Professor: USPS not an effective political issue for the right

Thomas Schaller, a political science professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, wrote in the Baltimore Sun this week that the US Postal Service is the wrong political football for conservative politicians and pundits to kick. The USPS is determining which and how many branches to close in an effort to cut costs.

For one, Schaller cites big business' reliance on the USPS as a delivery service for its marketing efforts.

“According to the USPS' 2008 annual report, of the 201.9 billion pieces of mail delivered, only about 10% originate from households. The other 90% comes from businesses, agencies and other nonhouseholds,” Schaller wrote in the Sun. “The trade groups know the score: The magazine publishers support USPS solvency, and the direct mail industry says it will gladly accept five-day mail delivery if necessary.”