“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
Sounds pretty bad*ss for a bunch of people driving around delivering mail and packages. This year, however, you can add “nor voter suppression tactics” to this motto.
Now, I’m not going to get into the political nuances of how the USPS is going to heavily factor into the ability of all citizens to vote this November. I am, however, going to write about three of my favorite things about the United States Postal Service.
1. Stamps: I love stamps. They have those weird old lady edges and some beautiful designs. They’re basically fancy stickers that can send things places. 10/10
2. Affordable package shipping: They have a neat little pricing calculator in a little toolbox. It took me about 30 seconds to figure out how much it would cost me to mail a package from my home to Winona. UPS, however, made me jump through hoops (actually ordering the package) to find out it was more expensive to have three-day shipping with UPS than it was with two-day shipping from USPS. About $8 cheaper.
3. Delightful dog videos: Granted, UPS and Fed-Ex drivers also appear in those videos, but I still love them. Dogs come up to the vans, and the drivers hand them a couple treats, maybe some mail (MAIL FOR PIPPA!). Wholesome.
Neat people. Unfortunately, the postal service, while a government agency, is solely funded by revenue from stamps and service fees.
So, how do we fix this? We know that other shipping services would be able to raise rates through the roof should USPS go out of business. We know that an eight-dollar difference in price now may mean some people couldn’t afford to ship things at that price.
Well the answer is easy and one of my favorite things: BUY STAMPS!
The USPS also has some super cute totes, mugs, and even beach towels, which you can check out HERE… if anyone wants to buy me the T-rex tote bag, I’ll be your best friend.