No More Saturday Mail Delivery

Whatever.  I guess I can live with two days in a row of no catalogues, no bills, no special offers.  But if the Post Office cuts any more delivery days, I might have to start watching Netflix movies online instead of receiving DVDs in the mail.  21st century, here I come.

But most people are aware — or should be — that the Post Office’s problems haven’t been caused by Saturday mail delivery, or e-mail replacing snail mail, etc.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been drowning in red ink because of Congress’ braindead Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006.  This bill was introduced and passed in December of 2006 by a lame duck Congress.  Dumbya signed it.  And both parties voted overwhelmingly in favor of this bone-stupid law, so you can’t even blame Republicans.  Not entirely anyway.

Because of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, the U.S. Postal Service is required to pre-fund all employees’ retirement pensions for the next seventy-five years.  Name ONE other government agency — or ONE private company — that’s required to do this.  That’s right, you can’t.

And THAT’S why the Post Office needs to eliminate Saturday mail delivery, starting in August.  But that’s OK; we’ll still have mail delivery five days a week.  For now.

In just a few decades, your neighborhood mailman (or woman) has gone from being an icon of Americana to just another overpaid government bureaucrat.  Same with teachers, government employees in general, labor unions…

In the 1950s and early ‘60s, even Republicans paid glowing tribute to labor unions.  Maybe they didn’t mean any of it, but they didn’t dare say otherwise.  What happened between then and now?  And who will be the next group to go from hero to villain?  Which occupation — which segment of society — will devolve from today’s integral part of our culture to tomorrow’s lazy meddling bureaucrat who should be replaced by the private sector?