Thom Hartmann: Conservatives are destroying Ben Franklin's best invention - The Post Office

[thomhartmann]

Fred Rolando, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) joins Thom Hartmann. The postal service has been a part of American society for hundreds of years - and it's been getting screwed for just as long. Are we really ready to let it fall victim to the Republicans' war on labor? The United States Postal Service was created by Benjamin Franklin in 1775, and we shouldnt have to erase American history just because Conservatives are afraid of unions and workers' rights.

The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann on RT TV & FSTV "live" 9pm and 11pm check www.thomhartmann.com/tv for local listings

[phantom power]

1. Another movement that will negatively impact rural conservatives disproporationately.

[The Wielding Truth]

2. I used to say that Bush broke everything except the USPS. Not anymore.

[zinnisking]

3. I never knew the Postal Service was that old. I'd like to see Thom do a segment listing all the ways

we were partly socialist from the signing of the constitution to the end of the Monroe presidency.

[Ruby the Liberal]

4. Paying the Postmaster General ~twice what the US President makes

is part of the problem. Add in email and the internet in general, and we are talking buggy whips here.

I am part of the campaign to save the USPS (we are about to lose our local sorting/cancellation office, which hurts tourism), but there are dramatic changes that needed to happen a damn DECADE ago to keep it afloat. Prefunding pensions for 75 years and Executive Comp is just two of those changes that need to be addressed.

[juajen]

6. Isn't the post office separate from the US government. As a separate entity can't they pay their

Postmaster General what they want to? I am confused as to your position here. No company that I know of prefunds pensions for 75 years. I believe I might need a tutorial. Post office jobs are a reason we have a middle class. Are you saying do away with the unions? As far as I know, the post office had no problems until congress meddled and decided that they would have to prefund their pensions for 75 years.

[tclambert]

7. Not completely separate. There's a Postal Regulatory Commission, and meddling legislation

called the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. If the number of letters declines, like it did during the Bush Recession, then the cost per letter for delivery increases. Any private enterprise (especially one with a monopoly) would raise prices in that situation. The Postal Service was denied permission to do so last year. They got a very small increase approved this past January, but not enough to cover costs.

Politics has intruded. The Postal Service now says they cannot solve their financial problems without Congressional action. The future retiree health benefits pre-funding Thom Hartmann talked about is written into the 2006 law. That law also says the Postal Service can increase rates without Congressional approval, but only to adjust for inflation. A bad recession that greatly reduced the number of pre-approved credit card offers sent through the mail doesn't qualify. That was the reasoning for refusing a postal rate increase in 2011.

Postal rates in America are lower than in most other countries, often despite greater physical distances involved in mail delivery. If the Republicans get their way and we privatize the Postal Service, do not be surprises if rates go way up (and some of that increase goes to pay obscene bonuses to the top handful of executives).

[Galraedia]

8. The Internet is NOT killing the USPS.

People are naturally writing fewer letters, but that started fifty years ago with the telephone, and household-to-household correspondence accounts for less than one percent of first-class mail. In many ways the Internet is actually helping the Postal Service by contributing to an increase in many types of mail — prescription drugs, eBay items, catalogs, Netflix videos, credit card solicitations, and so o

[just1voice]

5. So reverse the stupid puke law. Oops, there is no "law".

War criminals get new hearts and go on book tours in the U.S. as we the people are told that holding the worst criminals accountable is "off the table".

The entire country is going down economically because of corruption, the USPS is just another huge group of people being screwed by those whom will not hold the corrupt accountable.