1/ The USPS is struggling and the government is actively hurting it. This is a thread about why you should care

2/ First, before we even get into everything. The USPS costs the average taxpayer $0. The postal service is currently operating on no tax dollars. So how does it survive? Well, barely, but it relies on sales of postage, products and services. So why do we care if it goes down?

3/ Well, the pandemic really shines a light on why the USPS is so important. Rural areas, traditionally conservative (this becomes relevant later) are far less likely to receive mail if we solely rely on private shipping companies like UPS and FedEX

4/ The USPS, as a government entity, has an obligation to deliver to even the most remote, rural areas in the US. These addresses, unsurprisingly, are very unprofitable. And it makes sense why other privatized companies would not want to deliver there

5/ Why is this important? In 2019 alone, the USPS delivered "1.2 billion prescriptions and almost 100% of prescriptions from the VA" (Kansas City Star). If you live in one of those isolated areas, you could be in a lot of trouble if the USPS shuts down.

6/ Not to mention, the USPS is much cheaper than private companies. To mail one letter anywhere in the US from the postal service, it would cost you $0.55. Private companies also rely on the USPS to complete a lot of shipments when delivering to those isolated areas.

7/ On top of all this good, the USPS employs more 600,000 workers, about 12 times more than the coal industry (which for some reason conservatives have been trying to save for the past 4 years). So why are we trying to save a dying industry while we watch a necessary one burn?

8/ This is where politics get involved. There are a few reasons why the president is actively working against the USPS. First, they deliver "for amazon and other internet companies, and every time they bring a package, they lose money on it." (Trump)

9/ So the USPS is losing money (and has been since 2009), it's barely hanging on and the federal government is doing next to nothing to keep it alive. The president did offer a solution however...

10/ He has suggested raising the price of packages in place of allocating federal funds. This solution sounds fine and all until you've taken any economics class. If you raise the price on Amazon, Amazon will raise the price of that product and therefore the increase is on the

11/ consumer. So this won't work. Companies aren't ethical, they won't suck up the increase. And second, a much bigger issue for the president, mail-in voting. Due to the pandemic, in-person voting just might not be possible this year and we might have to refer to mail-in only.

12/ Why would this be such a big issue for the president? According to Gallup, as of Jun 2020, 33% of people identify as Democrat, 38% Independent, and only 26% Republican. If everyone is able to vote and they vote among party lines (splitting independents 50/50) Trump would lose

13/ How would everyone be able to vote? Mail-in voting. And who would provide the services and infrastructure necessary to conduct nationwide mail in voting? The USPS. Effectively, people could lose their prescription, the US economy could lose a vital piece of it's backbone...

14/ and 600,000 people could lose their job because of an attempt to eliminate mail-in voting. We all rely on the USPS a lot more than you might think. And back to what I said on the 3rd part of this thread. Trump is actively attacking his base just so he has a chance to win.

15/ Thanks for reading this far if you made it. Idk how many of you actually did but I appreciate it. I enjoy looking over stuff like this and writing about it even if no one reads it. If you want to support the USPS, they make most of their money on stamps, so buy them.