WE STILL NEED USPS

From a strictly economic standpoint, it appears to make sense to eliminate the USPS - BUT from a practical one, it makes no sense at all.

Contrary to popular myth, there are millions more than 'a few' people who depend on the USPS - for their living (I do; the micro-corporations I head do (1 a for-profit; 1 a non-profit which is supported by.... the for-profit). People in cities depend on the USPS for packages & for bills (not everyone 'loves' online bill-pay - which is less secure than physical mail, generally speaking; & which can be extremely expensive because of the need for secure Internet service).

People in rural areas find it vital - dish networks are not universally affordable or available, again contrary to popular myth - & we again have the security concerns relative to the Internet. Unlike city people, rural mail is something we depend on daily - for packages; for bills; for communication. Contrary to popular myth again, people do still write letters; use catalogs; and have working relationships with their postal carriers. I & friends all have driveways that are miles long - the mailbox "is out at the road" - 4 - 5 miles is not uncommon.

We who have PO boxes have them for good reason. People move; boxes do not. Those of us who have a need to keep distance between us & stalkers definitely need PO Boxes. Having been in the 'wonderful' position of walking out my door into the barrel of a loaded gun 3 times, I can guarantee you I will never put my physical address anywhere, any more. No, the stalker is not some former 'lover'. I stumbled across a network of crooked cops & I turned them in. My attorney advised that I 'would be guaranteed anonymity for life'. The IA cops 'guaranteed' the same thing. I should have listened to myself - 'guaranteed anonymity for life' lasted exactly 36 hours; at which time I answered the phone at the Church I head & heard, "This is Detective T K; & I'm going to kill you, you bitch".

We discussed it - I recorded the conversation; copied the tape; took it to the DA - & found that the Detective was accurate - "Unless or until he puts you in the hospital with a serious injury, state law does not allow us to act". He did not ever succeed in hospitalizing me, but he sure raised hob with my peace of mind for some years.. have you ever had to dive out of the way of a car that's trying to run you down? I have. Have you ever watched the front end of said car deform around your feet as you stood at the top of a set of cement steps? I have. And there are those 3 incidents with the gun. I am unique in that I dated military men who taught me hand-to-hand combat tactics & made sure I became skilled. My problem has not been how to defend myself; it has been how to do it without killing some slime who really needs to be dead, because said slime are not worth jail time waiting for trial, or standing in front of a judge over.

I am hardly the only person this has happened to - it's why there's a federal witness protection program. It's why many men & women live on "elevated alert" - because of stalkers. Yes, women stalk, too. Insanity affects both sexes.

And then there's - our government owes us this service. Contrary to popular myth, our government is still "of us People, by us People, & for us People". And you cannot put a price on the need of all of us for equalization in some areas - which means, we keep the USPS.

Does it need reorganizatio? Yes. It needs far fewer 'managers' than it has. The Postal Service has always been top-heavy in this regard. It probably needs some reorganization in every area of it. But no matter what, we need to get rid of the myth that the private sector can solve all problems in a cost-effective manner. Having been in business nearly all of my life, I know this for fact. We need to keep the USPS. Mitakuye oiasin - All, my relatives.