The Post Office is in trouble. Louis DeJoy, postmaster general, is ordering workers to destroy sorting machines. He is removing mailboxes. He is allowing mail to pile up. There have been congressional hearings about the destruction of the USPS system. In those hearings, DeJoy was asked if he would reverse the changes he has made to the Postal Service.

He refused.

In August, Congress passed a $25 billion spending bill for the Post Office. Mitch McConnell has stated outright that he has no intention of putting it up for a vote and the President has said he would Veto it if it came to his desk.

DeJoy has a financial stake in companies that compete with the post office. The post office operates as close to cost as it can. There are no big dividends for stockholders just regular people getting a decent service at a decent price. He is deliberately sabotaging our system so that it no longer competes with his business.

I quote from Fox News: “President Trump said Thursday (Aug. 13) that he does not want to fund the U.S. Postal Service because Democrats are seeking to expand mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic, making explicit the reason he has declined to approve $25 billion in emergency funding for the cash-strapped agency. ‘Now, they need that money in order to make the post office work, so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,’ Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo. He added: ‘Now, if we don’t make a deal, that means they don’t get the money. That means they can’t have universal mail-in voting, they just can’t have it.”’

In some ways our Postal Service is like our Municipal Water System. They both serve every person equally. The mayor has the same water as the janitor. The post office serves the average American with the same efficiently as it serves the president of the United States. The water service and the postal service both run as close to cost as possible. They both charge the same rate for everyone.

Our economy depends on the free flow of goods and services. The post office handles the vast majority of letters and small packages that cross the country. Their efficiency is vital to our success as a nation.

The service is fair to everyone. The person who lives on a rural (unprofitable) route pays the same price as someone who lives on an urban (profitable) route. This means that rural people have equal access to goods and services. It costs the same for Ruth’s Country Jam to ship its product as it costs Cynthia’s City Candy to ship theirs. In many rural communities there is no internet so the mail is even more important.

The wellbeing of every person depends on the circulation of information and goods. The post office has a mission to deliver to every address every day.

Our postal service used to be so efficient you could mail live baby chicks and expect them to arrive alive and healthy. Thousands of baby chicks died in the mail this spring because DeJoy slowed it down. He ordered the destruction of 671 sorting machines about 10% of the total and there are no back up machines.

DeJoy’s business interests are focused on the maximum benefit of the shareholders. The postal service is focused on delivering mail as efficiently as possible. We must act to save our post office. Call Tom Reed. His Jamestown office is 708-6369. Ask him what he has done today to save the post office. If he cannot work for us we need to find someone who can. Tracy Mitrano is running for congress. She will stand up for us.

Joe Biden is a stable establishment Democrat. He believes in the Constitution. He will work to make our government meet our needs. A civilization needs a postal service. The Chinese have had one for more than 5,000 years. The Romans had one that stretched from England to North Africa. Our postal service has been going since 1710. It needs our help now. Call Reed. Get registered. Vote for our future. Vote for our youth.

Marie Tomlinson is a Fredonia resident.