Fix Postal Service deficit: End junk mail subsidies

In a recent Time Magazine was an article, "$2 billion ... the amount the U.S. Postal Service lost in its second quarter ... up from $740 million during the same period last year."

That's outright crazy, but they did not come up with a remedy for fixing it.

Let me give it a try since I feel it is about time something is done to save taxpayers' money, which is being spent wastefully.My mailbox has an average of five pieces of junk mail every day.

They are sent with a plea to send money to fight whatever disease you can think of, at least 10 different veterans organizations, wildlife, national parks, a mile-long list of needy, or what I am afraid of, not so needy, causes.

What you probably never think of is that you pay to get all this stuff because the government has to cover for the Postal Services' deficit with taxpayers money.

The fix is quite simple. Let all the so-called "not-for-profit" organizations pay the full price for their mail, just like the rest of us. Try do to the math: If every household in the U.S. receives five letters a day for which there is only a 15-cent postage paid instead of the 49 cents, extra USPS income per day would be 5 times 34 times 150 million households.

That is, of course, if they keep on sending us so many letters. If they cut down on all the letters, so much the better.

There will be less junk mail to handle for the Postal Service, which means savings. And if the lawmakers could agree to stop delivering mail on Saturdays, you could add several more millions in savings.

Wake up America, and do something about this.

Bent Moeller

Bradenton

This story was originally published August 26, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Fix Postal Service deficit: End junk mail subsidies ."