The Republican Utopia

[funhusker]

1 hour ago, Landlord said:

 

 

Conversely, everyone else didn't care about Obama golfing but loves to bring up Trump golfing.

 

 

Everyone calling each other hypocrites 

 

The problem isn’t Trump golfing.  The problem is people b!^@hing about Obama golfing and not Trump.  It’s amazing how much crap Trump brought on himself.  Most rational people know it’s a stressful job and a break is needed.  Even golf (Trump too) usually involves Congress members or other work people.  He’s not going out with buddies twice a week and hitting on the beer cart girl.  Maybe he is...

 

I unfriended a college roommate on fb because he had a meltdown (not kidding, it was pathetic) over Obama filling out a NCAA bracket in Sportscenter or something.

[funhusker]

I guess @commando already explained... 

[teachercd]

4 hours ago, BigRedBuster said:

It’s more of a throw it back in your face to Republicans because of the faux outrage they always have if a Democrat (god forbid) plays a round of golf or takes a trip. 
 

I remember the false claim they spread around and were outraged about when Obama had the audacity to visit India. They tried Claiming it cost something like $100,000,000. 
 

It was BS. 

Probably. 

 

 

[teachercd]

2 hours ago, funhusker said:

The problem isn’t Trump golfing.  The problem is people b!^@hing about Obama golfing and not Trump.  It’s amazing how much crap Trump brought on himself.  Most rational people know it’s a stressful job and a break is needed.  Even golf (Trump too) usually involves Congress members or other work people.  He’s not going out with buddies twice a week and hitting on the beer cart girl.  Maybe he is...

 

I unfriended a college roommate on fb because he had a meltdown (not kidding, it was pathetic) over Obama filling out a NCAA bracket in Sportscenter or something.

Oh man!  I remember that NCAA stuff!  Weirdos freaked out about that?

 

I am so glad I am normal and don't complain about everything. 

[knapplc]

Oh. Hey. Yeah. Your superhero is trying to kill the post office because it'll hurt his rival, Jeff Bezos.

 

This is perfectly normal and perfectly reasonable behavior and you should totally vote for Trump again in 2020 and get four more years of stuff like this.  MAGA!!!

 

 

 

And here's a little explainer on why you maybe don't want some wingnut collapsing the USPS because his feelings are hurt.

 

 

It's a huge long thread of tweets. Here they are unrolled:

 

Okay, I've been with USPS for several years now, so here's my big dumb #SaveThePostOffice thread. I don't know how many tweets it's gonna take for me to ramble through my thoughts, so stick with me. Or don't, whatever.

First things first: we're not taxpayer funded. At all. Sure, we get government monopolies on certain things of value (and things like cheap loan terms), but the budget isn't by the taxpayer. It's by the services provided. If you buy stamps, you fund us. If you don't, you don't.

Second: our financial issues, while not ENTIRELY from the 2006 PAEA bill that required 70 years of retiree prefunds, are mostly artificial. They would not exist if not for a congressional lame duck bill passed mostly by a certain political party on their way out the power door

Third: We're in the constitution. Literally. You know that thing you occasionally pretend to love when it serves your interests? It's explicitly in there. We're legally required to exist.

Fourth: Certain nameless people want us privatized because we're worth a lot of $. Even without the physical materials (truck fleet, offices, computer networks, etc), we have billions in proprietary data (route sequences, mailing lists, logistics, etc) that businesses would love

Fifth: You can be certain, if given the chance, certain politicians would love to GIVE AWAY this infrastructure, a la the $70 billion in digital broadcast licenses they gave away for free to Telecom companies in 1996 with no strings attached.

So, why should you not want this? Well, for starters, if you're not in a major city, you've been subsidized by one via the post office for decades. It's a lot cheaper to mail and deliver in dense population centers. But we charge the same in rural Delaware, too.

Why? Because the idea is everyone in America, no matter where they are, should have the same, guaranteed access to a valuable line of communication. A birthday card from across country is as valuable as a wedding invite from one town over.

Now, no one likes their junk mail, but you know what? Carrying 4 Geico ads and a Subway coupon in my satchel with your card is the reason the latter only cost $0.50 to cross the country. And if you'd like to name a cheaper way to ship a book or a record, I'd like to hear it.

But the one thing I pride myself on the most in terms of service is something you can guarantee won't happen in privatized, for-profit model. UPS, FedEx, Amazon, DHL, etc ALL dump pacakages on our docks every single day. Ones they say aren't profitable. We take them the last mile

Why? Because Every. Single. Address. In. America. deserves service. Even places accessible by only boat and plane. They'll be cut off in a second in a private market. Heck, it's only because of our last mile service that you don't realize the private sector already cut you out.

I work in a position called a "T6," or a "Carrier Technician." Put simply: USPS delivers 6 days a week, and employees work 5 days. For every 5 routes in an office, there's a T6 to carry the 6th day on each of those 5 routes who have a regular the other 5 days. Full-time position

In my case, that's 5 routes, averaging 700 addresses each, totaling 3,500 addresses, and approx 10K names and faces. Names and faces that I recognize, communicate with regularly, and can identify the forwarding information for, without even consulting a reference sheet.

I know which senior residents would like their mail delivered to the door, even if they have a curbside box. I know who needs their packages (often for home business) tucked into a corner behind the garage. Who is going to need an extra minute to get to the door to sign.

I know whose lawns to not cut across, whose dogs want to bite, and whose want to play. I know whose day will be made brighter with a short convo, and who wants me to go away. I know who is bad at checking the mail, and who to call for a wellness check on if it starts to pile up

For millions across the country, we're the only face they often see all day, even before social distancing. Their connection to the world around them, even if it's just for a comment on the weather, or to be a two minute ear for a rant about "kids these days."

I'm not naive though. I know not every carrier lives up to the same standard the men and women of my office largely hold themselves to. I know many of our (admittedly fake financial) troubles have reduced quality of service. But the effort and integrity is there for so many of us

And the reason to bring this all up is to say that it's all in jeopardy in a private market. There's no profit to be had in uniform pricing or remote delivery locations. There's no profit in being your community's friendly face.

There's no profit in me receiving dozens of incorrectly addressed pieces of mail every day, and spending the few extra minutes figuring out where on the route it's actually supposed to go (you may not notice this, but it happens every day, and we fix it from memory).

These little details cost time and money. Things the private sector wants to cut, and that we've only been forced to do likewise with as political interests deliberately undermine our finances, waiting for a chance like this pandemic to auction us off.

If you want USPS to continue to provide a service that gives us the highest approval rating of every government agency, call you congressperson. Nag 'em for a bit on my behalf. Ask them for the same bailout for a community service that they give freely to banks and airlines.

Thanks for listening. I'll see you on the streets, from 6 feet away. And keep your dog on a leash, please.

Addendum: I've decided to add a few thoughts for an even broader perspective. In addition to employing more than half a million people, USPS is one of the largest employers of both vets and people of color in the US. It has put, and kept, millions in the middle class for years

Not only does USPS tie communities together, but the organization has helped lift many of them up. Rather than talking about letting us die, you should be asking how to help strengthen us.

Postal banking, which would allow people in every community in the country to have easy access to cheap local banking, is not just a potential revenue stream, but a way to provide an essential service to the people most lacking them. And it doesn't have to cost taxpayers a dime

The biggest handicaps we face on a daily basis: unreliable vehicles, overworked and undertrained staff, extreme turnover amongst non-career employees: it's all artificial and can be improved by giving us the financial flexibility that was deliberately robbed from us.

We have the resolve as a nation, and the popular demand to fix USPS and permanently strengthen them. All you need to do is help advocate for it. Because none of us, especially those receiving stimulus checks by mail, want to see how bad things get after we are allowed to collapse

PS: If you're reading this and want a much easier, more direct way to help us out? Volume is down right now by considerable amounts (our office is 50% lighter some days during COVID-19!). Go online, buy some stamps. Have them delivered. Write an old fashion card to a friend today

Heck, write a few! Toss em in your mailbox, and put the flag up. You don't even need to leave the house except to the mailbox, and you can do a little something for the postal service. Encourage a friend to do the same. Who doesn't like receiving a handwritten card?

[teachercd]

I can't think of one bill that I have that comes through the mail anymore.  I can't think of anything (except for birthday cards) that I get through the mail anymore that I don't just throw away.

 

I think in the last year I have sent something in the mail exactly one time.

 

Do any of you send/get mail that is important anymore?

[funhusker]

20 minutes ago, teachercd said:

I can't think of one bill that I have that comes through the mail anymore.  I can't think of anything (except for birthday cards) that I get through the mail anymore that I don't just throw away.

 

I think in the last year I have sent something in the mail exactly one time.

 

Do any of you send/get mail that is important anymore?

I had to mail a form to UNK for my master's work just a week ago.  I was actually surprised they made me mail it, it was definitely something that just could have been submitted through an email or online form.  Probably would be much easier for them to process if it was electronic...

[teachercd]

9 minutes ago, funhusker said:

I had to mail a form to UNK for my master's work just a week ago.  I was actually surprised they made me mail it, it was definitely something that just could have been submitted through an email or online form.  Probably would be much easier for them to process if it was electronic...

I totally forgot about that!  I did both (humblebrag) of my Mastererseses through UNK and I did have to mail stuff at times!

 

I think a few years back I still had to request my transcripts via snail-mail.

[knapplc]

12 minutes ago, funhusker said:

I had to mail a form to UNK for my master's work just a week ago.  I was actually surprised they made me mail it, it was definitely something that just could have been submitted through an email or online form.  Probably would be much easier for them to process if it was electronic...

 

The part about "last mile" is the key. I get a lot of things delivered that are dropped off at the local USPS for "last mile" delivery.  Largely, that isn't profitable for commercial shippers, and when something isn't profitable, it gets cut.

 

That's the takeaway here - Trump is hurting regular America because of a personal political spat. Clearly some people want to make excuses for that, but we know why.

[BigRedBuster]

1 hour ago, teachercd said:

I can't think of one bill that I have that comes through the mail anymore.  I can't think of anything (except for birthday cards) that I get through the mail anymore that I don't just throw away.

 

I think in the last year I have sent something in the mail exactly one time.

 

Do any of you send/get mail that is important anymore?

Yes, we send a lot of bills via email, but there are also a lot that don’t want that and we have to mail them. We receive a lot of payments (though it’s getting less) through mail. 
 

Even though it’s used less, we still need the mail service. 
 

Can get rid of Saturday delivery though. 
 

oh...and Trump is an idiot. 

[teachercd]

16 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

Yes, we send a lot of bills via email, but there are also a lot that don’t want that and we have to mail them. We receive a lot of payments (though it’s getting less) through mail. 
 

Even though it’s used less, we still need the mail service. 
 

Can get rid of Saturday delivery though. 
 

oh...and Trump is an idiot. 

We have some Sunday mail here now at times too.

 

Yeah, I would think for businesses it is still used a lot.  

 

At home, I just think most people could do without it.

[teachercd]

31 minutes ago, BlitzFirst said:

 

Well since you don't get any mail, I'm sure you can tell the 644,124 employees that you just don't need them any longer and they should pack up shop right?

Ummmm, what?

 

 

 

 

[RedDenver]

1 hour ago, teachercd said:

I can't think of one bill that I have that comes through the mail anymore.  I can't think of anything (except for birthday cards) that I get through the mail anymore that I don't just throw away.

 

I think in the last year I have sent something in the mail exactly one time.

 

Do any of you send/get mail that is important anymore?

Do you receive packages? Many of them used the US Postal Service for part or all of their shipping to you. Nebraska of all states should be VERY concerned if the USPS was to limit or stop operations.

[teachercd]

3 minutes ago, RedDenver said:

Do you receive packages? Many of them used the US Postal Service for part or all of their shipping to you. Nebraska of all states should be VERY concerned if the USPS was to limit or stop operations.

I do but when I do see them get dropped off (which is just sometimes) it seems like it is UPS and/or the amazon vans, FedEx sometimes.

 

I do get a few smaller ones through the mail.

 

Oh and when I would order jeans online I think they always came from the USPS.

[RedDenver]

1 minute ago, teachercd said:

I do but when I do see them get dropped off (which is just sometimes) it seems like it is UPS and/or the amazon vans, FedEx sometimes.

 

I do get a few smaller ones through the mail.

Note that Trump's motivation for hurting the USPS is to hurt Amazon and therefore hurt Bezos. That should tell you something about how important the USPS is for your Amazon deliveries.