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Survey Results Pose Important Questions
Burrus Update #10-03, June 16, 2003
A nationwide survey conducted recently by Peter D. Hart Research Associates on behalf of the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service has exposed the effort to alter the Postal Service for what it is: a self-serving campaign by large mailers that lacks support among the American public. A majority of Americans surveyed said they view the Postal Service favorably and oppose a major overhaul. Three out of four said they think the USPS requires only minor changes or that it works "extremely well as it is."
High-priced lobbyists for the major mailers have been predicting the imminent demise of the Postal Service in order to justify immediate and drastic change. The American public disagrees. "Americans express little interest in having private entities conduct even part of the Postal Service's mail delivery tasks," the Executive Summary accompanying the survey concludes.
It will be interesting to see how the Presidential Commission reacts to the study. Is the commission determined to change the stated purpose of the Postal Service, despite the clear will of the people?
As expressed in the preamble of the existing law, "The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people, by the Government of the United States."
The mailing industry is now attempting to change this basic focus to "for the large mailers of the country." This is the driving force behind the movement to overhaul the Postal Service. The basic question that must be answered is this: Should the focus of postal services be the needs of the mailing industry, or the rights and privileges of the citizens?
The major mailers hope to shift the focus so that their needs receive paramount consideration in the post office of the future. Their logic is simple. Because they are responsible for a large portion of mail volume, they believe they should be permitted to shape the Postal Service to serve their own interests. Postal management has accepted these views and has formed alliances intended to address the concerns of the major mailers.
What is overlooked in this unhealthy relationship is the mandate of the current law: Providing service "to the people."
The fundamental question before the Postal Commission is whether its recommendations will reflect the mandate to provide service "to the people." In order to accept the suggestions of the mailing industry, the commission must reject the responses of the public to the survey they themselves commissioned.
The American people have spoken:
According to the survey, the public is "largely satisfied with the current performance and sees no need for a major overhaul or sweeping changes." This is in direct conflict with the demands of the major mailers, who are petitioning for sweeping changes. Appeasing them would require shifting the focus of the Postal Service from "providing service to the people" to "making more profit for the mailers."
I ask the commission, "Which side are you on?"
The survey can be seen on the commission's web site, at www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/usps.
