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Comment by moksha256 | Hacker News Reader

To my knowledge, the USPS has been struggling for a while, and making it more sustainable is something that's critical.

In typical Trump fashion, the core issue has been latched to a very clear & tangible scapegoat (in this case, Amazon) so that people (and media) debate it ad nauseum instead of the core issue (streamlining the USPS)...which is something everyone should agree is important no matter what.

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Most people have the wrong idea. It is actually profitable but back during the Bush years a law was passed requiring USPS to set aside enough money to fund a 75 year retirement liability, and gave them 10 years to do it. They "lose" billions each year only because of this requirement to set aside billions for pensions.

https://www.cnbc.com/id/45018432

https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/be-careful-what-you-assume

So what you’re saying is it’s hemorrhaging money during the unprecedented explosion in package shipping volumes.

Remember, that “pension” everyone likes to mention is there because USPS pays its workers peanuts compared to eg UPS.

I worked at both for a short time in the early 2000s and I got paid more at USPS than I did at UPS. USPS was more reliable than UPS as far as employment and overall a better place to work. As a matter of fact UPS ranks as one of the worst places I ever worked at. The amount of screaming and yelling between management and workers that goes on there is some of the worse I have ever seen at any work place I've been at.

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