Instead of Killing the Postal System, Let's Expand It

[Thaddeus]

Instead of Killing the Postal System, Let's Expand It[link:https://www.thenation.com/article/society/usps-funding-local-media/|
by @VWPickard in The Nation

The postal system has been a key public infrastructure since the dawn of the US republic. Today the United States Postal Service (USPS) faces an existential threat as President Trump blocks a desperately needed emergency loan. Instead of defunding and privatizing the postal system, now’s an opportune moment to reimagine its purpose and revitalize it.

We’ve heard by now many compelling arguments for saving USPS. It offers a secure and private means of communication (especially important with mail-in voting), it provides more than 600,000 jobs for a diverse workforce, and it ensures an essential service of delivering important goods (including prescription medicine) to far-flung locales at affordable and equal rates. Remarkably, USPS serves as both a national communication network and a local anchor institution for small communities across the country. Its loss would be a profound blow to American culture and democracy.

But we should be striving for something bolder than just preserving a noble institution. Instead of fighting over whether to scrap or save USPS, we should be pushing to expand it. Reimagining and repurposing this vital public infrastructure could yield tremendous benefits for all of society.

Recent years have witnessed growing calls for building on the postal system’s infrastructure such as offering postal banking. But one intriguing idea missing from these discussions is the post office’s unique potential for producing community-level news.

Read the rest here: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/usps-funding-local-media/

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Banking. Other countries do it.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. We used to have Postal Savings, money orders, etc. when there was little rural banking.

[Alacritous Crier]

3. Yup!

This is the direction we should be moving in.

[Hoyt]

4. All for preserving USPS. However, having government foster local news, doesn't sound good to me.

It’ll be great when an Obama is Prez, but not when a trump type is.

I live in a community that went close to 80% for trump. Maybe that has something to do with my view.

[appalachiablue]

5. Offer banking like we once had, email accounts, a news

and community affairs bulletin maybe partnered with PBS & NPR.

Also set up a small shop area, separate from the mailing services and adjacent to a small café/bistro and even an exhibit area on U.S. history.

Sometimes I like to dream!

[alwaysinasnit]

6. K&R Thanks for posting.

[dlk]

7. We should take full advantage of the post office's extensive infrastructure

Going in the opposite direction is like shooting ourselves in the foot.

[live love laugh]

8. Too late--Trump just appointed an assasin as postmaster general. nt