Saving the USPS!

I decided to become penpals with one of my friends! Yesterday, I prepared the package I planned to take to USPS for them to mail to her house. I included a letter (handwritten of course), some chocolate, a sweater for fall, and some tea for the chilly weather. This all fit into a relatively small box that I sealed with packing tape and labeled with both of our addresses. I took the box to a USPS location today (almost running over a curb when pulling into the parking lot), and my experience inside was a lot “smoother.” It cost me around $6.50 to send the package, however that is the standard rate for sending it from any place in the US to another place in the US. Packages can take anywhere from 1-4 days to arrive depending on how far they’re being shipped (with their standard shipping option), so I hope it arrives to her home soon. PSA: normal letters can be sent by just leaving them in your mailbox with a stamp on an envelope (with both addresses written on it of course). There is no ...

 The United States Postal Office, USPS, has been around since the early 1970s. However, it is now in danger of shutting down if it does not receive financial aid. Currently, the USPS is losing $2 billion a month and President Trump threatened to block an emergency federal loan for it. The coronavirus has only increased the USPS’ need for help.  Despite the dangers, postal workers are still doing their job, with 1,219 postal workers having tested positive for the coronavirus and 54 having died. The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act included a $500 billion bailout for large corporations, but it included no help for the USPS. Basically, there is a large chance the USPS may not exist by the end of the year.  Why is the USPS important? Well it’s possible closing threatens the center of America’s $1.6 trillion mailing industry, which imploys 7.3 million people. Further, the USPS has historically provided a path toward middle-class stability for a variet...