Dear Editor,
It would be strange not to note the irony of this letter's intent versus the channel of communication being used to send it in -- e-mail, no less. Note also its intended title '#SaveThePO', highlighting the hashtag that is so commonly used amongst us in the articulate minority that wander on twitter as to make it easier for our fellow tweets to follow the topic of discourse or to invoke concern for an issue.
Both these and many other media of communication have given rise to faster and easier messaging, thanks to the brilliance of science and technology.
But we must also seriously note the importance of retaining an institution that serves a large proportion of the population, especially the many in the most remote of places beyond its original capacity as a messaging service.
Last year, the US Postal Service was on the brink of financial collapse, but it had inched its way to the edge over many years of running at a loss. Although brought to the spotlight many times between 2011 and 2014, US politics prevented any viable solutions being enact.
Many on progressive left in the Democratic Party blame the passage of legislation in 2006 that required the postal service to prefund, over a 10-year period, 75 years of future retiree health benefits. This burden -- $5.5 billion a year -- they say, is responsible for all of the financial losses posted by the postal service instead of a profit.
Streamlining the postal services has also been discussed, but at the detriment of postal workers and the many who benefit from these services. A serious consideration must be "postal banking"; broadly speaking postal banking is government provision of banking services banking, small-scale chequing and savings accounts along with associated payment services. Historically and internationally, government-run banks have typically been paired with government-run mail services, hence postal banking.
Although the private banking industry would be expectedly hostile to government financial services, this could allow more people to save in a formal regulated system.
It is imperative that before any decision is taken we do the necessary studies to map the necessity and future of the postal service. We must seek to #savethePO because Jamaica isn't ready to part with the it as we continue our economic and social development.
Mario Boothe
m.raphael.b@gmail.com
#SaveThePO
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It would be strange not to note the irony of this letter's intent versus the channel of communication being used to send it in -- e-mail, no less. Note also its intended title '#SaveThePO', highlighting the hashtag that is so commonly used amongst us in the articulate minority that wander on twitter as to make it easier for our fellow tweets to follow the topic of discourse or to invoke concern for an issue.
Both these and many other media of communication have given rise to faster and easier messaging, thanks to the brilliance of science and technology.
But we must also seriously note the importance of retaining an institution that serves a large proportion of the population, especially the many in the most remote of places beyond its original capacity as a messaging service.
Last year, the US Postal Service was on the brink of financial collapse, but it had inched its way to the edge over many years of running at a loss. Although brought to the spotlight many times between 2011 and 2014, US politics prevented any viable solutions being enact.
Many on progressive left in the Democratic Party blame the passage of legislation in 2006 that required the postal service to prefund, over a 10-year period, 75 years of future retiree health benefits. This burden -- $5.5 billion a year -- they say, is responsible for all of the financial losses posted by the postal service instead of a profit.
Streamlining the postal services has also been discussed, but at the detriment of postal workers and the many who benefit from these services. A serious consideration must be "postal banking"; broadly speaking postal banking is government provision of banking services banking, small-scale chequing and savings accounts along with associated payment services. Historically and internationally, government-run banks have typically been paired with government-run mail services, hence postal banking.
Although the private banking industry would be expectedly hostile to government financial services, this could allow more people to save in a formal regulated system.
It is imperative that before any decision is taken we do the necessary studies to map the necessity and future of the postal service. We must seek to #savethePO because Jamaica isn't ready to part with the it as we continue our economic and social development.
Mario Boothe
m.raphael.b@gmail.com
#SaveThePO
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