\u201cI have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!\u201d President Trump also seemingly accused the Washington Post, which is owned by progressive billionaire Jeff Bezos<\/a>, of engaging in secret lobbying<\/a>. Although it is not entirely clear to which type of lobbying President Trump was referring in his March 31st<\/sup> Tweets, he seems to imply that the Washington Post is Amazon\u2019s lobbying arm or propaganda machine that is helping Amazon to rip off the post office:<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we are on the subject, it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon. That amounts to Billions of Dollars. The Failing N.Y. Times reports that \u201cthe size of the company\u2019s lobbying staff has ballooned,\u201d and that…<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026does not include the Fake Washington Post, which is used as a \u201clobbyist\u201d and should so REGISTER. If the P.O. \u201cincreased its parcel rates, Amazon\u2019s shipping costs would rise by $2.6 Billion.\u201d This Post Office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now!\u201d<\/p>\n After several news outlets, including the New York Times, published articles rebutting his statement that Amazon is not paying taxes (Amazon paid $957 million<\/a> in income taxes in 2017) and is costing the U.S. Post Office billions of dollars per year, President Trump again asserted that he was correct, tweeting in part, \u201cOnly fools, or worse, are saying that our money losing Post Office makes money with Amazon. THEY LOSE A FORTUNE, and this will be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n A few days later, he again tweeted that, \u201cAmazon should pay these costs (plus) and not have them bourne by the American Taxpayer. Many billions of dollars. P.O. leaders don\u2019t have a clue (or do they?)!\u201d However, if one thing is clear, it is that the U.S. Post Office is not funded through taxpayer dollars<\/a>, but through its own revenue. Still, the President is correct that the post office is losing money every year, specifically $2.7 billion<\/a> in fiscal year 2017. However, it is unlikely that the bulk of that loss was incurred by conducting business with Amazon.<\/p>\n According to the U.S. Postal Service\u2019s annual report<\/a> for fiscal year 2017, its biggest losses came from fluctuating forces outside of its control. \u201cThe controllable loss for the year was $814 million, a change of $1.4 billion, driven by the $775 million decline in operating revenue before the 2016 change in accounting estimate, along with the increases in compensation and benefits and transportation expenses of $667 million and $246 million, respectively.\u201d Mail volumes declined by 3.6%, while employee benefits and transportation costs have increased. On the other hand, the report indicated that package mail is up by 11.4%, providing \u201csome help to the financial picture of the Postal Service as revenue increased $2.1 billion.\u201d However, that growth has not been able offset other losses.<\/p>\n In other words, package companies like Amazon may actually be helping the U.S. Postal Service, even if they are receiving discounted shipping rates. By law, the Postal Regulatory Commission ensures<\/a> that all items sent through the U.S. mail are profitable. Therefore, even if the U.S. Postal Service gives a discount to Amazon, those shipments will still be profitable to some degree. Whether the U.S. Postal Service should charge higher rates is a separate issue.<\/p>\n U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has also pitched some ideas in the past, which are now catching the public\u2019s eye in light of the President\u2019s recent Tweets. Senator Sanders recently told Vice News<\/a> that the post office should expand its services to generate more revenue. For example, the U.S. Postal Service could offer gift-wrapping services to capitalize on package shipments around the holidays. Additionally, “[t]he postal service could make billions of dollars a year by establishing basic banking services so lower-income people have access not to these payday lenders but to someplace where they can be treated with respect.”<\/p>\n This idea is not new<\/a>. In fact, until 1966, many U.S. post offices did offer simple banking services. Moreover, other countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy currently use similar systems of postal banking with success. Senator Sanders emphasized that the post office must survive or else Americans living in rural areas, where it is not profitable to deliver mail, will face a decrease or elimination of mail services.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/dome\/files\/2018\/07\/th-2.jpeg\")
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<\/a>Postmaster General and CEO Megan J. Brennan described the report\u2019s findings as \u201cserious though solvable.\u201d So, how can the government hope to save an agency that has not had a net surplus since 2006<\/a>? The U.S. Postal Service is hopeful that H.R. 756<\/a>, which was introduced to the House of Representatives by Rep. Chaffetz in 2017, and is being sponsored by Rep. Garrett in 2018, will pass and provide some relief by reforming postal service benefits, operations, personnel, and contracting. In addition, the Postal Regulatory Commission must adopt a new pricing system to generate additional revenue.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Caitlin Britos<\/strong> anticipates graduating from Boston Univeristy School of Law in May 2019.<\/p>\n