Opinion: U.S. Postal Service should deliver mail, not profits. Privatization 'would be a nightmare for rural Americans.'

U.S. Postal Service history dates back to 1775. Its goal
was to deliver mail. (Photo by Joel Moysuh, Unsplash)

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy deployed plans to make the U.S. Postal Service profitable. But turning a profit isn't the point of mail delivery, write Tribune Phonograph editorial members Kris O’Leary and Brian Wilson. Service is the heart of the USPS, and its lack significantly impacts rural areas.

"The U.S Postal Service should focus on delivering the mail, not delivering a profit," they write. "Privatization of the postal service has been a dream for some who see the opportunity for profit, but it would be a nightmare for rural Americans who would see service cuts, additional delays and increasing costs. These would disproportionally impact rural residents simply due to the economics of having fewer potential customers over a wider area."

In many business ventures, privatization "can be a wonderful thing. . . . . It can bring about innovation. . . and the adoption of new efficiencies," O'Leary and Wilson add. "In a recent interview, President-elect Donald Trump broached the idea of revisiting privatization of the postal service as a potential goal. . . . Trump’s comments come at the same time that Postal Service leadership is under increased bipartisan scrutiny for spiraling increases in rates and ever-diminishing service standards."

In a December congressional hearing, members berated DeJoy for failing to meet service benchmarks and repeated upgrade delays. "Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick, a Republican, lambasted DeJoy," the editorial board writes, "leading to DeJoy covering his ears during the hearing." DeJoy defended his optimization strategies and said lawmaker interference could "end" the Postal Service.

However, profit-margin goals have little to do with the Postal Service's actual purpose. O'Leary and Wilson write, "DeJoy and other postal leadership have lost sight, if they ever had it, of the service that is at the core of the Postal Service. If DeJoy’s version of operational leadership and strategy were applied to highways, we would see interstates being turned into gravel roads."

If the U.S. postal service is privatized, its goal will become profits above all. "It will funnel off large city metro areas that can make money and drop rural areas that cover more land miles than people," O'Leary and Wilson add. "This is most of the U.S. population not living on either population-dense coast. The Midwest could lose any mail or package service if this becomes a reality. . ."