USPS Stuck Between Rock and a Hard Place —Michelson

Perhaps the Postal Service’s appeal was more designed to win over the court of public opinion than the U.S. Court of Appeals. A large part of the blame rests squarely on Congress, which requires the USPS to prepay its retiree healthcare obligations to the tune of $5.4 billion each year—and then uses the funds, interest-free, as a way to make the federal deficit look smaller. And the supposed “bailout” of the USPS last fall really amounted to $4 billion of temporary fiscal relief to meet that prefunding obligation and payment installments. In actuality, the federal government and taxpayer money are not subsidizing the Postal Service; the USPS is subsidizing the government through its arcane prepayment requirements. The Postal Service’s request to end Saturday mail delivery as a way to cut costs also continues to languish in Congress. And, when Potter proposed closing thousands of under-utilized post offices, politicians were quick to respond, “not in my district,” fearing negative backlash from their voting constituencies.