Post Office Bailout… Not So Fast

If it’s good enough for banks and car makers, why not the United States Postal Service?

I’m talking about Federal Bailouts of course. Is it time for the federal government to bailout the USPS? One high-ranking member of congress thinks so.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in a letter to the Washington Times on Monday, wrote “the predicament the USPS finds itself is not uncommon.” But unlike other industries affected by the Internet and digital media the “USPS cannot simply go out of business or declare bankruptcy.”

He goes to say that USPS employees “know that a deeply indebted Postal Service leaves the federal government with no real alternative to a taxpayer bailout as the situation approaches insolvency. Indeed, a sheep’s-clothes argument already is being put forward by the postal lobby and some Democratic lawmakers for a $75 billion taxpayer bailout of USPS.”

Issa’s letter (full version here) also contained this chart to the right which shows the demise & decline of the USPS by the numbers from 2000 – 2008.

So, the USPS wants and needs a bailout, right?

Not so fast…

In a response to Rep. Issa’s letter, Fred V. Rolando
President of the National Association of Letter Carriers drafted and delivered a letter to the editor of the Washington Times refuting Issa’s claims.

The letter begins…

To whom it may concern:

It’s election time in an era of extreme political polarization. But that does not excuse misleading the public with false claims that the Postal Service is seeking a taxpayer bailout. Nor does it excuse Congress interfering with collective bargaining between the financially self-sufficient Postal Service and its unions. Unfortunately, the opinion piece by Rep. Darrell Issa (RCA), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, fails on both counts.

Click here to read the entire letter from Mr. Rolando to the Washington Times.

Well it seems we have a good old fashioned feud brewing between Mssrs. Issa and Rolando. Should be interesting to see how this all plays out.

But… something just doesn’t seem right.

Oh that’s right… seems that just over a year ago the same Darrell Issa was in favor of just such a measure.

The title on the Postal News Blog says it all…

Darrell Issa was in favor of postal “bailout” before he was against it

As the blog author aptly queries at the end of this post (full version here)…

“Why the sudden about face for a politician who has happily accepted campaign contributions from postal union PACs, and has even addressed meetings of the NALC?”

Why indeed…

So what do you think?

Should the federal government bailout the USPS?

Let me know what you think.

Tags: darrell issa, federal bailout, fred Rolando, National Association of Letter Carriers, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, postal news blog, United States Postal Service, USPS, Washington Times