Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution, known as the Postal Clause, empowers Congress “To establish Post Offices.” The United States Postal Service is a SERVICE not a business, and it should be treated as such. Congress generously funds the armed services without expectation that they pay for themselves or turn a profit. Especially under our current circumstances, neither should the Postal Service.
At a time when numerous crises challenge our democracy, the recent policy changes of major Trump donor and newly appointed Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, have resulted in significant mail backlogs and delays across the nation. Reports indicate that “Letter carriers are manually sorting more mail, adding to the delivery time, and that bins of mail ready for delivery sit in post offices because of scheduling and route changes. Without the ability to work overtime, workers say the logjam is worsening without an end in sight.”
I am concerned that this is another effort to undermine our ability to vote in this crucial election. As voters in several states’ primaries were forced to do, and without redress from the U.S. Supreme Court, will citizens have to choose between exposures to a deadly virus to exercise the right to vote?
And this, in the centennial of the 19th Amendment on August 26, extending the right to women to vote. How much can the poor nation stand?