James Bilbray on the Postal Service
17m
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IMPACT
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Did you know that the U.S. Postal Service can't deliver liquor? Those wine clubs... all delivered by UPS or FedEx.
Former Congressman James Bilbray - who was on the Postal Commission that oversees the USPS - says that no liquor delivery is a prohibition-era rule, but that every time our modern-day postal service tries to eliminate it, the private delivery companies hire lobbyists to shoot the idea down.
Bilbray also notes that the USPS is supposed to be paid by Congressional offices for "franking" - you know, sending mail to constituents. Often, Bilbray says, Congresspeople pay for part of their franking bills, but when it goes over a certain amount, they don't pay the overage. Bilbray estimates the Postal Service would be solvent if Congresspeople just paid what they owed.
Congress has also stopped the Postal Service from expanding into simple banking - which would help rural voters tremendously - because of lobbying pressure by banks.
And USPS would certainly have enough money on hand if it hadn't been forced to pay for 75 years of pensions in advance. Another order from Congress.
In short, the Postal Service is told to "run like a business," but every time it tries, Congress prevents it from making sound business decisions.
Also, Bilbray says, Congress does not allocate money to USPS, as they do, for instance, to the Pentagon.
This segment is part of a larger program of IMPACT that aired August 29, 2020.
The episode James Bilbray on the Postal Service from the podcast IMPACT has a duration of
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