New: Trump is talking behind closed doors at Mar-a-Lago about privatizing the Postal Service, sources say, citing financial losses Could remake one of the oldest institutions in all of American government www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... - ThreadSky

jeffstein.bsky.social • 71 days ago

New: Trump is talking behind closed doors at Mar-a-Lago about privatizing the Postal Service, sources say, citing financial losses

Could remake one of the oldest institutions in all of American government

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/12/14/trump-usps-privatize-plan/

Comments

nholtzappel.bsky.social•71 days ago

Doesn’t privatizing Postal Service a constitutional amendment?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Clause

maureenogle.bsky.social•71 days ago

It *empowers* Congress to manage mail service. It doesn’t *require* it to do so.

themattbass.bsky.social•71 days ago

Uhhh, is anyone gonna point out they have all those loses because of republicans, who are terrible at governing money?

thebestgay91.bsky.social•71 days ago

Services don’t need to “make money.” Our government isn’t a business, and running it like one screws over anyone that is not cheap to govern. This defeats the purpose of government.

telemark.bsky.social•71 days ago

How much money did the army lose last year?

dmnd.me•71 days ago

I was hoping I would never have to re-up this piece from 2020 https://2pml.com/2020/08/10/usps/

molly90274.bsky.social•71 days ago

Yeah, Biden needed to get rid of DeJoy. Mr. XPO Logistics' fingerprints are all over this...

peter-butler.bsky.social•71 days ago

I don't think he has the political skill to do this

itsnotbread.bsky.social•71 days ago

Or attention span

whataimeewrites.bsky.social•71 days ago

Destroy. That's what it will do

radspedteacher.comintern.social•71 days ago

It's a SERVICE. Services cost money. It's not the Postal Corporation (yet). If you want to save the Postal Service (I know he doesn't), then bring back banking services like they had from 1910-1967.

davidmack.bsky.social•71 days ago

The USPS is a government *service*. It's not supposed to turn a profit any more than the military is. We never worry about how much the navy costs each year; this is no different. USPS is still more efficient than any of its private competitors, who all need USPS for last-mile delivery. Fuck Trump.

grammynina77.bsky.social•71 days ago

Financial losses were caused by poor management by Trump's pal DeJoy.

sharkhand.bsky.social•71 days ago

It is in the Constitution so it would require amendment which is a high bar considering he’s also trying to amend the Constitution to ban birthright citizenship under the 14th.

It’s a throw shit at the wall and see what sticks approach.

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C7-1/ALDE_00001068/

gobearcats.bsky.social•69 days ago

Contractor’s already profit enormously from the Defense Department

lizdylan.bsky.social•71 days ago

DeJoy has been drooling for this as he will get the contract.

This will a have a huge impact on Trump's rural voters. Close the "unprofitable" rural post offices. Deliver mail on select days.

No one should mail in their ballot. Deliver it in person or drop it in a ballot box.

indestructiblob.bsky.social•71 days ago

illegal. the postal service is a constitutionally mandated government service, not a company. it's not a company. this is like saying he's going to privatize the judicial system. we should not pretend that this is legitimate. it's fully unconstitutional and would require amendment.

bruffles.bsky.social•71 days ago

The White House itself suffers massive losses every year. Can we shut that down too?

dsng480.bsky.social•71 days ago

The U.S. is rural: costs of serving low-density Jesusland dwarf their ability to pay.

Mail for oxy-using ammosexuals will either disappear, or continue to be subsidized. The USPS would become a subsidized private utility, similar to now but with the added burden of payin, investors.

petehausler.bsky.social•71 days ago

whats your boss gonna do without the USPS’s Last Mile network?

allynn.bsky.social•71 days ago

Trump appointed his crony DeJoy to ruin the post office so they could use it as an excuse to privatize it.

fatgarfield.bsky.social•71 days ago

republicans playbook:
- defund public services
- claim they don't work and are unreliable
- privatize everything and sell to oligarchs
- said services end up worse and more expensive because of profit taking
- blame democrats in the next election cycle
rinse and repeat

masterofdev.bsky.social•70 days ago

You are missing a step. Bail out the vital public service with tax dollars so it can be made fit to be re-privatised and make more billionaires a few years later.

smullins3000.bsky.social•71 days ago

- Get a compliant fascist-curious media to parrot their talking points

birdscarer.bsky.social•70 days ago

So, could this be why Jeff B pulled that endorsement? Hmm.

raulpudd.bsky.social•71 days ago

You mean destroy Jeff, not remake. Destroy.

artemis46.bsky.social•71 days ago

"Remake" is an odd choice when you mean "destroy."

purplevh80.bsky.social•71 days ago

The entire government can't run as an at-will employer.There is no massive pool of potential employees on standby. On-boarding of new employees is a minimum of 1.5 months. Background checks alone take forever. Meanwhile, essential services will be sporadic at best, grinding to a halt at worst.

shawnino.bsky.social•71 days ago

Postal Service won't go quietly.
It's expressly mentioned in the Constitution as an Article 1 enumerated Congressional power.

Art 1, Sec. 8, cl.7.

milkman.bsky.social•71 days ago

That’s why he put DeJoy in there. So he can sell off every fucking section of government to the highest bidder. There’s no coming back from that.

vereyzer.bsky.social•71 days ago

Will never make it through congress.

jessicaessica.bsky.social•70 days ago

I'm sure he wants to do a lot of stupid shit that would require an act of Congress

queenofsicily.bsky.social•71 days ago

Who will get all the pre-funded retirement dollars? Certainly not the employees.

willotheglen.bsky.social•71 days ago

Well, the guy whose casino went bankrupt knows all about financial losses.

tomik2point0.com•71 days ago

I don't want this to happen, EXCEPT for every time I step foot in a Post Office and am treated like an inconvenience.

livviesjam.bsky.social•71 days ago

I fucking hate these people so much.

dystopiandiva.bsky.social•71 days ago

With you

weaselfd.bsky.social•71 days ago

And let me guess he will be giving THAT contract to Louis DeJoy’s company. The guy he appointed to destroy the postal service in the first place.

michelecollins5411.bsky.social•71 days ago

Bezos.

weaselfd.bsky.social•71 days ago

You might be right. He would benefit the most from it.

radspedteacher.comintern.social•71 days ago

Plus he just donated a million dollars to Trump... Gotta kiss the ring 🤷🏻‍♂️

bearku.bsky.social•71 days ago

This isn’t good news.

abbeyarletto.bsky.social•71 days ago

The postal service is established in the U.S. Constitution and falls under the purview of Congress. He has no authority to privatize it, and Democratic senators would filibuster any attempt to do so.

shannonbarnsley.bsky.social•71 days ago

Will they? I don’t trust those spineless, useless cowards to do anything anymore.

jenzunleashed.bsky.social•70 days ago

Dem voters need to get more aggressive with primarying the ones not doing their job.

abbeyarletto.bsky.social•70 days ago

Absolutely.

russburlingame.bsky.social•71 days ago

1000%

ewigeliberal.bsky.social•71 days ago

[...] could "remake"? You mean privatization?

mlnga.bsky.social•71 days ago

This must be what your boss got in exchange for killing the Harris endorsement. No wonder you're so excited about the idea.

knewjersey.bsky.social•71 days ago

twainspatriot.bsky.social•71 days ago

Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution: Congress has the responsibility for the Postal Service; it’s not something that they can just outsource willy-nilly to private interests.

xantar.bsky.social•71 days ago

Who controls congress

nonajabiznez.bsky.social•71 days ago

If you think "they can't do that" you really haven't been paying attention.

twainspatriot.bsky.social•71 days ago

They can try. But if you accept their premise that the law and the Constitution don’t matter, you’re effectively laying your body in front of their bulldozer. Don’t obey in advance.

cherylm56588591.bsky.social•71 days ago

Who will stop him? If he just decides to ignore Congress and/or the courts who can physically stop him? Executive branch is the branch of enforcement and if he decides he won’t there is nothing to make him. Not obeying in advance, this is just reality.

nonajabiznez.bsky.social•71 days ago

There's a difference between obeying in advance, and acknowledging the reality that so far they've been able to get away with a whole bunch of shit that they weren't supposed to be able to get away with.

section331.bsky.social•71 days ago

100 fucking percent truth.

scottdguy.bsky.social•71 days ago

Sitting back and thinking that the guardrails that have already failed are going to magically save us is more dangerous than acknowledging it will probably happen and finding ways to fight back.

twainspatriot.bsky.social•71 days ago

The law and the Constitution is the best way to fight back. Worse-case scenarios may be coming, but they should be a last resort.

nonajabiznez.bsky.social•71 days ago

Ok but your original comment along the lines of "that's against the law" just reads as absolute nonsense because *gestures at current state of things*

j0nniecage.bsky.social•71 days ago

The best way to fight back is killing people

ccacy.bsky.social•71 days ago

Thank you!!

snarkyantifanun.bsky.social•71 days ago

Every woman and girl and America lost our right to equal protection, rights, and representation under the law.

We lost our right to own our bodies and their organs.

All clear Constitutional Rights (and Human Rights).

But they're still gone.

twainspatriot.bsky.social•71 days ago

I share your anger & disappointment. Those are still fundamental human rights, though, & they’re not gone—Just denied by evil men with ill intent. This has happened before (e.g., to African Americans before Emancipation) & we can draw both strength and lessons from earlier struggles.

twainspatriot.bsky.social•71 days ago

We must use the law & Constitution to our advantage when it is on our side. Nurture allies, including those who don’t share all of our goals. Argue passionately for what is right, even to those who don’t want to listen. And use what power we have in collective acts, as MLK and others did before us.

aloysiusfreeman.bsky.social•71 days ago

“Don’t obey in advance” is a message for democrats in office, not regular people (unless you’re a certain Mario brother)

grrrlromeo.bsky.social•71 days ago

The postal service is baked into the constitution like no other agency. If you think that doesn't matter, you haven't been paying attention.

nonajabiznez.bsky.social•71 days ago

Right, because the incoming administration is not at all known for getting away with terrible things they shouldn't be able to get away with based on our understanding of the law.

grrrlromeo.bsky.social•71 days ago

I'm not into nihilism.

nonajabiznez.bsky.social•71 days ago

I don't see how that is relevant to this discussion. (Not an invitation to explain why you think it is)

johnpanzer.com•71 days ago

That’s a good hook to hang legal challenges and public protests on! Not a guarantee with this bunch of pirates but always, always oppose stupid and bad things.

lauriebrookins.com•71 days ago

Honest question: When did privatizing any government service make it better?

I’d really like to know whether this has been successful in the past or this is just another avenue for the felon to make his rich friends richer.

blaknwhite.bsky.social•71 days ago

Constitutional originalism except when it comes to things like privatizing the Post Office 🙄

freedom2b.bsky.social•71 days ago

In Nazi Poland, Hans Frank issued restrictions regarding written communications: non-Germans were limited to a maximum of two letters per month, each letter was limited to a maximum of two pages in length, and communication were only permitted with friendly countries.

Read LIGHT OF DAYS (tw).

freedom2b.bsky.social•71 days ago

So.

Establish chains of communication, preferably the type that don't require electricity. You will need to memorise messages word for word, along with the authors of messages, so train your brains on memorising exercises. Establish who is located where so that you know where to send messages.

freedom2b.bsky.social•71 days ago

Learn or establish codes. Braille and Morse won't help you. Many could crack them without effort. See if you can work up your own mix of dead languages and scripts. Make your own puzzle crackers (certain holes in certain places on an index). Learn euphemisms and riddles. Read LIGHT OF DAYS (tw).

freedom2b.bsky.social•71 days ago

Keys, not index.

lindavt.bsky.social•71 days ago

So two of his stated primary goals require complete disregard of the US Constitution.

debhu.bsky.social•71 days ago

WaPo? Yeah. No thanks.

kathykadane.bsky.social•71 days ago

Announcing hastag: #TRUMPCORRUPTION

julwyckoff.bsky.social•71 days ago

Privatization was the foundation & cornerstone & scaffolding of kleptocracy in Putin’s Russia.

helchose.bsky.social•71 days ago

Yup, Putin pulled the country's institutions apart by the flesh and gave them to his cohorts, instantly turning them in oligarchs.

Now the country which could have had so much promise is instead rotted out from the core.

jenzunleashed.bsky.social•70 days ago

This is a horrible headline and part of the reason WaPo is losing subscribers. Take a look at some of the replies to see key issues it fails to address.

elisemae.bsky.social•71 days ago

A huge reason the GOP wants to privatize the USPS? Destroying the USA's largest remaining unionized workforce. Exacting a huge price from rural, black/brown, and/or economically stressed people (who need the USPS the most) is just gravy. A perfect case of the Trump Doctrine ("break shit") at work.

greenwoodgal.bsky.social•71 days ago

I agree absolutely. We are a 28-year APWU family and know without a doubt that Trump & Co. want to destabilize /destroy these jobs.

elisemae.bsky.social•71 days ago

Thanks, @greenwoodgal.bsky.social. 30-year NALC household here.

hpnieminen.bsky.social•71 days ago

And limit voting by mail by making it more expensive.

wowbaggert.bsky.social•71 days ago

This is the oldest Republican play in their book. Mismanage a government service, then tell the public it's not working and needs to be privatized. If they succeed, sell off the pieces to the billionaires they represent.

rondomane.bsky.social•71 days ago

do you know how often i see people complaining about mail service in my local fb groups? they just can't fathom that it's like that on purpose, because it makes absolutely no sense.

tradesecret.bsky.social•71 days ago

Private prisons revisited. Bezos saying outsource it to me.

thebestdavid.bsky.social•71 days ago

The post is a service, not a business. WE pay for IT. And it WAS profitable anyway until Republicans instituted their insane pension funding requirements that are now taken into account for every balance sheet.

notcribley.bsky.social•68 days ago

Not just Republicans. The pre- funded pension requirement passed unanimously

corit153m.bsky.social•71 days ago

This was the plan all along. Boy are things going to get real expensive!!!

jmidnight.bsky.social•71 days ago

Government services (and this should be one, so don't give me the usual crap) should not make a profit.

Apparently doors have leaks at Mar-a-Lago, which given the owner doesn't surprise me. He never could build anything.

prosediva.bsky.social•71 days ago

"Remake"? Seriously?

leftyvegan.bsky.social•71 days ago

Why didn't Biden get rid of DeJoy?

Because he is the same as Trump. There is one party in Washington. You don't have to like the truth for it to be true.

haskell.bsky.social•71 days ago

A 78 year old lame duck is talking about abolishing a Constitutionally established program?

antennaangel.bsky.social•71 days ago

Oh boy, can't wait to find out which areas of the US are not profitable enough to deliver to

ericdbloom.bsky.social•71 days ago

Stamps will have his face on them and cost $17.

jweland.bsky.social•71 days ago

“Remake” is a euphemism meaning destroy in this case.

The USPS is a vital part of government services that would be profitable except for the law republicans passed that forces it to pre-fund pensions.

brokenelm.bsky.social•71 days ago

That was my thought about this as well. Maybe, they just want to shift the pension into crypto ...

brokenelm.bsky.social•71 days ago

Terrible idea btw

greenwoodgal.bsky.social•71 days ago

While I agree the USPS is a vital part of government services, the post office does not have pensions; it has 401(k). Maybe the prefunding to which you're referring was the health benefits of retirees, but luckily Biden passed the Postal Service Reform Act in 2022 that eliminated that mandate.

aimlessnrio.bsky.social•71 days ago

You are wrong, the post office still has a pension. Not a great one but there is still a pension in addition to a 401k

aadriasola.bsky.social•71 days ago

by remake you mean destroy

dragqueen.racing•70 days ago

I’m pretty sure we just witnessed a dramatic example of how people are feeling about privatized services that should be public goods.

cdseghetti.bsky.social•71 days ago

Then he would be definitely breaking the Constitution because the postal service is named as a service in the Constitution.

santacruzmag.bsky.social•71 days ago

As depressingly awful as the Trump’s win is, watching ignorant fucks eat a pile of shit is the kind of schadenfreude I need to deal with such a disastrous outcome

cajsa.bsky.social•71 days ago

You would think that being specifically named in the Constitution as a governmental service would protect the postal service, but who knows with these f****** justices. The thing is government is not supposed to be the profit. It's not a business. It's a service profit taking would kill it

cajsa.bsky.social•71 days ago

So what they'll do is in towns of less than a thousand people. They'll just close the postal service completely and tell people to go to the nearest town of a thousand plus people rent a box for $250 a year and drive there to pick up your mail

ledredman.bsky.social•71 days ago

Conservatives ; always stealing and wrecking public institutions.

stuadel.bsky.social•71 days ago

Another stupid idea from a moron and if it ever happened would be especially hard and costly on the Trump base since this would punish rural America especially hard. Cities subsidize the economic issues with the postal service and rural America!! DUH…

uruzrune.bsky.social•71 days ago

For all faults, Trump isn't a moron. He knows exactly what he's doing

stuadel.bsky.social•70 days ago

He is a moron and so are most Americans. Sure he lies all the time, has terrible policy ideas, and gets away with it, that doesn’t make him a genius it makes him a dangerous damaged human being taking advantage of the ill informed…

uruzrune.bsky.social•70 days ago

Nobody said he was a genius. I said knows exactly what he's doing

stuadel.bsky.social•70 days ago

He is a expert manipulator and user of the media etc. you are correct

raydaman.bsky.social•71 days ago

He will just blame Democrats for him screwing this up and his cult will believe him. These people will never criticize their idol no matter how much he screws them over.

1truthwhisperer.bsky.social•71 days ago

Apparently the maga political party formerly known as the GOP don't require votes to win elections anymore.

walkerwest.bsky.social•71 days ago

Well, not sure his base can read, so maybe they’ll never notice.

sarahcconner.bsky.social•71 days ago

Most rural areas voted overwhelmingly for Trump. Just another FAFO opportunity.

mfelps.bsky.social•71 days ago

This isn't exactly new. He began the dismantling last time around with the appointment of DeJoy, who intentionally degraded service so they could pretend the USPS was of no use. This is just DeJoy's 10 Year Plan coming to fruition.

reallukem.bsky.social•71 days ago

“remake” here meaning, as usual, “annihilate”

notmargot.bsky.social•71 days ago

Privatizing things always makes them cheaper. 🙄

realchefshannon.bsky.social•71 days ago

Financial losses with the Postmaster General Trump installed (who doesn’t know the price of a stamp)

tokay13.bsky.social•71 days ago

WTF is the Republican beef with the Postal Service FFS? They've been itching to gut it forever as well.

I guess they don't want our government to do ANYTHING for the American people. Just corporations and profit.

They're sooooooooooo UN-American.

ingforart.bsky.social•71 days ago

It's union work that hires black people

brianxsmith.bsky.social•57 days ago

Union teaching jobs and union leadership positions gave black women, in particular, some powerful political influence.

megajim.bsky.social•71 days ago

Maybe to put a cork in vote-by-mail?

sweetbeanscomix.bsky.social•71 days ago

A lot of that “financial loss” is people’s benefits and retirement. They’re just gonna dick down postal workers and let whichever Trumps friend who takes over steal money from them.

mbhare.bsky.social•71 days ago

spin the wheel of "infamous sex criminal fraudsters"

bluestatesky.bsky.social•71 days ago

Supposing the post office runs at a loss and that is the reason to privatize it. Fine. It's a losing business. Presumably, the privateers will not put up with losses and will raise prices and cut losing routes. This is essentially an increase in "taxes" as all of our expenses will go up!

darkest-timeline.bsky.social•71 days ago

Isn't it a constitutional requirement?

ncmc1994.bsky.social•71 days ago

Yes.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution gave Congress exclusive power to establish the postal system.

doureallyseeme25.bsky.social•71 days ago

Amazon, UPS, FedEx, all couriers still rely on the mailing services, thus why Dejoy couldn't destroy it as much as he wants/wanted to when he got in there. More to it then just trying to privatize USPS

spectorhairday.bsky.social•70 days ago

You're not good at this.

3xthetom.bsky.social•71 days ago

The post office is not supposed to make money. It is a public good.

mariejo1965.bsky.social•71 days ago

That’s why Bezos is
- giving $ to Trump
- visiting Trump
- playin a Buddha he’s not

… to offer instead of Postal Services that “are really losing money you know” his Amazon deliveries services

Trump can be so easily fooled 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

christyh3.bsky.social•71 days ago

My Amazon orders are delivered by the Post Office though.

tessafisher.bsky.social•71 days ago

Yeah, I was about to say, the Post Office is effectively a *subsidy* for Amazon's business model.

chetthejet.bsky.social•71 days ago

He can't privatize the US postal Service without Congressional approval.

xantar.bsky.social•71 days ago

GOP will control both houses and vote for whatever his agenda is

eightman.bsky.social•71 days ago

delessuno.bsky.social•71 days ago

Financial losses?? It’s a service! Aaahhhh

huh-nope.bsky.social•71 days ago

How much did Fedex, UPS and DHL donate to Trump's inauguration?

sandmanneke.bsky.social•71 days ago

What do you pay for stamps now, my government privatized the postal service many years ago and we pay more then 1 euro for one stamp in the Netherlands and we are a small country. Letters get delivered by bikes.

pnwwestcoast.bsky.social•71 days ago

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution, known as the Postal Clause or the Postal Power, empowers Congress "To establish Post Offices and post Roads." The Post Office has the constitutional authority to designate mail routes.

Nothing about private equity/making money.

karenrobz.bsky.social•71 days ago

Rural America is gonna love that.

donwest84.bsky.social•71 days ago

Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and DHL too, since they rely on USPS for last mile rural delivery.

ginsol.bsky.social•71 days ago

Guess DeJoy really pulled through…

gern.bsky.social•70 days ago

Collins & Murkowski won’t go along. There has to be a few other Repugnicans from rural states who want to be reelected.

bryceatwell.bsky.social•71 days ago

Good chance for the rapist and fellow assaulters to make a killing.

thisisme7.bsky.social•69 days ago

Amazon depends on the USPS to deliver 1/3 to 50% of its packages. I can’t find the article I read that says that Amazon pays the USPS $.70 per package, $.70!

https://gen.medium.com/confessions-of-a-u-s-postal-worker-we-deliver-amazon-packages-until-we-drop-dead-a6e96f125126

ksunny.bsky.social•71 days ago

It’s failing by design. This is why DeJoy was hired. It’s criminal he still has that job.

inquisitorhotpants.bsky.social•71 days ago

it didn't even start with DeJoy, it started with the dumbshittery when Bush was in office over funding pensions a million years in the future, which ofc then gives republicans something to point at and cry about "public workers on the take"

hairwaytostephen.bsky.social•71 days ago

Pretty cool how liberals were all about protecting the postal service the last time Trump was in office but just shrugged it off while Biden left Trump's guy in charge of it for 4 years

mariahrb.bsky.social•71 days ago

DeJoy could not be removed without the approval of the board overseeing the post office. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/biden-cannot-fire-usps-louis-dejoy.html

hairwaytostephen.bsky.social•71 days ago

Oh weird, who appoints the board

catfrat.bsky.social•71 days ago

Oh weird, who approves the board

drspedinnv.bsky.social•71 days ago

Good luck with that. The private delivery services have been overwhelmed since the pandemic. And you want to dump mail delivery to every home, every day on them? 😂 The price they’d quote would be ridiculous.

anotherbob.bsky.social•71 days ago

Republicans want to make it so that Americans have to go to private-industry robber-barons for all basic services. They want to destroy the middle class and turn the U.S. into a nation of impoverished serfs. We'll be like Russia after several more years of this.

wadeneal.bsky.social•71 days ago

Hm I wonder if that would make prices go up or down?

ohweebeasties.bsky.social•71 days ago

If they privatize it and that company needs to make a profit for shareholders, I think we know. Postage costs up and/or some areas lose delivery.

booond.bsky.social•71 days ago

Trump is an idiot.

designomatt.bsky.social•71 days ago

There is no provision in the Constitution for Congress to abdicate its responsibility and leave the regulation of mail to private interests, even down to the level of deciding what facilities could process the mail.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2020/08/17/7-reasons-privatizing-postal-system-usps/

whogivesashirt.bsky.social•71 days ago

There's a reason Trump stacked the Supreme Court. The Constitution will say whatever he wants it to, and they will rubberstamp his ridiculous whims.

loves2write.bsky.social•71 days ago

Trump has never understood the meaning of the word “service” nor the purpose of government.

thryse.com•71 days ago

How does he propose to privatize a service that’s literally written into the unamended Constitution as a responsibility of the federal government?

thryse.com•71 days ago

I know he doesn’t know or care about the Constitution or statute or anything outside himself and doesn’t understand “No”, but surely he’s not so lost he STILL doesn’t expect politicians to defend their power and authority?

misterstupid.bsky.social•71 days ago

I think you knew the answer to that before you asked it

thryse.com•71 days ago

The man has no theory of mind whatsoever. It’s astonishing.

diogeneslamp.bsky.social•71 days ago

It shouldn't be called "privatization", it should be called "Giving to his friends"

genxjamerican.com•71 days ago

I’d say “destroy” is the right word to use here, rather than “remake”.

susansaoirse.bsky.social•71 days ago

He writes for WaPo. His job is to make it seem normal.

davisdudepdx.bsky.social•71 days ago

His job is to say what his multi-billionaire owner tells him to say. Jeff Bezos has already gone to lick the orange Mussolini’s boots and gave him $1 million. I canceled my subscription and prefer other sources that speak the truth!

genxjamerican.com•71 days ago

☹️

susansaoirse.bsky.social•71 days ago

Thank you for calling him out.

scottdguy.bsky.social•71 days ago

He actually has a conflict of interest since his asshole Trump enabling owner stands to gain from any dismantling of the USPS. Good thing journalists don’t have to worry about ethics these days.

susansaoirse.bsky.social•71 days ago

Do you think he'll even bother to read these comments? Will he ever know we're onto him and would he even care?

scottdguy.bsky.social•71 days ago

I doubt he reads them or cares if he does.

1truthwhisperer.bsky.social•71 days ago

He reads at a fifth grade elementary school level

mrchrishain.bsky.social•71 days ago

Yep, idiotic corporate media “sane-washing” Trump.

browwiw.bsky.social•71 days ago

Time to roll out the "The Postman" memes, I guess.

flempire.bsky.social•71 days ago

The USPS is not something that’s meant to make profit. It is a Gov’t Service the United States of America enacted in 1775 so that every American could receive their mail regardless of where they live

Trump and The Goons are GASLIGHTING when they say it’s generating losses

@jeffstein.bsky.social

werewhalewolf.bsky.social•71 days ago

Bezos' money talks

signalandnoise.bsky.social•70 days ago

Trump can’t do that though, it requires an act of Congress. Can the Washington Post sink lower? Paying tribute, withholding editorials, breathlessly repeating a criminal President’s rambling shower thoughts. SAD!

triedofpolitics.bsky.social•70 days ago

Trump will do anything that he wants to do. He got elected after January 6. No one will stop him. No one has courage anymore. They all kiss the ring.

signalandnoise.bsky.social•70 days ago

Nah. He doesn’t have magical powers.

triedofpolitics.bsky.social•70 days ago

Then how did he get elected after Jan 6????

signalandnoise.bsky.social•70 days ago

No law preventing it. Could’ve been elected from jail. Republicans have the narrowest majority in the house in over 100 years. Don’t obey in advance.

harrypujols.com•70 days ago

lol, do you think he has checks and balances?

signalandnoise.bsky.social•70 days ago

Do you know how complicated privatizing the post office would be? Do you think he can just make it happen without the purse strings or legislation? Let’s not just assign magical powers to this guy. He’s got two tricks, selling snake oil and delaying legal action.

harrypujols.com•70 days ago

I’m just going to let this roll because Venezuelans didn’t know they no longer had free elections until like 6 months ago, but the hint is the US has sleepwalked into a dictatorship.

signalandnoise.bsky.social•70 days ago

Don’t obey in advance.

cosmicait.bsky.social•70 days ago

Don’t rely on the stability of systems that have proved themselves to be easily bypassed.

armontague.bsky.social•71 days ago

I can just imagine, prices jacked up everywhere and salaries for every postal service employee reduced to near minimum wage with no benefits.

endthepatriarchy.bsky.social•70 days ago

The post office doesn't have to make money, no government service does. Tax the rich at pre-Regan era rates, that would balance the budget in a jiff.

roddyceramics.bsky.social•71 days ago

“remake” ??? republicans have been trying to do this for their billionaire donors for years and the future president put the person currently destroying the post office in charge of it.. maybe try doing actual research if you want to pretend to be a journalist

f4lseprophet.bsky.social•71 days ago

If you think stamp prices are high now? You just wait until they privatize them and you pay as much as fedex charges to get your letter delivered.

f4lseprophet.bsky.social•71 days ago

Republican Congress people in rural districts will push against this as their constituency will be most hurt by privatization. If it comes to a vote in Congress. I'm going to bet there will be a lot of Democrats supporting it. USPS is the only agency authorized by the US Constitution.

f4lseprophet.bsky.social•71 days ago

Usps privatization has been the goal of the Republican party since Nixon removed it as a cabinet position and gave it the motive to be self-supported. Successive mngmt changed it from self-supporting to profit driven, looting profits as bonuses as if Private industry.

secretman11.bsky.social•71 days ago

Imagine if anyone talked about how much road infrastructure "loses" per year.

richardhardack.bsky.social•71 days ago

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CCqIxyYrpYY&pp=ygUVamF6eiBidXRjaGVyIDE2IHllYXJz

mgiraldi.bsky.social•71 days ago

A lot of folks purposefully have P.O. boxes to use as shipping addresses for a bevy of reasons...primarily privacy.

Also...there's areas of this country that literally don't get mail delivered to their homes. And not all of those places are poor rural areas.

Case in point:

headdoc35.bsky.social•71 days ago

DeJoy’s been doing this since the day he was appointed.

no2trumpism.bsky.social•70 days ago

#TrumpIsUnfitForOffice
#TrumpCheated
#MuskHelpedTrumpCheat
#14thAmendmentSection3
#14AmendmentSection3

https://bsky.app/profile/stopfascism25.bsky.social/post/3ldaciu5wi224

jillrachelle.bsky.social•71 days ago

If anything will rouse Ben Franklin from the dead, this might do it.

alexemanuel.bsky.social•71 days ago

That would be amazingly awful.

mellofellow.bsky.social•70 days ago

Not profitable? Stop delivery routes to last mile rural America. Problem solved. They voted for this anyway. They can drive to the nearest town to pick up their own mail.

marcdachamp.bsky.social•71 days ago

If you want to see how bad a privatized postal service would be, just look at the absolute joke that is FedEx.

macphoenix.com•71 days ago

Exactly. UPS and USPS are union, but they (mostly) manage to keep costs down. FedEx is not union and they're a mess. Beholden to shareholders, too, and not their workers.

brienmcmullen.bsky.social•70 days ago

Who cares about these stupid Trump rumors?
Let's cross the bridge when we get to it.
You are letting him dominate the news.

broadcasther.bsky.social•70 days ago

Omg it’s so refreshing to see common sense 😭

brienmcmullen.bsky.social•70 days ago

More and more it seems like all these media figures are dependent on mean girl gossip style of reporting.
They probably had a hard time during the Biden years and are glad to have Trump back.

umbrumray.bsky.social•71 days ago

Gonna screw over rural America in particular.

devin-eleven.bsky.social•71 days ago

Trump keeps finding new ways to increase prices for average people and small businesses.

johnmone.bsky.social•71 days ago

What part of the word “service” escapes his understanding?

litred.bsky.social•71 days ago

He will do it. I'm so sorry. But he will. And no one is there to stop him.

cras7.bsky.social•70 days ago

Why should I care if it loses money?

pukarocks.bsky.social•71 days ago

don’t cry now about it they’ve been trying to do this since the 80’s and now with a puppet to do the work they can fuck us all up. fuck them.

jcorvera.me•71 days ago

Didn't the UK try doing that? How well did that go for the nation?

punkademic.bsky.social•70 days ago

They’re operating costs not financial losses, and your paper is making people dumber by not framing it that way.

hammhawk.bsky.social•71 days ago

Not sure the guy who bankrupts everything is the person to be arguing that making things private is what ensures their profitability…

jameslamanna.bsky.social•71 days ago

75% of mail I get from the USPS is junk and goes directly in the trash. The other 25% is orders that use USPS or services like SurePost that UPS/Fedex contract with USPS for residential deliveries.
The mail that people perceive as junk is probably responsible for most of their revenue.

jameslamanna.bsky.social•71 days ago

That being said, I live in a fairly densely populated area. In rural areas, USPS is the only option.

3141pie.com•71 days ago

Jeff, you all get through an entire article without once noting the constitutional mandate for the agency, and the obvious challenges that puts up. It's a bit misleading to talk about this particular bag of hot trumpian air without even mentioning a primary factor in the premise.

amy-calistri.bsky.social•70 days ago

https://ips-dc.org/how-congress-manufactured-a-postal-crisis-and-how-to-fix-it/

tomjackmanwp.bsky.social•71 days ago

Once again: Why is the Postal Service expected to be profitable? How much profit does the Dept of Labor bring in? HHS? Defense? It’s a vital govt service that, fortunately, also brings in lots of revenue. But if it doesn’t break even, so what? How much revenue do other fed branches bring in?

saveourfarms.bsky.social•71 days ago

They know that, of course. They’re trying to make things worse for everyone.

susiemadrak.bsky.social•71 days ago

They're trying to make things better for their pals who want to own everything.

tashabird.bsky.social•71 days ago

And, of course, make more money for themselves.

sounddude18.bsky.social•71 days ago

That's their #1 goal from all of this. More power and money

saveourfarms.bsky.social•71 days ago

How is this so hard to see for so many people?

zevroid.bsky.social•67 days ago

Because they don't WANT to see it.

Most people don't pay attention to see it because it's exhausting. They just know they're unhappy with how things are and blame whoever is currently in charge.

So they either don't vote, or vote for the other guy, thinking they can't possibly make it worse.

panwere.bsky.social•71 days ago

It’s not just the mandate to service everyone; the Republicans years ago ordered the USPS to finance their pension plan 75 years into the future, causing deficits forever.

godlesscommie.bsky.social•71 days ago

And every Democrat since Bush that implemented that program has kept it.

tomjackmanwp.bsky.social•71 days ago

Wrongly.

kmr318.bsky.social•71 days ago

You don’t get it. They don’t WANT government working for the people. They don’t want stability. They want chaos and discord so oligarchs can plunder.

smokeygeo.bsky.social•71 days ago

I think the USPS is supposed to break even, with stamp prices increased till it does. It’s a commercial service, with UPS and FedEx as competitors. There’s mo reason for taxpayers to subsidize junk-mail senders and bill collectors

tomjackmanwp.bsky.social•71 days ago

It’s not a commercial service. It’s a government agency. People who send junk mail and bills pay for that.

sbrewerbirds.bsky.social•71 days ago

They’re just fucking with you.

davidaugust.bsky.social•71 days ago

Big mistake.

https://bsky.app/profile/davidaugust.bsky.social/post/3ld7lqtvrak2m

kingston-me.bsky.social•71 days ago

There are a lot of court local rules and statues that specify service or notice to delivered by the USPS by certified mail. Once again trying to prove public ownership is bad by being bad at public ownership.

loriva.bsky.social•71 days ago

What government program does Trump not want to dismantle is the question. 2 years of this and we have a chance to make changes.

hudsonrivercroc.bsky.social•71 days ago

IT.IS.NOT.A.BUSINESS. FFS.

IT IS A GOVERNMENT SERVICE.

metal5120.bsky.social•71 days ago

Please no...trying to have a career over here...

monkeymatt.bsky.social•71 days ago

What’s next, make fire departments profit makers? So dumb.

jamiedcville.bsky.social•71 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/jamiedcville.bsky.social/post/3ld7p4lgiw227

mrscscrunk.bsky.social•71 days ago

I wonder if Amazon is in the running????

judbranam.bsky.social•71 days ago

you misspelled "loot"

vincefil.bsky.social•71 days ago

Hooray. Can’t wait to pay $15 to mail a letter.

reverseeyepatch.bsky.social•70 days ago

If Trump destroys my career and the careers of millions of Americans through his pettiness I will shit in his hair

odysseygtr.bsky.social•71 days ago

Auctioning off America.

macdani0049.bsky.social•71 days ago

Hmm, which of his oligarch sponsors wants their hands on that?

dystopiandiva.bsky.social•71 days ago

Exactly! Also, what is Trump’s cut?

eltiante.bsky.social•71 days ago

Filibuster till dead. Next.

rickatoo.bsky.social•71 days ago

It would be fine if they hadn't fucked with the pension

maxxaine.bsky.social•71 days ago

#weird

paradigm317.bsky.social•71 days ago

This is nonsense. Postal service is not designed w profit in mind. Never was.

accountabilabuddy.bsky.social•71 days ago

There's nothing in the constitution that permits privatizing the post office.

But since the john roberts supreme court says the constitution is worthless toilet paper for everyone to wipe their asses with, I guess that doesn't matter.

jellyfrog23.bsky.social•71 days ago

This country is going to end up less civilized than it was in 1880.

yalltoonosy.bsky.social•71 days ago

If they're worried about losses what's the plan for the Pentagon?

nathrach.bsky.social•71 days ago

How do people forget about this part

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7:The Congress shall have Power...To establish Post Offices and post Roads

noahlz.bsky.social•71 days ago

Isn't postal service enshrined in the Constitution?

bugspire.bsky.social•71 days ago

So, can we privatize the military too? Perhaps the entire incoming Executive Branch? Oh, wait…

jay-baller-reborn.bsky.social•70 days ago

The hilarious thing is so many of my boomer clients still insist on mailing checks and complain constantly about them getting lost. I’ve mentioned Louis Dejoy slowing killing USPS and they do not listen. They just think it’s their mailman being incompetent

sepats.bsky.social•71 days ago

Postal Service loses money because of the extreme requirements that they refund retirement benefits 75 years out. Which other organizations are required to do that by the government? https://apwu.org/usps-fairness-act

icassassin.bsky.social•71 days ago

…also the mail distribution department of my place of employment doesn’t generate revenue and it’s weird to think that it should.

grayranger.bsky.social•71 days ago

The conservative modus operandi: make government agencies dysfunctional, argue that privatization is better because government is dysfunctional.

erincourtois.bsky.social•71 days ago

USPS needs expansion as modeled in other countries providing banking and transportation, but we can't have nice things.

kwh561.bsky.social•71 days ago

Whats even more bonkers to explain to people is why the prefunding was "necessary" (the USPS OVERpaid into federal pension funds for almost 30 years, but Congress can't technically give a refund due to PAYGO, so they have to charge USPS billions to balance the accounting out)

o76923.bsky.social•70 days ago

That's actually not the biggest factor. Yes, that is bullshit but it's small potatoes compared to mandate that they deliver mail to addresses even if they're unprofitable and the prohibition on charging more based on recipient for hard to reach people. Their competitors don't do either.

figgityfigs.bsky.social•70 days ago

Their competitors aren’t part of the constitution.

figgityfigs.bsky.social•70 days ago

“Sorry it’s not profitable to deliver to your address so figure out how to get your bills chump.” GTFO.

invaliduser.bsky.social•71 days ago

That was a Biden success story.

bklynmichael42.bsky.social•71 days ago

Selling off America, brick by brick.

apaulitical.bsky.social•71 days ago

Bringing in DeJoy was on purpose, I guess most people who should know better didn't know better and have selective memories.

springer294.bsky.social•71 days ago

Russian oligarchs are jealous

sheeropacity.bsky.social•71 days ago

We already have several for-profit postal services so ???

profcew.bsky.social•71 days ago

They are not supposed to be profitable. Privatization means loss of services in rural and poorer areas. Equity considerations are part of why there are public services.

scottdguy.bsky.social•71 days ago

Did Bezos tell you to frame it as a remaking as opposed to a wholesale dismantling and sale to private entities like Amazon or did you just take it upon yourself to please the boss?

scottdguy.bsky.social•71 days ago

Don’t you have a conflict of interest in reporting on this story since your Trump supporters owner stands to gain from the dismantling?

tzipshmil.bsky.social•71 days ago

the people who pretended to vote for Trump because eggs were expensive, will soon miss the times when at least it was cheap to send a package.

gevakraoz.bsky.social•71 days ago

it's all about mail votoing...

turkishliberal.bsky.social•70 days ago

Good

deusexfan.bsky.social•70 days ago

Brother, you cant be a liberal while supporting a far right mf like trump

turkishliberal.bsky.social•70 days ago

I dont support Trump but dont oppose all his policies, also I'm not a liberal in the American sense, I'm not a leftist

deusexfan.bsky.social•70 days ago

I mean yeah some of his policies could be good, but then again Kamala has too, trump is the bigger evil because he's racist and overall pretty gone to the far right, and also kamala is really not a leftist, she's neoliberal, idk where you got that shes a leftist , now AOC and bernie are left @

turkishliberal.bsky.social•69 days ago

Kamala was one of the most leftwing senators in the US.. she's absolutely not "neoliberal", look at her voting record

deusexfan.bsky.social•70 days ago

@turkishliberal.bsky.social

caeso-k.bsky.social•71 days ago

The post office is not a for-profit business. It provides a service, and no private entity can or will provide the same services to this country. Ever.

whiskeyemme.bsky.social•71 days ago

Wa Po doing the 💩many canceled subs for: Trump "fueded" w USPS in his 1st admin. He didn't. He started false accusations they'd commit fraud so he'd lose the election AFTER advisors told him he'd lose esp bc COVID. Buddy & donor Louis DeJoy was appt May '20 to head it to help derail mail-in ballots

alexanderr.nafofellas.com•71 days ago

Bad idea.

dystopiandiva.bsky.social•71 days ago

Follow the money - you know the Trump family are hoping to make lots of money off this.

airwolf.bsky.social•71 days ago

Is “remake” really the right verb, Jeff?

mcsnerd.bsky.social•71 days ago

Privatization is the goal for everything. Eventually? They'll do the military and hire mercenaries because they won't have to worry about taking care of wounded. The fact that it didn't turn out so well for Rome won't stop our toga wearers. They're much smarter, you see. Just ask them! /sigh

robvo.bsky.social•71 days ago

Are we going to privatize the Department of Defense next? They've been losing money since their inception. Maybe Walmart will buy the Pentagon.

alsotigger.bsky.social•71 days ago

My hypothesis (no evidence to back it up!) is reason Pentagon/DOD fails its audits is all the black ops that by definition can’t put on the books, plus a bunch of corruption involving politicians of both parties. The GOP knows this, but also know they can safely use to bash “big govt”, w/ no action

feralrandy.bsky.social•71 days ago

Republicans have been trying to destroy the Post Office since 2000.

thegriefbraid.bsky.social•71 days ago

The USPS was established in the constitution so I don’t it will be as easy as he thinks.

rudell.bsky.social•71 days ago

Amazing that Trump can consider—and even do—this while Biden was apparently powerless to replace Louis DeJoy because of “constitutional chaos.”

getupswinging.bsky.social•71 days ago

Remake? Or ruin?

sigmanerd.bsky.social•71 days ago

*Heaves* It's a public entity. It's supposed to operate at losses. That's f*cking normal. It's freaking normal for public services to not make a profit! That's good! That means they're not ripping us off!!