ok y’all let’s take a second and talk about something near and dear to my heart: the United States Postal Service (USPS)

Your lives and the lives of so many others literally depend on a functioning USPS.

No, that is not an exaggeration.

Let me explain... https://twitter.com/npfandos/status/1248314375406080000

first - why, Olivia, do you care so much about the USPS?

well, friend - I love handwritten letters. I send them often. Maybe you’ve gotten one. I keep stamps on hand for whoever needs to mail in an absentee ballot and doesn’t have a stamp. I genuinely love mail.

And to be honest, this love of mail runs in the family. It’s how I stayed close with my mom & grandma during college, & my grandpa collects stamps.

You could truly say my love language is handwritten cards, and so I care quite a bit about how USPS is functioning in that regard

but the mail matters so, SO much more than just for cards

Many people *depend* on it - without universal broadband in place, rural communities & communities without stable internet access rely on mail for a whole host of things - getting their prescriptions, paying bills, etc

USPS is literally as old as this country is; there is no denying that USPS has been a fundamental part of American life for centuries. And yet, Trump seems to believe that USPS doesn’t deserve support during this crisis even though, now more than ever, Americans DEPEND on it

A few days ago, Trump said the reason USPS is failing is because of their contracts with Amazon and that USPS doesn’t charge ppl enough for packages. As a result, Trump thinks that USPS doesnt deserve a robust stimulus to keep them afloat, so they should get virtually nothing

Fun fact! These “deals with Amazon” haven’t brought down USPS. In fact, USPS reported a 2.3% increase in revenue from parcel delivery + revenue per package from Oct. 2019-Dec. 2019 ( https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2020/0206-usps-reports-first-quarter-fiscal-2020-results.htm)

The biggest thing bringing down the postal service is structural - most people aren’t sending letters anymore. Society has largely moved online - so, for those who have access, emailing has largely overtaken the need to send written mail.

This has been a USPS problem for ~years~

So like a lot of things nowadays, the structural problems within USPS are getting WORSE because of COVID-19. But, unlike a lot of things, USPS still needs to operate during this crisis - their workers are *essential* and you wouldn’t be getting your deliveries without them...

Despite this crisis, thousands of postal workers are walking their regular routes. Their lives are at risk, so USPS not only needs $ to stay afloat financially, it needs to protect its workers. But even if that doesn’t matter to you, even if you’re still like “why should I care?”

If you take away anything, ANYTHING, from this thread it’s that you, as an individual, can’t get your stimulus check if USPS can’t do its job.

Let me repeat: you can not get your stimulus check from the government if USPS can’t do its job.

This is not to mention the thousands of workers that will be hurt if USPS is underfunded. This isn’t even to mention that the integrity of our democracy right now relies on absentee voting for our elections which, wait for it, requires a functioning postal service

but from a purely individual level - the government can’t send you your stimulus check in a timely manner if USPS goes under and isn’t robustly supported in upcoming stimulus packages.

Your lives, and lives of others depend on a functioning USPS system - not an exaggeration

USPS is critical to American life during good times, but it’s especially important during this COVID-19 pandemic.

And sure, this may not be a “sexy” or “flashy” issue to care about and I know there is a lot on ppls minds but protecting USPS really, really matters. Call your reps