Postal Service delivers layoffs

I've said it before: There's so much mismanagement in the Bush regime that even the United States Postal Service isn't safe from being afflicted.

The Postal Service, a quasigovernmental agency, isn't free from the patronage politics that have defined other government functions lately. It's clear that high-ranking Bush cronies have been skimming off part of its budget for personal whims - at the expense of average employees and of the level of service.

Despite the automatic stamp increases that recently took effect, the Postal Service now has such a severe cash flow problem that it has to slash jobs for the first time ever. The agency employs some 685,000 people, but now it has to cut 40,000 jobs - which include clerks and mail carriers.

How did the Postal Service lose $2,000,000,000 even though customers pay more for diminished services? That's such a strong indicator of skimming by powerful political appointees that I'd be surprised if the Government Accountability Office isn't investigating.

Either that, or junk mail rates are so cheap compared to real mail that the Postal Service loses money delivering junk. Junk mail has long been subsidized by high stamp prices for real mail, and it's a waste. It clutters up living spaces with ads for products people rarely buy. It uses up paper and depletes our forests. I've been on this matter for 15 years, but the problem has only gotten worse.

I think the Postal Service needs to start charging more to send out junk mail - especially the weekly installment of oversized slick ads. Multiply the increase by 52 weeks a year and by the number of households in America, and that takes care of a good portion of the $2,000,000,000 shortfall right there.

(Source: http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=9247633)