It is time for Congress to form a new budget for the next fiscal year.
While some politicians are looking to cut programs like Social Security to save money, many politicians have overlooked one of the biggest government programs that continually runs a deficit.
That government program is the United States Postal Service.
USPS is so obsolete that it is a wonder it’s still up and running.
When the U.S. was originally founded, USPS was one of the first programs created by the federal government.
For two centuries, USPS provided Americans with an invaluable service essential to the economy in terms of transporting legal documents, material goods and letters from loved ones.
For centuries, the written letter was the only form of long-distance communication.
Because USPS was partially subsidized by the federal government, it cost the individual only the price of a stamp to mail a letter to the other side of the country.
This once important service has now become obsolete in the modern world, where private companies and technology have replaced the post office.
The art of actually writing a letter has been replaced by a digital age where people can communicate across the world in a matter of a few seconds for little to no cost.
The service of delivering packages has slowly been taken over by private businesses such as UPS or FedEx, who essentially control the shipping industry.
Despite the decline in USPS profits, it is still funded as if it was still in its heyday.
The USPS was $1.3 billion in debt by the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2013.
It wasn’t even halfway through 2013 when it was revealed that USPS was already $1.3 billion in debt.
How much more USPS debt will there be by the year’s end?
Estimates from Bloomberg predict that unless there are major changes made to the postal system, USPS could accrue up to $45 billion in debt by 2017.
Imagine how much money would be saved if the government cut federal funding for USPS.
Money could also be saved if the government allows individual states to run their own postal systems.
The billions that would be saved from USPS could go to paying off the national debt or investing in U.S. infrastructure.
Congress probably hasn’t defunded USPS because the postal system employs millions of people and no politician wants to deprive Americans of jobs if he or she wants to be re-elected.
Another possible reason why Congress hasn’t defunded USPS is because elected officials are allowed to send mail for free.
While it may be difficult to make cuts like this and lay off hard-working postal workers, sometimes tough decisions need to be made for the greater good.
In this case, USPS needs to be eliminated for the country’s best interest of saving money.
The USPS closure does not have to be immediate.
Policymakers should be making their way in that direction, however, so that we can eventually close the debt-ridden USPS once and for all.
Nick Chavez is a sophomore political science major and a staff writer at the Daily 49er.
