The Big Ideas Project

Merged Idea

Expand the Post Office. Stop using US Postal Service revenues (all non-taxpayer) to reduce the deficit, and eliminate the $5.5 billion annual fee to pre-fund retiree health benefits. Lifting this onerous requirement would make it unnecessary to close mail processing centers, and revenues could be used for reforms and expanded services instead -- starting with a postal banking system offering savings accounts, check cashing, small loans and other basic financial services.

Submitted by Donald Walsh from VA in Infrastructure & Technology Nov. 10, 2014, 9:49 a.m.

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#10

7609 votes

The US Constitution guarantees us a Post Office. Congress must stop its demand that the United States Post Office pay 75 years into the future for its employees' retirement! No business in the US does this. I do not want the USPS to be privatized at the expense of our Constitution!

Submitted by Duane P. from WA in Infrastructure & Technology Jan. 4, 2015, 4:29 p.m.

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⇧ Merged

Save the postal service. Fire the postmaster general. Pass the senate bill proposed by Senators Blumenthal and Murphy.

Submitted by Allen F. from CT in Infrastructure & Technology Nov. 9, 2014, 9:09 a.m.

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⇧ Merged

Congress imposed a pension law that forced the U.S. Post Office to fund its pension for 75 years in advance & to do it in 10 years. No company, private or public, funds its pensions for workers not yet born. If they did they would go bankrupt. That law is hurting the post office, its workers (at a time when jobs are badly needed), and hurting our economy and mail delivery to many in rural areas that depend on the P.O. for medicines & needed supplies. Ask Congress to repeal that law now!

Submitted by Gemma in Economy & Jobs Dec. 12, 2014, 12:24 a.m.

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⇧ Merged

Merged Idea

Postal Banking. Until the 1960s, America's most successful savings bank was run by the post office. Over a billion people worldwide can get financial services at their post office. Now the US Postal Service’s Inspector General has proposed bringing back savings along with check cashing, small loans and other basic services to America’s 30,000 post offices.

Submitted by Commonomics in Economy & Jobs Dec. 11, 2014, 7:15 a.m.

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⇧ Merged

We should be expanding the Postal Service and not making cuts. The Postal Service should be government and not private. They should offer more services: copies, faxing, simple banking services like check cashing, providing change, packing, etc. We need more sorting facilities, updated technology, and faster service for lower costs.

Submitted by Ligtstar in Infrastructure & Technology Dec. 11, 2014, 10:15 p.m.

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⇧ Merged

The Government should be the Bank. Instead of the Government (us) lending money to for-profit banks at essentially 0% interest, the Government should be the direct lender to all citizens at a slightly higher interest rate, 1 or 2 percent. Imagine a new Banking window at the Post Office. Government coffers would benefit from the interest and repayments, new business start-ups would increase, home loans and car loans would be at affordable rates, the poor would not have to live with 500% inter

Submitted by James D. from WV in Government & Elections Dec. 10, 2014, 1:56 p.m.

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Bring back the Post Office Bank. If there is one thing that federal government should for us besides defense, it's run the currency. Over the last 50 years, a huge proportion of our currency has been shifted to private control by banks—credit and debit cards. Let the Post Office compete with them by offering credit and debit cards. Let USPS sell bonds, too, as they used to. Why should the big banks be the only ones with access to the Discount Window?

Submitted by James Monaco in Economy & Jobs Dec. 10, 2014, 6:35 p.m.

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Postal Savings to fight payday lenders and Wall Street and help fund our postal system.

Submitted by Don Thompson in Economy & Jobs Dec. 10, 2014, 7:50 p.m.

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Reinstate postal banking. We had it until 1967. It will replace the predatory payday lenders and infuse local economies with the money the unbanked will save on outrageous interest charges.

Submitted by Susan in Economy & Jobs Dec. 26, 2014, 1:48 p.m.

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Repeal the legislation that caused the Post Office to have to fund 75 years in advance. no one else has to do this and neither should they...then they would be solvent.

Submitted by sandy r. from CO in Economy & Jobs Jan. 8, 2015, 5:54 p.m.

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⇧ Merged

Merged Idea

Either the requirement that USPS pre-pay retirement benefits 75 years in advance needs to be eliminated or that requirement needs to be placed on UPS, Federal Express and any other company that provides a similar service. There needs to be a level playing field.

Submitted by Gedanken in Economy & Jobs Dec. 12, 2014, 7:08 p.m.

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⇧ Merged

Require the same retirement account prefunding of all entities public or private that deliver mail and small packages to businesses and residences. This will end the Republican-engineered demise of the post office in favor of privatized delivery services.

Submitted by Robert E. Sojka in Economy & Jobs Dec. 11, 2014, 3:29 p.m.

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⇧ Merged

Eliminate the hideous $5.5 Billion Annual Pre-Fund the Postal Service was lassoed with by the lame duck bush move. It would protect a lot of jibs both Postal and otherwise.

Submitted by Peter S Murutz in Economy & Jobs Jan. 3, 2015, 7:25 p.m.

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⇧ Merged

Let the POST OFFICE be the BANK for Poor People (like in the old days!) that would provide banking services not based on HEDGE FUND PROFITS but getting a checking account they can afford.

Submitted by Kristopher W. from OR in Economy & Jobs Jan. 8, 2015, 1:14 p.m.

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Changeisgood

Something is wrong when we are Pre-Funding pensions 75 Years in Advance. Stop the nonsense!

Feb. 20, 2015, 2:15 p.m.

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