Coronavirus has put the USPS on the brink of extinction. Will anybody save it?

Since COVID-19 forced people to shelter in place and businesses to adapt or collapse, headlines have sung a dirge for America as we know it. And that was before nationwide protests demanding justice for the murders of Black Americans at the hands of police officers were met with … violent reprisals by the police.

But beneath these existential dilemmas and horrors rests the economic peril facing the United States Postal Service. Think of the USPS as the mortar that holds the U.S. together by performing a simple, invaluable task: delivering mail. Everybody gets mail every single day, which means mail delivery gets taken for granted within the bustle of American routines. But a country without the USPS is a country deprived of arguably its most vital (and certainly its most beloved) office. The Postal Service’s future has looked increasingly grim since March, as elected officials and certain executives in charge have done little to address the problems bearing down on the organization. They’ve even taken steps to exacerbate those problems, including denying the USPS stimulus money in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Continue reading.