I was in the minority of Washingtonians who opposed privatizing the state liquor stores (fun fact: I have never stepped foot in, nor purchased anything from, a Costco, largely because they funded the initiative that privatized state liquor sales). When the measure passed... (1/)

Liquor prices nearly doubled, because of 1) already-existing taxes, and 2) the need for private liquor retailers to make a profit (wholesale vs retail prices). This fact was written into the measure ahead of time. People didn’t read it, though, and were ENRAGED. 2/

But, like, it was RIGHT THERE in the voter guide! Nope, TL;DR, I guess. All people heard was Costco et al’s catchy slogan of “Let’s get the state out of the liquor business.” Well, they did, and then they didn’t like the result. 3/

But I mean, how do you think for-profit businesses work? They exist to MAKE A PROFIT. State liquor stores didn’t have to make a profit, so they basically sold liquor for wholesale price + taxes.

(I’m coming to the point, I swear.) 4/

The US Postal Service works the same way (except no sales or other taxes tacked onto the purchase price!). Even though it was forced to semi-privatize by the GOP years ago, it is still a non-profit entity. 5/

(A non-profit entity that still manages to pre-fund the retirement of its workers for FIFTY YEARS OUT, thanks to more GOP strong-arming, I might add.) It doesn’t have to make a profit. It doesn’t have to “deliver value” to shareholders. It just has to break even on expenses. 6/

And it is nothing short of MIRACULOUS that after decades of the GOP trying to kill it dead, it DOES still manage to function. You can still mail a letter to any address in our gigantic, broken nation for $0.55. 7/

If you live in a rural area, you can (99% of the time, again, thank the GOP for the 1-ish% of places where you can’t) still have mail picked up and delivered TO YOUR DOOR, for FREE. 8/

If you need to send a package, you can get it there via Priority in usually 2-3 days, for a fraction of what the private carriers charge, and be (mostly) able to rely that it’ll get there as and when promised. 9/

AND! You can be sure that the thousands of people sorting and shipping and processing and delivering your mail are paid a decent, fair wage, with benefits! 10/

Yes, it’s true there are problems. It is not 100% reliable, and some localities are less reliable than others (Denver regional processing center, I am looking at you, you corrupt lazy jerk). 11/

But I send literally THOUSANDS of packages each year, as my livelihood depends on the USPS. And I am a data freak. I can tell you that in the past 16 years of running this business, I can count on one hand the number of serious problems I’ve had (lost/stolen/destroyed items). 12/

I cannot say the same for private carriers. When I am forced to deal with them, about 1 in every 5 or 6 transactions, I am on the phone fighting with someone over a lost or destroyed or misdelivered parcel. And I pay DEARLY for the privelege of being screwed over this way! 13/

AND the people who deliver for private carriers are contract workers! Their pay is shit! They get no benefits! They are out there risking their lives right now for this crap deal—no wonder there are problems in the supply chain! 14/

All because the private carriers need to make a profit. Profit matters more than you getting your package on time or in one piece. Profit trumps you saving money. Profit trumps the very LIVES of the workers, who are getting sick. 15/

You want this to get a hell of a lot worse? You want to be stuck over a barrel on price-gouging? You want reliability to go DOWN from here? You want delivery workers to have even worse conditions? Go ahead and let the USPS die. 16/

You want Vote-By-Mail to be put in jeopardy? (WA/OR/CO/UT/etc folks, I’m talking to you!) You want to pay $20 to mail a birthday card? You want to never receive a bday card again because your mom can’t pay $20 to send one? Let the USPS die. 17/

There are other things, other essential services run through the USPS, too, that will be total chaos (or destroyed) if the USPS fails, too, but I won’t go into it, as I am having trouble keeping track of this thread, but I hope you get the picture. USPS FAILURE = DIRE. 18/