Trump’s Quest to Privatize Mail: The Possible Death of the USPS and Implications on the Election and Consumers

Reliable. Unfaltering. Far-Reaching. The United States Postal Service has been a notable presence as of late within the American sphere of media due to President Trump’s refusal to bail out the service in a recent Covid-19 relief bill. Trump’s personal gripes with one of the few government agencies expected to turn a profit have set up more than 600,000 workers to fall through the cracks of the recent economic collapse. This news comes amidst Trump’s claims that voting fraud amid mail-in ballots should invalidate the method of election, despite voting absentee himself in a recent Florida election.

It is no secret that Trump’s distain for Jeff Bezos’s Amazon drives his opinion over the USPS. In recent years through the growth of the online market, companies like Amazon have been taking advantage of the USPS policy of delivering to any address within the United States, no matter how remote. Simply delivering the package to a USPS office and paying postage to have them deliver the final route has saved these companies millions, at the cost of the USPS. Trump’s jealously of this arrangement may have led to his recent policy decision to suffocate an already suffering operation.

The United States Postal Service has had a stifling policy placed upon it since 2006 that has resulted in much of the current downturn in the service’s financial operation. They are required to prepay health benefits for employees 75 years in advance, for employees not even yet in the service! In charging little for their service, and through governmental strangulation was the deathbed made for the USPS. The implications of the collapse of the USPS would be widespread, resulting in the complete privatization of the postage system in the United States. Companies like Amazon, UPS, and FedEx do not deliver to all addresses across the united states, contrary to popular belief. If I were to order an item to my house, I would expect some minor shipping and handling to cover the costs of transportation. Following the collapse of the USPS, depending on where I live, these costs could explode upwards of the cost of the actual item!

Should the USPS collapse, the mail-in system of voting would become largely impossible come November. Unbeknownst to Trump, this would likely hurt his chances, as a majority of the states that rely upon mail-in voting with larger rural populations are predominantly republican. His continued tactics of ignorance and bullying have left many Americans, both among and outside his base supporters without the rights and services they desire. Should the president be as supportive of blue-collar workers as he claims to be, he would seek to either bail-out or reinvigorate the USPS to be efficient and profitable, while still maintaining the values that led to its enrichment of every American.

Americans wait with bated breath to see the full implications of the Covid-19 shutdown, alongside many businesses and economies the world over. In the wake of such a massive financial and health disaster, to allow a vital service such as the USPS to fall would be tantamount to consumer suicide. Voting, a key right every American should have, will be suppressed in areas that lack physical voting services, and for individuals that may not be able to access those locations. For the sake of every American, I hope to never see the day where those little white mail trucks cease to putter down my street.