The U.S. Postal Service, in serious financial distress for years, now warns it could run out of cash this fall, with volume down an estimated 30% due to coronavirus-shrinking economy. In the next round of fiscal relief, it's seeking as much as $75 billion in grants and lines of credit. It also faces simmering hostility from President Donald Trump, who claims that the USPS has given Jeff Bezos' Amazon a leg up via sweetheart rates.
Yet, even in a modern era where technology has reduced personal letters, the USPS remains vital, with appointed rounds going to rural areas where competitors like FedEx and UPS more rarely tread. More significantly, during a pandemic-fueled economic contraction where millions of Americans await stimulus checks and millions can be expected to vote absentee out of safety, mail delivery is essential.
A short-term bailout is necessary. In a pandemic, postal carriers are essential workers warranting an emergency cash infusion to get through the current crisis.
But the USPS' misfortunes well predate COVID-19 and reforms are long overdue. Long-discussed options like ending Saturday delivery of individual first-class mail to save money must be strongly considered; Congress has balked at that in the past. The USPS needs more flexibility in raising its rates (as, yes, the president has recommended).
Congress must also revisit its 2006 law that forced a prepaying of retiree costs that few other federal (or pseudo-federal) agencies must meet. That action helped turn a then-$900 million annual profit into multibillion annual losses over the last decade.
