This is an aside thought to an article at American Thinker. I did not wish to go off topic at AT so I have posted here at my Blogsites
First let me repeat and say as I did at American Thinker, that the analogy is well made and the point well taken. President Obama’s presentation of a US Federal takeover of the healthcare industry by comparing it to the USPS is not accurate in any way, especially when one reads the actual part of the bill dealing with private insurers.
Secondly many of you would be surprised to find out that a great number of us, while perhaps not fully conservative, lean right of center. A lot are traditional conservative Democrats, in the old Zoe Miller mold. (I myself and a full-fledged conservative, but that is unimportant).
That being said I am going to present a view that puts Postal employees in a positive light.
As an employee of the USPS, I can understand the resentment many people have of us due to long lines, waiting times, damaged packages, late delivery of mail, etc. That is only one view consistently presented by people from all walks of life and political leanings.
Good amounts of us are hard working individuals that are just trying to put bread on our tables and provide for our families just the same as everyone else does each day. Do you recall those days during which you yourself would not set foot outside because it is too hot, too cold, raining, snowing, unless you absolutely had to get somewhere? Yet you see your letter carrier out there delivering mail and doing his or her job. How many of you have had to deal with the public on a day to day basis, face to face, one on one, and try to explain why they can or cannot mail a letter this way or that way. Have any of you had to deal with customers whose command of the English language is far from stellar? Admittedly some of our own employees are likewise deficient in that area, but not very many in the total picture.
Yes, the lines are long, but that is likewise due to cutbacks that are similar in the private sector and in fact are caused by the private sector in so far as lesser volume, that you do not hear about. I would agree that a cutback in customer services is the area that should not be allowed, but even as I write this, we are seeing the closing of smaller finance stations and the cutting back of window personnel. There is talk of going to a 5-day delivery week.
Recently some employees in NJ have been sent letters stating that they are being reassigned and have 60 days in which to chose an office to be forcibly transferred to in order to maintain employment. Some of those offices are located 500 miles away.
(Personally I think that for many folks this could be a blessing in disguise, NJ has an extremely higher cost of living)
I am quite certain that the general public thinks we are vastly overpaid. That the letter carriers, are no more than beasts of burden and the window clerks are just glorified cashiers similar to those employed at fast food chains. (BTW, this is NOT a knock on those that do that, they work just as hard as we do if not harder for a lot less).
I will not argue that I am paid well; In fact I am thankful that it is so. Nevertheless, I did live in NY and the cost of living there was so high as to virtually nullify my paycheck. However, I digress from my digression. I just ask those of you in the general public, even considering the rough economic times we’re in, would you consider getting up to go out and work on a frigid day to deliver mail in Chicago, or Detroit, or on a day with a heat index well into the lower hundreds in Galveston, or Miami, for minimum wage? BTW, our counter parts in UPS and FedEx are equally well paid. Therefore, I do not think that there is a comparison that can be made in that area.
I do not believe the public is aware of our government-protected monopoly on the delivery of first class mail. Indeed, we are protected in that way, but I would welcome UPS and/or FedEx to present a viable delivery plan of their own. I have yet to see such plans ever put forward. I would likewise be interested to see any plan put forward that would allow for the privaterization of the USPS. Again, neither of the other two major players has come forward. We are talking about the delivering of mail to millions of households on a daily basis, six days (so far) a week.
Additionally this would entail the sorting and distribution of BILLIONS of letters, both first class and bulk-rate each day as well, the majority of which is processed at night. Both companies IF such a move were to be made would have to increase the size of their workforces. A good thing yes indeed, but do not think for one moment that it would not drive up the cost of mailing. Basic economics 101, would ensure that those costs would be passed off to the customer.
There were other companies that were once in the mailing business; DHL and Airborne come to mind. They are now gone as far as I know, or were absorbed by either UPS or FedEx. Therefore, it is not the USPS that put them under. Far from it. In fact the USPS had had contracts with both those companies at one time. We currently have contracts with FedEx and UPS as well although to be honest I am not knowledgeable in the details of those aforementioned contracts. Although I do know that they drop ship their packages at our offices from time to time and we then deliver them to their customers. Of what we get in return I am not certain.
Again I am not stating that the analogy by Corey Genelin is a poor one, in fact quite the opposite is true. I am however tired of the impression presented to the general public (put forth by both political sides), that the USPS employs malcontented, uneducated, useless drones or dolts.
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