Responding to the Repooflican crusade against the Post Office, I’ve been trying to point out that the PO is NOT funded by taxpayers. It’s a business like other freight carriers, depending on income from stamps and shipments. If Repooflicans were serious about opposing government overreach, they would be CHEERING for the PO instead of trying to eliminate it. The PO’s publicity and podcasts also emphasize the disconnection. I wondered if the employees share the same pride.
This item in the USPS section of Reddit answers the question. A job applicant asked whether the fake government “shutdown” would interfere with hiring. The current employees answered loud and clear. They appreciate that the PO can’t be swayed by political silliness.
In other words, the Post Office can DO WHAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO. It can serve all the people consistently and constantly. Strangely, it’s free to act like a government because it’s DECOUPLED from the actual “government”. An agency that depends mostly on political idiocy CAN’T act like government, can’t be non-partisan and unbiased. It has to satisfy the current crop of idiots.
Agencies that want to be independent need to BE independent. The PO uses its financial power properly. The hydro dam utilities TVA and Bonneville are profit-making enterprises and they don’t shut down.
Others are close to independent in percentage, but seem to enjoy being swayed by poliical winds. Stoller points out that the FTC gets most of its money from the cases it settles, but it still allows Congress to shut down part of its functions. The national forests used to depend mainly on user fees, but since EPA and “endangered species” craziness limited logging, they depend more on Congress.
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