It’s Going to Take a Lot Longer for Mail to Get From Point A to Point B

The Postal Service intends to lower service standards again on Jan. 5, MSNBC broadcaster Ed Schultz told his audience on Oct. 20, and that means “it’s going to take a lot longer for your mail to get from Point A to Point B.

“Overnight mail could be a thing of the past,” he declared. “Eighty-two mail processing facilities across 37 states are scheduled to be ‘consolidated.’”

Schultz dismissed claims that the USPS is losing billions of dollars. “The reality is the so-called crisis is a manufactured one.”

“Congress can still act,” Schultz added. “They could seek a moratorium on the closures. They could enact comprehensive postal reform to prevent this from happening.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Schultz’s guest on the show, pointed out that 51 senators favor congressional action to stop the cuts in service and the closure of mail processing plants. The group includes 45 Democrats and 6 Republicans.

Sen. Sanders also has introduced legislation that would end the disastrous pre-funding mandate, which he says is “killing the Postal Service.”  No other government entity or private-sector company is required to pre-fund benefits 75 years in advance.

“Without that mandate, in fact, for the last two years the Postal Service has earned, in operating revenue, about a billion dollars,” Sen. Sanders said.

“All – 100% – of the losses are attributable to this mandate, which we’ve got to get rid of,” he said.

“What we need to do is not only get rid of this mandate, pass a moratorium preventing the closure of these 82 plants, but we have got to give the Postal Service the flexibility that they need to compete in the 21^st Century.”

“If you delay the mail it’s going to be a disincentive to use the Postal Service,” Schultz said. The cutback in service is a signal to the public, he said. “The mission is to privatize.”

Schultz announced that the four postal unions are organizing a National Day of Action on Nov. 14 to protest the cuts in service.