7/13/2011

Postal Workers' Union Inaccurately Claims that the Post Office doesn't get Government Subsidies

Given all the regulations imposed on all sorts of companies, I am sure that a lot of them would appreciate the tax and other benefits given to the USPS. One thing apparently not included as a government subsidy is the monopoly that the government gives the USPS for first class mail delivery. The Union though wants to convince people that the USPS wants to "dispel the persistent myth that our work is funded by taxpayers." If Obama wants to get rid of tax subsidies, this might really be one place to start. From Fox News:

The postal workers union is refusing to take down a new ad after Republican Rep. Darrell Issa accused its members of "misleading" viewers by claiming tax dollars do not support the Postal Service.
"The ad is accurate," Sally Davidow, spokeswoman for the American Postal Workers Union, told FoxNews.com.
The TV ad, which started running this week, has a voiceover claiming U.S. mail delivery doesn't cost taxpayers a "single cent" and is "funded solely by stamps and postage."
The problem with that statement, according to Issa, is that the Postal Service enjoys other "implicit subsidies" -- a 2007 Federal Trade Commission report noted that the service does not have to pay taxes, including property tax; does not have to pay vehicle registration fees, and can borrow at low-interest rates through the U.S. Treasury. . . .
Indeed, the FTC report estimated that federally imposed restraints on the Postal Service -- as of fiscal 2006 -- cost between $330 million and $782 million annually, while the special benefits were worth between $39 million and $117 million.
Davidow suggested the benefits were justified and didn't undermine the union's claim about being unsupported by tax dollars. . . .

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