My grandmother had a saying: “You could die from improvements.” That couldn’t be more true of public-service-hating Elon Musk’s DOGE, in general. In this case, it’s Postmaster Louis DeJoy’s plan to work with DOGE to bring “further efficiencies” to the U.S. Postal Service.
From AP:
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy plans to cut 10,000 workers and billions of dollars from the U.S. Postal Service budget and he’ll do that working with Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to a letter sent to members of Congress on Thursday.
DOGE will assist USPS with addressing “big problems” at the $78 billion-a-year agency, which has sometimes struggled in recent years to stay afloat. The agreement also includes the General Services Administration in an effort to help the Postal Service identify and achieve “further efficiencies.”
It’s not just me calling this a step toward privatization.
More from AP:
Critics of the agreement fear negative effects of the cuts will be felt across America. Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia, who was sent the letter, said turning over the Postal Service to DOGE would result in it being undermined and privatized.
Cutting the postal service will have particularly terrible effects on those of us who live in rural areas. We depend on the mail for medications, voting ballots and more, as Connolly also noted.
But guess who stands to make out like a bandit? Why, it’s DeJoy, himself.
In 2021, during his Trump-appointed tenure as postmaster general, The Washington Post reported that he maintained ties to his former logistics company as the USPS awarded it a new $120 million contract. “XPO Logistics pays DeJoy and family businesses at least $2.1 million annually to lease four office buildings in North Carolina,” WaPo said.
How very fortunate for him and how very unfortunate for millions of Americans.
