# Anyone else think Trump is trying to sink the USPS to stop mail in voting **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586 "2020-04-11T23:06:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/1 "2020-04-11T23:06:30Z")
I know he’s always had a bug up his ass about the postal service but it looks like without a bailout they might actually fail. Not that he’s not above doing it out of childishness but the election angle seems a little convenient. [Stimulus package provides USPS no funding, postal service could shutter by June 2020 amid coronavirus | Fortune](https://www.google.com/amp/s/fortune.com/2020/03/30/usps-postal-service-stimulus-package-no-funding-post-office-mail-delivery-could-shutter-june-coronavirus-relief-bill/amp/) [https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rawstory.com/2020/04/trump-goes-on-confused-rant-when-asked-why-he-stripped-funding-for-the-postal-service-from-the-coronavirus-stimulus/amp/](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rawstory.com/2020/04/trump-goes-on-confused-rant-when-asked-why-he-stripped-funding-for-the-postal-service-from-the-coronavirus-stimulus/amp/) ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/2 "2020-04-11T23:07:31Z")
Did you mean: “Anyone else think TRUMP is trying to sink the USPS to stop mail in voting”? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/3 "2020-04-11T23:12:32Z")
_What we have here, is Failure to Communicate_ ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/4 "2020-04-11T23:18:09Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Did you mean: “Anyone else think TRUMP is trying to sink the USPS to stop mail in voting”? I’m waiting for the postal service to deliver the rest of my title. I’ve already requested a mod fix. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/5 "2020-04-11T23:25:41Z")
The Postal Service had been teetering on financial ruin since the mid-2000s, Obama was making jokes about it back during his administration. It’s one of those kick the footballs that constantly gets kicked with no real progress, not some recent grand conspiracy by Trump. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/6 "2020-04-12T00:15:49Z")
Asuka, But USPS is a victim of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006: The law requires the Postal Service, which receives no taxpayer subsidies, to prefund its retirees’ health benefits up to the year 2056. This is a $5 billion per year cost; it is a requirement that no other entity, private or public, has to make. [by passing PAEA](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/postal-service-cuts_b_961602), Congressional Republicans mandated that within 10 years the United States Postal Service would have to fully fund retirement health care benefits for the next 75 years. _Or to put it more plainly, the Postal Service had a decade to fully fund the retirement health care benefits for future employees that will not even be born until 2057 at the earliest._ There are tons of cites: [https://www.truthorfiction.com/is-usps-losing-money-because-of-a-2006-pension-law/](https://www.truthorfiction.com/is-usps-losing-money-because-of-a-2006-pension-law/) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/7 "2020-04-12T00:16:09Z")
The election aside, and recognizing that the USPS is used far less than in previous decades, it would still be _hugely_ disruptive to let it shut down abruptly without setting up an alternative that covers every address in the country. I can’t imagine the government letting that happen. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/8 "2020-04-12T00:16:49Z")
To the OP, agree that this is another ploy to throw 2020 election. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/9 "2020-04-12T00:47:09Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Asuka, But USPS is a victim of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006: The law requires the Postal Service, which receives no taxpayer subsidies, to prefund its retirees’ health benefits up to the year 2056. This is a $5 billion per year cost; it is a requirement that no other entity, private or public, has to make. > > [by passing PAEA](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/postal-service-cuts_b_961602), Congressional Republicans mandated that within 10 years the United States Postal Service would have to fully fund retirement health care benefits for the next 75 years. _Or to put it more plainly, the Postal Service had a decade to fully fund the retirement health care benefits for future employees that will not even be born until 2057 at the earliest._ > > There are tons of cites: [Is USPS Losing Money Because of a 2006 Pension Law?](https://www.truthorfiction.com/is-usps-losing-money-because-of-a-2006-pension-law/) Seems like we really should have done something about it when Obama was in office then huh? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/10 "2020-04-12T00:48:46Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > … not some recent grand conspiracy by Trump. I didn’t claim it was some grand conspiracy but they are clearly affected by the pandemic and have essentially been left out the stimulus package. Trump didn’t get them into this situation but he seems to be nudging the death-nell snowball down the hill for his own benefit, and in my opinion in another attempt to subvert the election. You can bet he’s got one of his cronies waiting in the wings for the privatization. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/11 "2020-04-12T01:08:30Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Did you mean: “Anyone else think TRUMP is trying to sink the USPS to stop mail in voting”? Why did you leap to that conclusion? ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/12 "2020-04-12T01:36:47Z")
If USPS goes broke they’ll just have to stop deliveries in ® states that don’t pay enough. That’ll kill eBay, hey? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/13 "2020-04-12T01:55:46Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I didn’t claim it was some grand conspiracy but they are clearly affected by the pandemic and have essentially been left out the stimulus package. Trump didn’t get them into this situation but he seems to be nudging the death-nell snowball down the hill for his own benefit, and in my opinion in another attempt to subvert the election. > > You can bet he’s got one of his cronies waiting in the wings for the privatization. You’re making the massive assumption that if this crisis isn’t fixed literally no mail is going to be delivered at all, which would disrupt massive sectors of the economy. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/14 "2020-04-12T02:27:40Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Seems like we really should have done something about it when Obama was in office then huh? Gee, the law putting USPS on the road to bankruptcy was enacted under Bush’s watch. Obama lacked a super majority, and could not over ride Moscow Mitch and the rest of “make him a one term president.” How is this supposed to be Obama’s fault for not fixing? Last I checked, “I take no responsibility” trump has been in the white house for over 3 years. Shouldn’t the onus be on the current president? Since, it might be the case of mail being shut down across the country in part because of covid (and certainly because of that asine requirement that the USPS fund pensions unlike any other country in the US of A), you don’t think that would have a massive economic impact? Docha think that regardless of if Obama should have done something about it, now is the time for the current war time president to get off his ass and proactively lead to head off adding this economic torpedo to the mix? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/15 "2020-04-12T10:06:12Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > I’ve already requested a mod fix. Fixed. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/16 "2020-04-12T16:08:39Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Seems like we really should have done something about it when Obama was in office then huh? By that logic, anything done before 2008 is Obama’s fault for not fixing it. Remember, the Democrats only had a veto-proof majority in the Senate for a couple of months, barely enough time to pass one major bill (Obamacare). Before _and_ after that, the Senate Republicans made it their primary goal to stop Obama from achieving anything good. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/17 "2020-04-12T16:17:33Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > By that logic, anything done before 2008 is Obama’s fault for not fixing it. > > Remember, the Democrats only had a veto-proof majority in the Senate for a couple of months, barely enough time to pass one major bill (Obamacare). Before _and_ after that, the Senate Republicans made it their primary goal to stop Obama from achieving anything good. “What am I supposed to do, shake hands at Fenway?” Talk about for want of a nail ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/18 "2020-04-12T18:25:22Z")
To start with it’s Congress that puts out the budget. Not the President. One of the things hurting the USPS are the international postal rates set by the Universal Postal Union. Companies in China were able to mail products to the US at a cost that undercut delivery charges for US companies. We cannot control those prices. Except Trump found a way to do in indirectly. He threatened to pull out of the UPU if they didn’t adjust the rates. [Which they did after 2 days of negotiation](https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/09/26/trump-scores-a-big-victory-on-stamps-postal-union-terminal-dues-china/). It was done in addition to trade negotiations with China in an attempt to level the playing field. So to answer the op, no. If Congress want’s to budget more money into the USPS that is of course a budgetary item for them to consider. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/19 "2020-04-12T18:42:02Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > To start with it’s Congress that puts out the budget. Not the President. To start with it’s Congress that puts out\* every last bit of legislation.\* Not the President. So all the President does with respect to legislation is sit around doing nothing until a bill shows up on his desk, then he decides whether or not to sign it, amirite? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586/20 "2020-04-12T19:32:10Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Seems like we really should have done something about it when Obama was in office then huh? My impression is both parties voted for it. It appears the senate vote wasn’t recorded but the house vote was 95% in favor of the bill. All 201 democrats voted for it, 1 democrat didn’t vote. So every democrat (blue dog and progressive) voted for it. > **[H.R. 22 (109th): Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act -- House Vote #430...](https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/109-2005/h430)** > > House Vote #430 in 2005, in the United States Congress. > **[How the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act was passed - Democratic...](https://www.democraticunderground.com/10022335782)** So did the democrats shoot themselves in the foot? This is a bill I assume they could’ve filibustered. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-think-trump-is-trying-to-sink-the-usps-to-stop-mail-in-voting/851586.md?page=2)