Thom Hartmann: Destroying the Postal Service - another Manufactured Crisis

[thomhartmann]

Run time: 07:06 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPuz1ScIetU   Posted on YouTube: September 07, 2011 By YouTube Member: TheBigPictureRT Views on YouTube: 73   Posted on DU: September 07, 2011 By DU Member: thomhartmann Views on DU: 2201

 
The United States Post Office is on the verge of shutting down. According to the New York Times - the Post Office is quickly running out of cash and may be forced to shut down this winter. As the Times writes, "Sometime early next year, the agency will run out of money to pay its employees and gas up its trucks...forcing it to stop delivering the roughly three billion pieces of mail it handles weekly."

Postmaster general Patrick R. Donahoe described the situation as, “extremely serious,” and warned, “If Congress doesn’t act, we will default.” So what's going on here? Why is the post office - which was created by Ben Franklin more than 200 years ago - on the verge of shuttering it's doors today?While the media story line is that the Post Office is dealing with the problem of trying to remain profitable in a world of decreasing paper mail - the real cause is actually something much, much different. Consider that this year - like every year since 2006 - the Post Office is legally required to make a $5 billion annual contribution to a retirement account to pay for future retirees who aren’t even born yet.

No other company or government agency has been asked to do something this crazy. Yet that's exactly what Congress - during the Presidency of George W. Bush - forced the Post Office to do. And now this poison-pill legislation from five years ago - has pushed the Post Office to the verge of not being able to pay its bills. So is this REALLY just another example of Conservatives manufacturing a crisis - so that they can privatize another essential government service? But wait - there's more! For more on this - I'm joined by Chuck Zlatkin - Legislative and Political Director of the New York Metro Area Postal Union

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

[Overseas]

1. K&R. I love the USPS and my local post office is great.

I think its services should be subsidized because they help so many of us.

At least I hope they can remove that $5 billion restriction that isn't applied to other companies or government agencies.

[tclambert]

2. Germany and Japan privatized postal service. Rates for 1st class mail are about double ours.

The Japanese hated it so much they had the government take it back over. Betcha won't read that in the Wall Street Journal.

[pauldg0]

3. Yep....

.....and that would happen here too.

Privatizing will give jobs to foreigners and a letter will cost a dollar to mail.

[democracy1st]

4. K & R

[midnight]

5. The closing of the post office is being caused by a voice vote in congress.

75 years of retirement funding needs to be paid off in ten years and is causing bankruptcy.. Republicans want to privatize 600,000 thousand workers with benefits.. Support HR.1351 legislation that would solve this manufactured problem.