Fearing 'election theft in progress,' Eshoo shows support for Postal Service

This issue so politicized that it is losing touch with reality. The realignment of Post Office resources is based on the fact that they have been losing buckets of money, and the changes will make them more efficient and less costly to operate. The idea that "millions of ballots" will somehow clog a postal system that already handles >182 million items of first class mail per day is ridiculous, particularly when these ballots won't all be mailed the same day and many will be turned in at polling places. I support the recent decision to freeze the post office changes until after the election to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, but for the love of pete, can we for a MOMENT have some non-partisan sanity? Reality is that we cannot continue to throw $100 billion at the USPS like it was candy; the organization needs to become more efficient and sustainable, and that's going to happen regardless of which party wins in November. This is not some sinister plot to influence the election, it's fiscal responsibility.

And for a reality check from menlobeekeeper:

Web Link

"The Post Office Is Always Losing Money. It’s Not Its Fault."

"Why Does the Post Office “Lose Money”?
There are four big reasons the Postal Service is less profitable than the logistics companies it competes against."

"For starters, there is no reason the post office should make money. It is essentially a federal agency with a universal service mandate. It costs the same to mail a letter to rural America as it does within densely populated cities, but publicly traded logistics companies charge more for deliveries to areas off the beaten track."

"Second, the USPS, essentially, doesn’t directly control what it costs to mail a letter. Congress, for instance, rolled back a 2-cent stamp-price increase in 2016 because lawmakers decided the Postal Service had recaptured the sales declines associated with the 2008-2009 financial crisis."

"A third critical factor is that around 2006, lawmakers imposed new expenses on the USPS, in part because it was too profitable."

"Finally, blame the internet: Mail volumes are falling. It’s tough for any business to deal with shrinking demand in its largest business segment. Growth helps any business absorb fixed costs and allows management to bring in new, lower-priced labor to help offset legacy liabilities."

I note that the Trump campaign is utilizing a special, very low cost USPS mailing rate for all of its campaign literature.

If Trump thinks the USPS should get full cost for its services why doesn't he just pay First Class postage?

Post office issues are structural and long term, now with a heavy slice of politics. The politics won't change the fact that the internet has largely replace first class mail. Wrt the election, I'm most concerned about local rules that vary across the country some of which don't recognize the reality of what it takes to transport physical items, and that the results vary even when it's FedEx or UPS. We all know they do. An article today in the Mercury News had this useful info for California, which basically means we should be fine. "another big change — and one that’s key given concerns about mail delays — is that as long as they’re mailed by Election Day, ballots can now arrive up to 17 days later and still be counted. Before, they had to arrive within three days, but a new law from Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) means there’s now an extra two weeks of leeway." See: Web Link