*There's an organized attempt to save the USPS. You can donate to it here:* *https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/usps0513_dp_sbs <https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/usps0513_dp_sbs>*
*It's all very well for Trump and all those hirelings on the Hill to wear Old Glory* *pins on their lapels. They'd show a deeper patriotic feeling if they'd throw those* *pins away, and bring the P.O. back to health. * *MCM* Instead of Killing the US Postal System, Let’s Expand ItThe postal service is a core democratic infrastructure—and it’s time we remember that and fund it appropriately. By Victor Pickard <https://www.thenation.com/authors/victor-pickard/>MAY 7, 2020 - fb - tw - mail - [image: usps-worker-coronavirus-delivery-gt-img] <https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/usps-worker-coronavirus-delivery-gt-img.jpg> United States Postal Service mail carrier Frank Colon, 59, delivers a package in El Paso on April 30, 2020. (Paul Ratje / AFP via Getty Images) *https://www.thenation.com/article/society/usps-funding-local-media/* <https://www.thenation.com/article/society/usps-funding-local-media/> Ready To Fight Back?Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support *The Nation’s* journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy <https://www.thenation.com/privacy-policy/> here. The postal system has been a key public infrastructure since the dawn of the US republic. Today, the United States Postal Service faces an existential threat <https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/28/congress-must-stand-up-white-house-deliver-relief-postal-service/> as President Trump blocks a desperately needed emergency loan <https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/04/24/trump-postal-service-loan-treasury/>. Instead of defunding and privatizing the postal system, now’s an opportune moment to reimagine its purpose and revitalize it. We’ve heard by now many compelling arguments <https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/why-postal-service-worth-saving/610672/> for saving the USPS. It offers a secure and private means of communication (especially important with mail-in voting <https://fair.org/home/newspapers-wont-connect-the-dots-on-postal-service-threats/>); it provides more than 600,000 jobs for a diverse workforce; and it ensures an essential service of delivering important goods (including prescription medicine) to far-flung locales at affordable and equal rates. Remarkably, the USPS serves as both a national communication network and a local anchor institution for small communities across the country. Its loss would be a profound blow to American culture and democracy. But we should be striving for something bolder than just preserving a noble institution. Instead of fighting over whether to scrap or save the USPS, we should be pushing to *expand* it. Reimagining and repurposing this vital public infrastructure could yield tremendous benefits for all of society. *Click on the link for the rest.* -- If you appreciate News From Underground, please consider making a donation — either a one-time gift or a monthly subscription: http://markcrispinmiller.com/support/ Thank you for your support. Ways to unsubscribe: 1) send a blank email to [email protected] PLEASE NOTE: you must unsubscribe using the SAME email with which you subscribed 2) go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "News From Underground" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/newsfromunderground/CAGxB6W_08GzW5xGY6i3exkZXp3ExoOcwQr2SWbZ_RQ8Ld1t--A%40mail.gmail.com.
