Open Thread: Can the Post Office Avoid a Government Bailout?

October 12th, 2011 12:03 PM

Tomorrow, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is meeting to consider a major postal reform plan. Postal unions across that nation have launched a national ad campaign against the reforms, and now the Oversight Committee has struck back with a video demonstrating that USPS requires reform if taxpayers are to avoid footing the bill for an eventual bailout.

Check out the video after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

As explained in the video, the volume of mail has fallen by 46 billion pieces since 2006, which prevents USPS from continuing to pay pension to its retired employees. Congressional opponents to USPS reform would prefer that Congress use an accounting trick to make it look as if the problem is solved without actually fixing anything, which would still necessitate an eventual taxpayer bailout. According to the Heritage Foundation's Rob Bluey:

...Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) has another solution. He’s teamed with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL) to introduce the Postal Reform Act. The plan allows the Postal Service to operate like a private-sector business, cutting expenses while making structural reforms to avoid a multi-billion taxpayer-funded bailout...

Without the current government barriers hindering USPS's adjustment to the digital world, unnecessary post offices could be closed, the workforce could be reduced, and services could be trimmed to make USPS more cost effective and competitive.

What do you think of Issa's plan? Do you think USPS can be saved?