Homing in on one tiny paragraph in the Washington Post’s editors’ critique of the Senate’s frantic attempt to preserve business as usual at the United States Post Office:
By a more important measure, what the Postal Service actually needs to be solvent, the Senate bill falls disastrously short. In February, USPS management spelled out a five-year plan to cut $20 billion in costs and restore long-term viability. The plan required ending mandatory Saturday delivery, downsizing a bloated network of mail-processing facilities and restructuring the employee health insurance program. The Senate bill enacts none of these reforms.
The emphasis is mine. Do mine eyes deceive me or do I see a common theme emerging? Let’s see. The Post Office has a problem with increasing healthcare costs. Healthcare costs, corporately, are the single largest component of the federal budget and rising due to increased costs. State and local governments are collapsing under the burden of increased healthcare costs. Businesses are dropping healthcare insurance for their employees because of increased costs. Non-group healthcare insurance is becoming an increasing burden to the families who seek it due to increased healthcare costs.
I know! Let’s extend coverage to more people!