If you’ve driven through Star City lately, your heart may have stopped as you noticed the large, red “for sale” sign posted on the lawn in front of the post office.
Fear not — the land is for sale, but the USPS brick-and-mortar location is not. As reported on Monday (DP-04-27-20), someone approached the Sellaros (who own the property) and asked to buy the land. The “for sale” sign went up to see if there are better offers. It seems whomever buys the property will inherit the post office’s lease, so no need to hold a wake for the Star City Post Office — yet.
Even as our local USPS seems to be fine, a battle wages at the national level over the fate of the United States Postal Service.
For years, the USPS has operated regularly in the red due to a 2006 law mandating the postal service pre-fund pensions and retiree health benefits. USPS took a hard hit when the pandemic struck, as advertisements (aka junk mail) sharply declined when businesses temporarily — or permanently — shuttered. At the current rate, the USPS only has enough funding to keep going through September.
Despite the essential service USPS provides, President Trump stated last week that he would not approve a
$10 billion loan to the USPS unless it raised its shipping costs four-to-five times its current amount and made other reforms. To be precise, Trump said, “If they don’t raise the price of the service they give … I’m not signing anything and I’m not authorizing [Mnuchin] to do anything.”
Why? This seems to be the latest incarnation of Trump’s ongoing feud with Jeff Bezos and Amazon. In 2018, Trump tweeted, “I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy.” And then last week, Trump told reporters, “The Postal Service is a joke.”
Trump is under the false impression that USPS gives Amazon a sweetheart deal on deliveries, but according to CBS News, a 2006 law states the post office cannot negotiate a contract that would allow it to lose money on shipping and deliveries.
In addition, shipping and deliveries make up 5% of USPS services but nearly 30% of its revenue. So, if anything, shipping agreements with Amazon and other businesses have kept the postal service afloat. And if USPS were to raise its rates by Trump’s specified amount, it would be more expensive to ship with USPS than with UPS or FedEx.
Trump tweeted Friday he wouldn’t let the postal service fail, but he hasn’t changed the terms for receiving the loan.
Despite massive public support for post offices — including a campaign for every adult to buy $10 worth of stamps — Trump has set up a no-win situation for the United States Postal Service. If it raises its rates, it loses the business that has kept it alive. If it doesn’t raise the rates, it doesn’t get the much-needed $10 billion loan. Either way, Trump is hammering nails into the postal service’s coffin.
Morgantown Area News
'Friday, November 15, 2024'
