Fresh off challenging the environment to prove that global warming is really a thing, Donald Trump decided to tilt at yet another windmill on Friday morning, and this one is familiar.
As you’re aware, the President isn’t particularly enamored with Amazon and his ire is due in no small part to the fact that he’s convinced himself Jeff Bezos is engaged in a conspiracy to undermine the presidency via the Washington Post.
So on Friday morning, Trump literally attacked the United States Postal Service, calling it “dumb” and “poor”. To wit:
Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2017
That appears to have hit Amazon’s shares in the pre-market:
Of course one could also trace Trump’s anti-Bezos sentiment to the fact that Bezos is something like 25 times richer than him.
Oh, and don’t forget that if you look back at 5+ years of Trump’s tweet history, you’ll discover that he’s actually a big Bezos fan — as long as Bezos is selling Trump’s book, which is “a great gift idea that’s easy to order on Amazon“…
So basically, if you’re looking for a used copy of “Time To Get Tough,” then by all means go and buy one on Amazon.
Other than that, fuck Amazon and their tax avoidance schemes and especially fuck WaPo, because after all, those are the people who are eventually going to get this man impeached:
Dear Dopey Donald:
(from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service)
Governance and organization
The Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service sets policy, procedure, and postal rates for services rendered, and has a similar role to a corporate board of directors. Of the eleven members of the Board, nine are appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate (see 39 U.S.C. § 202). The nine appointed members then select the United States Postmaster General, who serves as the board’s tenth member, and who oversees the day-to-day activities of the service as Chief Executive Officer (see 39 U.S.C. §§ 202—203). The ten-member board then nominates a Deputy Postmaster General, who acts as Chief Operating Officer, to the eleventh and last remaining open seat.
The independent Postal Regulatory Commission (formerly the Postal Rate Commission) is also controlled by appointees of the President confirmed by the Senate. It oversees postal rates and related concerns, having the authority to approve or reject USPS proposals.
The USPS is often mistaken for a government-owned corporation (e.g., Amtrak) because it operates much like a business. It is, however, an “establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States”, (39 U.S.C. § 201) as it is controlled by Presidential appointees and the Postmaster General. As a government agency, it has many special privileges, including sovereign immunity, eminent domain powers, powers to negotiate postal treaties with foreign nations, and an exclusive legal right to deliver first-class and third-class mail. Indeed, in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that the USPS was not a government-owned corporation, and therefore could not be sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act.[89]
The U.S. Supreme Court has also upheld the USPS’s statutory monopoly on access to letter boxes against a First Amendment freedom of speech challenge; it thus remains illegal in the U.S. for anyone, other than the employees and agents of the USPS, to deliver mailpieces to letter boxes marked “U.S. Mail”.[90]
The Postal Service also has a Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee and local Postal Customer Councils, which are advisory and primarily involve business customers.[91]
OH, DONALD, one more point from Wiki, Current Operations section:
They now deliver packages on Sunday — only for Amazon.com.[46] During the four weeks preceding Christmas since 2013, packages from all mail classes and senders were delivered on Sunday in some areas.[47]Parcels are also delivered on holidays, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas
What an absolutely great example you detailed – and offered by Trump on Twitter as usual – of Trump’s sublime incompetence and general ignorance on almost any topic. Especially in professional management and governance – ironically including economics, business – any business that he doesn’t own – and obviously at least six that the did and bankrupted.
Now and in the foreseeable future (current energy economics paradigm) there will be few business models that are capable of competing with the highly effective and profitable Amazon retail distribution model.
Trump is such a light weight compared to Bezos in so many ways. Those that have fought the Amazon retail distribution model are now non-existent or near – and the good news is that we consumers are better off for it – I certainly am. Clearly Amazon has been a golden goose for FedEX and UPS – and while the USPS isn’t making a profit – charging more for their services would only assure that they lose more market share and lose more money on their existing services. Ironically, it’s the government (restrictions, regulations and top heavy overhead) that keeps USPS from being competitive with FedEX and UPS – not USPS delivery costs.
IMHO, and I have ample opinion to share, the biggest problem in USPS is attitude – which effects job performance and customer service – and is crumbling their business. If you go into a postal station and stand in line and just observe the usual slouchy slow service at the windows and hear the rowdy giggling behind the screens, you can easily see what is wrong inside the stations.
Correct mail sorting and mail delivery reflects an attitude of “don’t care”. Then go into the station to sort that out and stand in line and watch…. vicious circle.
Increase their price will not help! I would rather pay more to Fed Ex or UPS and be assured the mail/package will be handled with respect and correctly delivered.
Amazon is a genius organization (if they would quit handing off pkgs to USPS to complete the delivery I would have no complaints with Amazon!) and trump resents the huge success of Bezos. Hell, I bet I could live off the loose change left on Bezos’ dresser each night! 🙂
the main reason the usps appears unprofitable is b/c it requires itself to fully fund the pensions and healthcare costs of its retirees in real time, rather than ‘expecting’ certain level of return from assets in the pension plan. https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/be-careful-what-you-assume