Cal Thomas: Stamping out the USPS

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Thursday, April 17th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Is it time to cancel the US Postal Service? Here’s WORLD commentator Cal Thomas.

CAL THOMAS: Better buy your “Forever” stamps now, because the U.S. Postal Service has announced another price increase. On July 13th, the cost of a first-class stamp is scheduled to rise from 73 cents to 78 cents. The plan is to raise prices four more times by 2027. Meanwhile, it appears for many people that service is declining.

As a kid I couldn’t wait for the “mailman” to arrive. Always at the same time and the same person each day. At Christmas, there were deliveries in the morning and afternoon. For a while I collected stamps, especially those from overseas. Before the internet, mail was how people kept in touch. In 1985, the price of a first-class stamp was 22 cents. My grandparents sent “penny postcards.” Domestic post cards will now cost 62 cents, more if you mail them to another country.

I recently sent a book from one major East Coast city to another. It was by media mail, the cheapest rate. Normally it takes four to five days to arrive. This time it took 11 days. The postal service tracking webpage revealed the book sat in the originating post office for a week before moving.

A reader wrote to me about his own frustration with the once-reliable post office. He sent a letter by the more expensive, yet supposedly more reliable, Priority Mail service. Mailed on April 7th, it was supposed to arrive in High Falls, New York on April 10th…or the 11th. The postmaster verified the correct address and ZIP codes before adding to the pile of other letters ready to go out. After it left Southwest Kansas, it got to Pennsylvania, on the 10th…then apparently on to Richmond, VA. Then was forwarded, again in error, to Chesapeake, VA. Records claim a delivery attempt was made, before they discovered their error. They even marked it in red as out for final delivery. However, Chesapeake sent it back to Richmond, via Norfolk, where it sat a while longer, before Richmond sent it back to Chesapeake for delivery again! Once there the post office noted the error and marked it for redelivery…after returning it to Richmond. It’s presumably on its way to High Falls, NY, but the reader bemoans: Who “knows how long that will take, or IF they send it to the wrong post office once again!”

I am beginning to experience and hear more of these stories. My local post office is usually understaffed, even when there are long lines. Those who apply for passports take up large amounts of time and keep the rest of us waiting to mail a single item. And that brings us back to the cost.

A major contributor to the rising prices of stamps is the postal service’s obligation to its retirees. As Axios reports: “The (USPS) faces substantial pension obligations, with unfunded liabilities totaling $409 billion against just $290 billion in assets. This is largely due to a system where USPS is responsible for its own retirement funding, unlike other federal agencies which receive annual appropriations. The USPS is required to pre-fund retiree health benefits, and this mandate, along with other factors, contributes to the significant unfunded liabilities.”

As prices go up, usage declines. It’s like many states run by Democrats. As they raise taxes, people leave. When taxes are raised again to make up for lost revenue, even more leave. Most everyone enjoys getting a personal note in the mail, but bills can now be paid through online banks. Free digital holiday cards can be emailed, saving money on stamps and the cards.

President Trump has proposed shutting down the postal service and rolling it into the Department of Commerce. Since 1792, the post office has had exclusive rights to deliver letters. Lifting that restriction would open things up to competition and presumably lower prices.

What we have now is too expensive and inefficient. It’s time to stamp it out.

I’m Cal Thomas.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.