Summary

Donald Trump is considering privatizing the US Postal Service due to its financial losses, a move that could disrupt shipping and push hundreds of thousands of federal workers out of government.

Citing the USPS’s financial losses, Trump argued the agency should not rely on government subsidies.

While his specific privatization plans remain unclear, Trump previously clashed with the USPS during his first term, attempting to shift control of key functions like labor relations and rate-setting to the Treasury Department.

This move could significantly alter the structure and operations of the USPS if implemented.

  • Atrichum@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    10 days ago

    Fuck the fascists. We fought the British over less tyrannical shit than what Trump is promising.

  • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    10 days ago

    Meanwhile in France

    “Post offices are everywhere, private banks don’t have locations outside cities… How about we create our own bank linked to the postal services!”

  • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    11 days ago

    the conservative push to destroy this incredibly successful organization continues. its already been punished more than any other entity by requiring things no other business anywhere is required to.

    starve the beast. theyve forced it to make financial considerations that now put it in pretend financial trouble so they can point at it as a failure.

    if the USPS was allowed to run as any other business today it would be far more successful on paper than it already is, but conservatives just cant live with that.

    • lewdian69@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      11 days ago

      Good thing the Democratic administration replaced DeJoy and passed some protections while they were in charge… oh. wait

        • electricyarn@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          11 days ago

          There were empty seats on the board that would have tipped the balance, sitting vacant for the entirety of Biden’s term.

          • ℍ𝕂-𝟞𝟝@sopuli.xyz
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            10 days ago

            Not to excuse Biden, because he has fucked up on multiple fronts, but aren’t those appointments dependent on Senate confirmations and thus sitting mostly empty under Obama, which let the Cheeto Bandito take over in the first place? And IDK if the Senate would have confirmed any Biden nominees. Wouldn’t have hurt to try though.

            • grue@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              10 days ago

              Biden appointed, and the Senate confirmed, enough postal board members to get rid of DeJoy if Biden wanted.

              But DeJoy is still there, and it’s 1000% because Biden did not want to get rid of him.

    • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      11 days ago

      We’re watching in real time what we’ve criticized other generations for letting things happen. Wars, electric transportation, malls for developers, Citizen United, etc., etc.,

    • zbyte64@awful.systems
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      11 days ago

      Success is measured in how many billionaires it makes. I don’t see the USPS making any billionaires. /s

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        11 days ago

        It was never intended to be. That’s why it has the word “service” right there in its name.

        The USPS spent $89.5 billion in operations this year, which means that even if they didn’t collect a single dime from anybody they could serve everyone in the country with every package and letter that they already did in the entirety of 2024 for about 4.475% of the Defense Department’s expenditures in that same time frame – which are just under two trillion dollars.

        The Defense Department as a whole Hoovers up about 24% the Federal budget.

        Therefore the fact that the conservatives have successfully bamboozled everyone into believing that the USPS should be run as a “business” in the first place is incredible. Would you support about 0.1 percent of your Federal taxes spent on granting you free Postal Service access forever? I probably would.

        • Knoxvomica@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          10 days ago

          Wait, is it possible to run national defense as a business that’s for profit? I mean if we all have to live in a capitalist shit hole anyways why not go for broke?

  • kittenzrulz123@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    10 days ago

    Its almost funny how cartoonishly evil the Republicans are. They literally are shutting down all public utilities, giving contracts to the rich, spending trillions in the name of “cutting spending”, kicking out random people, and im pretty sure a Republican has openly decared friendship to be his greatest enemy (because “woke” or smth). If this was a simulation the developers are getting extremely lazy with this plotline, the villans are literally just evil.

    • socsa@piefed.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      10 days ago

      Americans will give Democrats exactly 4 years to fix the damage and then vote for Republicans again. Bush and Trump are two of the worst people to ever hold the job and it still didn’t cause any lasting animosity.

    • bdot@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      10 days ago

      i didn’t think they will be able to. all the kleptocrats will make sure that there’s some legal document that will guarantee that they get hugely compensated in the event that the government tries to take their property back.

  • Hatshepsut@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    10 days ago

    The Postal Service is in the United States Constitution, Article I:

    Section. 8.

    The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

    Clause 7:

    To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

    US Constitution text / archive.gov

  • Freefall@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    11 days ago

    It isn’t a business, it is a service, it costs money that our taxes pay, so we don’t have to pay shitty private companies. (And it still makes money) “Let’s make the Mail just like ISPs” is a stupid take.

    • Nougat@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      10 days ago

      … it costs money that our taxes pay …

      Nope. USPS is entirely internally funded. No tax money goes to it at all.

  • yesman@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    11 days ago

    I’m not an accelerationist, but what’s left to do now except bathe in the worm glow of our country burning down?

    There is no arguing that America doesn’t deserve all the bad things, and maybe a good old fashioned conflagration would straighten the survivors out for a generation or two.

    • blackbelt352@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      10 days ago

      Because a lot of mostly innocent people get hurt the most when it all collapses around us, and most likely you’ll also be hit by the effects of the collapse. It’s why it’s so important we work to fix the broken things and change what is wrong, and to be there for other people when things do break down rather than just wipe our hands and let the whole thing fall uncontrolled and unprepared.

    • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      11 days ago

      I’m not an accelerationist, but what’s left to do now except bathe in the worm glow of our country burning down?

      Well it’s certainly not enough to just luxuriate in the chaos. Every time Trump makes things worse it’s our job to point it out and explain why he’s doing it. People won’t radicalize on their own! They’ll just blame immigrants and woke and DEI etc etc.

      • yesman@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        10 days ago

        Do you hear yourself? You want revolution through explaining?

        Trump supporters are not confused progressives. Trump is what America wants, He’s what America is. He’s what America deserves. Trump is more American than bullets and ground beef. He hasn’t overthrown the founders, he’s fulfilled their vision. We’re not going to change that by scolding people on the internet.

        I understand, I used to think just like you. I used to be a patriot. I’ve voted for every Democrat presidential nominee from Gore to Harris. But these days I’m writing to the State to take my name off those goddam rolls. I suppose you’ll take a dim view of that, but no bullshit about civic duty, democracy, or engagement could ever compare to the tangible material benefit of avoiding jury duty.

        I don’t wanna save America anymore. In fact I think her decline is funny and I’m tired of pretending it’s not.

        • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          edit-2
          10 days ago

          Who gives a shit about Trump supporters? The vast majority didn’t vote for Trump if you count non-voters.

          Also don’t dare call me a patriot. Death to America!

          No arguments that the internet is a worthless place to educate people, though. This is just for fun.

        • Ech@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          10 days ago

          Yeah! Fuck all the people who will be hurt and killed throughout. That’s funny!

  • toast@retrolemmy.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    11 days ago

    Given the country’s current mood, is it really wise for the oligarchs to threaten the livelihoods of the very group that gave us the expression going postal?

  • skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    10 days ago

    doesn’t USPS have some special legal status? how are supposed to be things like court orders delivered if not by national mail carrier?

  • Blackmist@feddit.uk
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    10 days ago

    Yeah, good luck with that.

    Sincerely,

    The UK, where we already had that stupid fucking idea.

  • Laurel Raven@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    10 days ago

    Oh, the financial losses that can be directly linked back to Louis DeJoy’s actions while in charge to actively sabotage the service, the same DeJoy that Trump appointed to sabotage the service?

    They murdered it so they could sell it off, don’t let them claim otherwise

      • teamevil@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        9 days ago

        In 06 the Republican Congress decided USPS was too profitable and they imposed funding pensions out for 75 years.

      • Stern@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        10 days ago

        USPS is obligated to deliver everywhere. Uncle Steve who lives out in the middle of buttfuck nowhere gets mail service just like Cousin Roger who lives in the middle of town. Shocking literally no one, having to deliver to multiple Uncle Steve’s costs way more money then it brings in.

        Then there’s inflation, and also just less folks sending mail as a general thing because e-mail is instantaneous and free.

        The pension funding requirement was the overwhelming majority of their losses, but that’s been resolved as of 2022.

        https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/politics/biden-postal-service-reform-law-signing/index.html