Don’t sabotage Postal Service
Erline Vandeberg
Neillsville
Editor:
As the wife of a deceased dedicated rural mail carrier, I am concerned of the politicization and sabotage of the United States Postal Service by the Trump administration. The new Postmaster, Louis DeJoy, a major Trump donor and Republican fundraiser, has reassigned 23 Postal Service senior managers, two who oversaw day-to-day operations. He then restricted overtime, froze rehiring, and removed 671 sorting and processing machines from many states. This has slowed mail delivery already and caused chaos in the Postal Service during the COVID-19 epidemic. DeJoy has stated he does not plan to reverse any controversial changes. It is no secret Trump doesn’t like the U.S. Postal Service and would privatize it if he could. Postal workers process 425 million pieces of mail a day. Thirty-three million people voted (by mail)in the last presidential election. That number will explode this election. This is done without hardly any cases of voter fraud, contrary to Trump accusations.
The Post Office was established in the Constitution in 1775 to serve the American people. It’s a service, not a business. Benjamin Franklin was our first postmaster. It receives no tax dollars for operating expenses.
Rural America is dependent on the Postal Service. Rural routes average 98 miles and 300 patrons.
Congress should investigate the actions of DeJoy and allocate more money to the Postal Service for election assistance. Voters, get your ballots early, sign both ballot and envelope, return them quickly. Don’t wait. Democracy must prevail.
