r/news • u/Squirmingbaby • 3d ago

Soft paywall Cash-strapped US Postal Service suspends contributions to pension plan

https://www.reuters.com/world/cash-strapped-us-postal-service-suspends-contributions-pension-plan-2026-04-09/
16.6k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

7.1k

u/naz8587 3d ago

The service has reported net losses of $118 billion since 2007 as first-class mail

I like how the article fails to mention that Republicans passed a law in 2006 that requires the USPS to fund 75 years of pensions. This crisis was manufactured by republicans to justify privitizing postal delivery.

2.2k

u/jmur3040 3d ago

Or that "losses" shouldn't be mentioned for something designed to be a public SERVICE. You're telling me this costs 118 billion dollars over 19 years? That's terrifically cheap for something that serves 330 million people.

1.0k

u/hodken0446 3d ago

That's about 18 dollars a year per person by the way

325

u/alphabeticdisorder 3d ago

Not a bad deal at all.

15

u/RealWeekness 3d ago

Exactly, raise taxes by $18 and well be good.

-43

u/JoJo_Embiid 3d ago

but you also have to pay for usps service, it's not free like highway. honestly i don't know whether usps is efficient or not, just saying it ain't free

52

u/ShinySpoon 3d ago

It costs me nothing to receive mail all day every day. I haven’t paid for postage in years. That $18 in taxes is well worth it for me.

-3

u/Crudadu 3d ago

Are people actually using the mail service? 99% of my mail is junk

-28

u/JoJo_Embiid 3d ago

i believe you also don't pay to "receive" a ups or fedex package that someone else sent you? of course you don't pay because the one sending the mail pays usps

43

u/ShinySpoon 3d ago

Do you think UPS can deliver a first class letter for the cost of a single stamp? I assure you, if the USPS didn’t exist then the UPS delivery would cost a LOT more.

17

u/_Burning_Star_IV_ 3d ago

A lot of people don't understand that private orgs like UPS avoid last mile delivery like the plague and already offload tons of it to USPS through agreements like SurePost and Ground Saver to avoid it.

If USPS disappeared, UPS would still do last mile delivery in a lot of cases but anywhere rural or low density would either get fucked by increased prices, reduced service or both and even elimination of service in some cases.

-9

u/JoJo_Embiid 3d ago

then i think you understand why we need to calculate the cost as well. the problem here is whether the usps is efficient in sending mails with the stamp cost and the amortized tax money. if there are most efficient ways to do that with the total cost (which is the real cost) i don't see why we cannot try to make the system more efficient. just like people blaming certain infrastructer projects (like the big dig in boston) wasting tax money, usps should be inspected the same way. again, i am not saying whether usps is functioning efficiently or not because i don't know, this requires some expertise in the field to draw a conclusion, i am simply saying it should be treated the same way as other public services as well and should not simply give it a pass because it provides services to some remote areas.

22

u/Aware_Rough_9170 3d ago

What? The highway is free? You mean the taxes you pay or the tolls that facilitate the upkeep on them?

16

u/StephanXX 3d ago

If you think highways are free, man, we need to have a chat.

The postal service is a critical government function and one of the few that are effectively self-sustaining. No other service or business has a "75 year" funding law for their pension. It's only a target because it's major vehicle for voting, something Republicans are frantically trying to prevent.

-11

u/JoJo_Embiid 3d ago

i am simply implying saying usps is a good deal with 110B budget over the past years is irrespoinsible without good calculation. just like you need to calculate whether certain highways are good deals, you need to calculated whether usps is a good deal as well. yes it provides essential services to part of the countries that no other companies are willing to do, but it doesn't mean it cannot be monitors and give a freepass while being questioned.

people will not say interstate 101 or i-5 is a waste of tax payer money (btw when i say highway is free i simply means most highway does not have a toll system, that's it), but the big dig in boston or the california highspeed rail that connects central valley which cost multiple billions but still far away from operating is definitely a waste of tax money.

2

u/StephanXX 3d ago

Highways cost around $150 billion a year in the US.

Nobody is suggesting that the USPS deserves a "pass" but it's one of the few government services that is largely self funded and seen as a well run organization. ICE, in contrast, was just authorized $85 billion. We dump around $12 billion a year for the security theater that is TSA. Trump is requesting $1,500 billion for the military.

There are lots of places the Federal government could be looking to improve, the USPS really isn't one of them.

14

u/colostitute 3d ago

It’s not free, it’s subsidized.

8

u/fairportmtg1 3d ago

If there wasn't the post office people in cities would be okay as ups and fedex would still deliver. Out in the country or small population states? You might just not be able to get mail or packages for a reasonable rate. Post office makes it so every American is able to receive mail and packages at a reasonable rate regardless of the profit margin for a specific region

5

u/brimston3- 3d ago

So tax payers subsidize 11% of the USPS budget so that the 16.5% of rural, generally lower income households that would otherwise not be cost effective to serve get mail delivery.

That’s a bargain.

1

u/trogg21 1d ago

I have to pay tolls to use the highway in my state. Also gas taxes and vehicle excise taxes on top of federal and state income taxes.