Posted by Jack
The U.S. Postal Service, facing a $14.1 billion loss this fiscal year amid plummeting mail volume, will default for the first time Wednesday, on a congressionally mandated $5.5 billion payment to the U.S. Treasury.
Postal officials said Monday that without close to that sum in the bank, they can’t make the payment, which is part of a 10-year plan to set aside health benefits for retired postal workers. Another bill for roughly the same amount is due in September, but it will likely meet the same fate.
I think it is important to note that one of the major reasons the post office is broke is a congressional mandate that requires them to fund their pensions for 70 years. They have plenty of money, they just can’t spend it.
Now, I think funding pensions is a great idea, but why don’t we saddle the Pentagon with this kind of regulation? Why just the post office?