[Screen shot image above: Tracking is down at USPS.com August 9, 2020]

By Steve Mower, owner, Reading Glasses Etc

A new article on VOX.com by Adam Clarke Estes starts with this:

" The United States Postal Service is dealing with crippling backlogs of letters and packages. A postmaster in upstate New York recently told their union that the regular mail was two days behind and, for the first time in their career, Express Priority Mail was not going out on time. Despite a surge in package delivery during the pandemic, postal workers are no longer able to work overtime, and fewer mail trucks are on the road. If your own mail seems delayed or unpredictable, it’s not a one-off problem."

The bottom line for us is that incoming and out going USPS packages are being delayed. Our goal is to get your orders to you within 5 to 7 business days. Our distributors are shipping out products to me on time. We are shipping out to you as soon as orders are processed. The delays are adding up to 3 to 5 extra days!

The reasons for these delays are purely political. Granted, there is the COVID-19 pandemic which has created economic difficulties for USPS. That's nothing compared to the  Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) that required the USPS to create a $72 billion fund to pay for the cost of its post-retirement health care costs, 75 years into the future. This burden applies to no other federal agency or private corporation. Prior to that Act the USPS was doing fine.

Part of this long running drama is the greedy desire to privatize USPS. The argument as I understand it, is that it would make USPS more competitive? Remember that USPS means United States Postal Service. (It is in the Constitution, look it up.) It is a government service that does not rely on taxes. It is self funded.

I question what "more competitive" means. Right now USPS First Class costs about $3.50 to send a 7 ounce package anywhere in the US, including territories. UPS Ground shipment costs about $18.00 and it takes the same amount of time. Do you like free shipping when you order online?

Of course, now with the Pandemic and the need for people to vote at home, there is a effort to, at the very least, create chaos around the reliability of voting by mail.  

Please read the full article at VOX -  https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/8/7/21358946/postal-service-mail-delays-election-trump-mail-in-ballots

Also, you need to vote this November (if not before.) Here is how to make sure that your vote counts:

https://www.alternet.org/2020/08/heres-how-to-make-sure-your-vote-counts-in-2020/