Letters: Should Trump privatize the U.S. Postal Service?

U.S. Postal Service: Support or privatize?

Re: “Please don’t privatize the U.S. Postal Service,” Jan. 8 commentary

The commentary regarding the bad idea of privatizing the Postal Service mentioned a key fact that needs more emphasis. The government is not a business.

A business must make a profit to continue operations. The government is obligated to provide services such as police and fire protection, roads, ensuring safe food, water, employment, air and national/local security.

Our Constitution authorizes the government to establish a postal system, not hire one. No private postal system can provide reasonable service of 1st Class mail to every citizen in the nation at the same price. Not everyone lives in communities large enough to have a local post office. Over 55 million Americans live in rural areas, all deserve reliable and timely delivery of mail. No private company can do that profitably at a reasonable cost for the service.

The “business” of government is not a business.

Mandell S. Winter Jr., Denver

John M. Crisp makes an argument, unconvincingly, to stay the course on the USPS. As well-intentioned as it is, it’s replete with falsehoods, stereotypical assumptions, and non-sequiturs.

I’m a Republican, often albeit a reluctant one. Crisp asserts that as a party, we “reflexively detest government, operating on the assumption that it is always inept, inefficient, bloated and inferior to private enterprise.”

To be accurate, one only needs to add a couple of qualifiers. We detest profligate and reckless government and believe that it is usually inept, etc. It’s the same device used by Democrats that describes Republicans as “anti-immigration” when we are, in fact, “anti-illegal immigration’. Perhaps the nuance escapes Crisp.

He uses some questionable examples to support his assertion that “there are some things only the government can do.”  Win World War 2? I think it’s fair to say that it would not have been achieved without the military-industrial complex — all private enterprise. Land on the moon? Elon Musk and SpaceX say otherwise. And please don’t roll out Social Security as an example of government efficiency unless you’re looking for a laugh.

In an effort to minimize the $9.5 billion squandered by the Post Office last year, he points out the astronomical amount of money we spend on Halloween, pets, and Christmas. Apples and oranges. The money we spend on holidays and pets is our own money, not taxpayer largess.

He concludes by describing the current fiscal state of the USPS as “continued success.” That’s how I’d describe UPS or Fed Ex. Liability comes to mind with the Post Office.

Jon Pitt, Golden

Jokic displays graciousness off the court

Re: “Jokic downplays Embiid’s absences,” Jan. 23 sports story

Nikola Jokic’s defense of Joel Embiid’s prolonged absence from playing in Denver demonstrates both graciousness and generosity. This is a breath of fresh air in the midst of all the acrimony that’s come over the air in recent times. Jokic is not only one of the greatest basketball players ever to play, but he’s also one of the greatest role models for aspiring athletes.

Larry Woldenberg, Forest Lodge, Australia

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