Editor, The postal service is closing the Savannah plant and distribution facility, and eventually there will be no more United States Postal Service.
In 2006, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which requires the postal service to prefund its future retirees’ health care benefits, a 75-year liability to be paid in 10 years.
Congress now has the opportunity to fix this financial problem: Simply transfer the overpayments in the retirement system into the future retiree health-care obligation. This is not a bailout.
President Barack Obama said the country needs to take care of its veterans with employment opportunities, so why is Postmaster General Patrick Donahue dismantling the postal service by closing more than half of its mail-sorting facilities and around 3,000 post offices across the country? Approximately 100,000 postal workers will be unemployed during this round of closings. The Savannah plant and distribution facility employs many veterans.
Closing the Savannah plant and distribution facility will affect our area. Mail sent from our post office by truck to a Savannah transfer point then will be trucked to Jacksonville, Fla., for processing, trucked back to the Savannah transfer point and finally trucked to our post office for delivery. If you think the snail mail is slow now, just wait.
A letter sent from Hinesville to Hinesville will be processed through Jacksonville. Medications, checks and packages received or mailed will take longer.
In 2010, the federal government granted bailout payments of approximately $594 billion to 926 private businesses. Approximately $350 billion has been returned, leaving an outstanding balance of about $244 billion that probably never will be collected.
Many CEOs and executives received bonuses for poor leadership, mismanagement and bankrupting their business through this program.
There are 926 reasons why Congress should support the post office.
 
— Larry Weisbarth
Midway