They’re getting those new electric trucks though.
Which Trump is already talking about cancelling the contract for…
And the company making them isn’t doing the best job at it… Even though they got a shot ton of money and have only made like 90 of these things of the 3000 they are contracted for
They were getting new electric fleets, the Umpa-lumpa in chief already said hes canx’ing that.
I, too, have trouble remembering how many “L” s are in canceling.
Education is being defunded too.
Further reading: https://www.nalc.org/news/the-postal-record/2022/may-2022/document/Postal-reform.pdf
I skipped to the part about 2003 - if my reading comprehension is right, USPS was in the black. When congress noticed, they made financial magic by using the pension funding mandate to help hide how bad the federal deficit had ballooned during that administration? This is such political theater.
Yeah, I consulted chatgpt for sources on the history behind why that 75-year funding requirement was enacted. The other link it gave me was this: https://www.epi.org/press/news_from_epi_retiree_health_pre-funding_is_primary_cause_of_usps_shor/
Was there a better reason Pension Funding was even brought up as an issue worth legislating for? Was there some scare trend of businesses scamming people out of their pensions? Source?
Don’t tell the Trump administration about the toll highway system in France
Don’t give him ideas. He probably would.
Citing the USPS’s financial losses, Trump argued the agency should not rely on government subsidies.
It already doesn’t. USPS is entirely internally funded. What a fucking idiot.
Much of their operating costs is due to the insane pension funding they have to do. Way more than other parts of the government.
Again?
IF THEY PRIVATIZE THE FUCKING MAIL I AM GOING TO SCREAM. Is nothing sacred?
For fuck’s sake, it’s not meant to make money, it’s a public service - it’s literally in the name!
I wish more countries governments would get their head out of their capitalistic arses and understand that the services they run aren’t meant to be profitable - that’s what taxes are meant to be for!
You’re going to have to get with the times. Everything has to make money or it’s scrapped including us.
I’m no economist but at some point doesn’t that fall apart? If everything needs to be generating then aren’t we creating a vacuum at the bottom or whatever? Money has to come in and go out equally in the end, no?
The model has to change once you reach the vacuum state. Usually via violent implosion.
Huh…
Maybe if we just don’t think about that, things will turn out perfectly fine.
It does, and that’s manifested in increasing labour requirements, and consumer spending.
The US solves it by using slaves and debt.
Amen, brother.
I love that so much I might have to steal it
As did I, brother.
Edit - I don’t know why I keep calling you brother.
I just need to know if it’s '80s wrestler, clergyman, or motorcycle club, I don’t really mind in any case I just need to know what voice to read it in…
Hmm of those choices I’m going with motorcycle club. It’s the closest for sure.
I can probably pull off 80s wrestler in a pinch.
And how would you privatize an entity that’s in the Constitution? I wonder how that’d look…
Consitution? PFffffft!!
My country did that long ago. Works worse every year… sometimes I have to wait for my Mail for a week. Used to be 24h.
I’m not an accelerationist, but what’s left to do now except bathe in the worm glow of our country burning down?
There is no arguing that America doesn’t deserve all the bad things, and maybe a good old fashioned conflagration would straighten the survivors out for a generation or two.
Because a lot of mostly innocent people get hurt the most when it all collapses around us, and most likely you’ll also be hit by the effects of the collapse. It’s why it’s so important we work to fix the broken things and change what is wrong, and to be there for other people when things do break down rather than just wipe our hands and let the whole thing fall uncontrolled and unprepared.
I’m not an accelerationist, but what’s left to do now except bathe in the worm glow of our country burning down?
Well it’s certainly not enough to just luxuriate in the chaos. Every time Trump makes things worse it’s our job to point it out and explain why he’s doing it. People won’t radicalize on their own! They’ll just blame immigrants and woke and DEI etc etc.
Do you hear yourself? You want revolution through explaining?
Trump supporters are not confused progressives. Trump is what America wants, He’s what America is. He’s what America deserves. Trump is more American than bullets and ground beef. He hasn’t overthrown the founders, he’s fulfilled their vision. We’re not going to change that by scolding people on the internet.
I understand, I used to think just like you. I used to be a patriot. I’ve voted for every Democrat presidential nominee from Gore to Harris. But these days I’m writing to the State to take my name off those goddam rolls. I suppose you’ll take a dim view of that, but no bullshit about civic duty, democracy, or engagement could ever compare to the tangible material benefit of avoiding jury duty.
I don’t wanna save America anymore. In fact I think her decline is funny and I’m tired of pretending it’s not.
Yeah! Fuck all the people who will be hurt and killed throughout. That’s funny!
Who gives a shit about Trump supporters? The vast majority didn’t vote for Trump if you count non-voters.
Also don’t dare call me a patriot. Death to America!
No arguments that the internet is a worthless place to educate people, though. This is just for fun.
United Tesla Shipping…UTS
United Tesla Institute… UTI
Shipping Tesla Institution…STI
So many possibilities!
Call me dumb… but what does UTS actually stand for?
Its just like the UPS but with a T. They could also have the all new USTS!.. The United States Tesla Shipping!
Google says University of Technology Sydney.
Adding “medical” to the Google search returns… University of Technology Sydney, and a health consultant in Australia.So… I’m going to go with University of Technology Sydney.
While Google results have tanked the past few years, I can’t find a combination of keywords that even suggests some sort of sexual/urinary (“naughty bits”) infection.DuckDuckGo returns Ultimate Tennis Showdown.
Adding “medical” suggests to add “syndrome” and got me to “Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome” (“ulnar neuropathy at the wrist where it passes through the ulnar tunnel”)… So, too much masturbation? I’m struggling to make it naughtyYeah… I looked it up on Wikipedia and got similar results, plus a river… IDK what they were trying to go for.
Nah, Elon’s all about dat X. He’ll just call them all X.
Every thing the gop has done to the usps had hurt it more… but everytime I hear “it doesn’t make money” well it did before the absolutely idiotic idea to make sure pensions were super funded forward. Ontop of that. Why the fuck does a government organization need to make money? I hate this whole “run a country like a business” bullshit so much. Money makes everything worse.
Same for public transit.
A bit of compensation isn’t a crazy idea, but it doesn’t have to break even with the money it does bring in. It’s not like we have a ton of toll roads either, it’s not an issue to spend billions on another lane or two.
USPS doesn’t lose a dime. It’s a service. It costs money to run.
You know, like a government office does.
The GOP exists to oppose anything that serves the common good. They exist to transfer public wealth to private interests. That is their entire mandate
Which is why they want to privatize everything… easier to grift from. I just find it hilarious that they take full power, fuck everything up, lose power and point to things saying “see it doesn’t work!” And their lapdogs just eat it up. Yes when you cripple something it will fail, and then you blame it or the dems and hey you get to do it again!
We need another mangione to put him out of our misery
Meh. The usps delivers mostly junk mail. Occasionally they deliver a bill. The packages they deliver could be covered by others. There will be gaps in rural areas of course. But those are the people who steadfastly vote for smaller government. So they most be okay with it. I say, let it go. Junk mail will cease because a private business would have to charge to much. Bills and such would go electronic… like the denial letter from anthem that they rufused to tell me the contents of. That all sounds good to me.
Your anecdotal evidence is fucking retarded fyi
You must be high. I didn’t provide any evidence. I just gave an opinion paired with a comment about obvious hypocrisy.
You know what else the USPS delivers? Anything to a rural address that UPS and FedEx and the others won’t deliver to. Because those private companies can refuse to deliver to places but the USPS can’t. And you know what is in those packages? Things not easily gotten to rural places. Like medication.
I literally said that. The people in rural areas overwhelmingly voted for this. It’s their will. They don’t like programs that only benefit specific groups like the poor or disabled. Rural is just another group right.
It is time to let them eat their own dog food isn’t it
I don’t think all those indigenous villages on islands in Alaska voted for this.
I have read enough of your comments to know that you know the difference between overwhelming and all.
Sure. I do. I don’t know how you could know what the people who live in areas that only the USPS is willing to serve overwhelmingly voted for, but feel free to show me those statistics.
And the ones who don’t? Fuck them?
That is about rural Americans, not Americans who live in areas that only the USPS is willing to serve. There is a massive difference.
I’m a rural American. You have to go down a country road and up a highway for about 10 minutes to get to the nearest town. UPS, FedEx and Amazon all deliver right to my door.
Holy shit what a stupid fucking take.
Take your pointless comments back to reddit where they belong.
I don’t consider calling out garbage takes to be pointless.
That’s why you belong on reddit.
Ohh I’d love for you to elaborate on why… Why is calling someone out for a bad take something that belongs on reddit?
