From Americans for Tax Fairness (https://americansfortaxfairness.org/):
The U.S. Postal service provides a critical public good―but it needs our help.
Under the last two Republican administrations, the USPS has been under constant attack.
In 2006, during the George W. Bush administration, Congress passed a law mandating that the Postal Service prefund 75 years of its pension and healthcare costs over just one decade―crippling the USPS’s finances.[1] No other federal agency has to prefund these benefits for one year let alone 75.
Fast forward to present day, when the Trump administration’s Postmaster General Louis DeJoy recently implemented multiple policies that intentionally slowed down the mail―undermining faith in the USPS.[2]
At a time when the Postal Service is already competing with private carriers such as UPS and FedEx (the latter being non-union), it must be allowed to expand its mission to generate new revenue and continue providing a low-cost way to connect our communities and our businesses.
Tell Congress to strengthen the USPS by expanding the Postal Service’s mission to include Postal Banking. This will generate new revenue and help stabilize the USPS’s finances. Sign the petition today at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-congress-save-the-usps-and-provide-services-to-all-pass-the-postal-banking-act-2.
Postal banking would allow post offices to provide low-cost savings and checking accounts to the millions of Americans who are unbanked or underbanked―creating an alternative to predatory payday lenders and the Big Banks.[3]
And Postal Banking isn’t a new idea. It existed in the U.S. from 1911 to 1967 and currently serves people in Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom and other countries.
The Postal Banking Act has been introduced in the past by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) and Bernie Sanders (VT) to strengthen the USPS, which provides jobs to millions of working people―particularly Black workers, workers without bachelor’s degrees and military veterans.[4]
Together, let’s stabilize the USPS’s finances, protecting this vital public service for all Americans.
[1] “How George Bush broke the Post Office,” The Week, April 16, 2018 [2] “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy apologizes again for slow mail,” February 24, 2021 [3] “25% of US households are either unbanked or underbanked,” CNBC, March 9, 2019 [4] “The Postal Service is foundational for our economy and democracy,” Economic Policy Institute, Dec. 16, 2020
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