– Editorial – - Post office privatization would hurt rural areas most

– Editorial –

By Editorial Board Call on members of Congress to stop postal privatization.

When Louis DeJoy became Postmaster General in 2019, it was with the singular goal in mind to pave the way for privatization of the United States Postal Service (USPS).

DeJoy promised to bring his experience in private business to running the operations of the USPS. Instead, his plans and schemes have driven service standards into the ground, as postal rates have skyrocketed.

The price of first class postage has shot up 32.7 percent under DeJoy’s management. Businesses that rely on mail for their commerce have been forced to absorb the costs whenever possible and to pass those costs on to consumers, at the same time as DeJoy was bending over backward, to create sweetheart deals with shipping customers, to grow that lucrative market.

DeJoy’s time as Postmaster General brought with it shutdowns in regional sorting facilities, unnecessary delays in delivery and short-sighted decision making, that focused on massaging the bottom line, over providing a service to the American people.

Now, DeJoy is gone. He resigned from his post last week.

Normally, this would be cause for celebration or at least, hope, that his replacement would work to undo some of the harm DeJoy caused. This does not appear to be likely. At this point, DeJoy’s resignation brings with it the very real prospect that privatization plans could take a great leap forward.

Already, shipping companies are circling like a pack of slavering wolves around a wounded deer, just waiting for the opportunity to go in for the kill. They are eying up not only the $79.5 billion in revenues generated by the USPS last year, but also, its immense real estate holdings and leases.

The postal service has more than 34,000 locations and more than a quarter million vehicles in its fleets. Beyond that, there is the value of the infrastructure, technology and staff.

Just as with any corporate acquisition, the immediate goal will be to implement cuts to maximize profitability. Putting profits over people would result in even greater delays in mail delivery for rural areas and additional cutbacks to less profitable regions of the country.

Already, the groundwork is being laid for what could be the biggest single occurrence of corporate welfare to ever take place.

There is movement in the IRS and elsewhere in government, to end paper checks and mail correspondence, in favor of electronic transfers and email. Other efforts would reduce the amount of mailing requirements for other agencies.

The loss of institutional customers will cause the postal service to further raise costs and make cuts to lower expenses, in order to maintain its bottom line. These cuts won’t take place in urban areas with high volumes, but will be disproportionately felt in rural communities.

The Postal Service Act of 1792, made clear that the postal system was intended to benefit the public good and there is a constitutional mandate on Congress, to regulate the postal service. The public must call on members of Congress, to keep the postal service strong and to resist attempts to privatize it.

There are many who spout the line that government should operate like a business. While this makes for a nice sound-bite or pull quote, it fails to recognize the reality that government exists solely to serve the public, and that providing these services is often costly and inefficient. Putting profits ahead of service would be disastrous for places such as rural Wisconsin.

Contact Rep. Tom Tiffany, and Sens. Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin, and tell them to keep postal services strong and publicly-owned.

Members of the Courier Sentinel editorial board include publisher Carol O’Leary, general manager Kris O’Leary and Star News editor Brian Wilson.