The Real Reason Trump Demands USPS Double Its Amazon Rates
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by Michael John Scott
I’m an Amazon fan, a super-fan even, browsing or shopping the site several times a week. From time to time I even buy groceries from them, but more often it’s some sort of electronic gadget.
I pay for their Prime service, which gives me two-day shipping and special Prime-Only discounts. Recently Amazon raised their annual rate from $99 a year to $119, and I’ll pay it without complaint.
If Donald Trump has his way, however, those rates may increase and service might well decrease. It turns out Trump isn’t just attacking the Postal Service on Twitter.
In off-the-book meetings, he’s been urging US Postmaster General Megan Brennan to hike package-delivery charges for Amazon and other companies by 100%—a change that could add billions to their bills, insiders tell the Washington Post.
Brennan has refused, saying the deals benefit the Postal Service, but Trump is building pressure with his Twitter attacks and a government review of the contracts.
Meanwhile, the Postal Service is still losing money ($2.7 billion net loss last year, per Business Insider) and borrowing from the Treasury Department’s Federal Financing Bank to stay afloat.
But the USPS says hiking their package contracts (which remain private) would only help competitors. A Postal Service spokesman wrote in the Hill:
“Some of our competitors in the package delivery space would dearly love for the Postal Service to aggressively raise our rates higher than the marketplace can bear—so they could either charge more themselves or siphon away postal customers.”
Adding further confusion, Trump’s aides disagree on whether Amazon is paying enough or keeping the Postal Service in business. And some White House officials say Trump is only attacking Amazon because of articles published in the Post, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeffrey Bezos and I’ve no doubt it’s the latter. Trump is a spiteful, venal man who cares nothing about America or Americans. He is a narcissist who thrives on conflict and desperately seeks revenge on those who cross him. Today it’s Jeffrey Bezos.
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Trump is a maniac. He and his cabinet are breaking every rule in the book and the Republicans are letting him get away with theft on a daily basis. What the idiots who support him do not understand is that all of this is going to come tumbling down one day and the American people are going to be standing around wondering what happen. The position that Trump is putting North Korea and Iran in is an impossible one. To stay that they can have nothing to do with nuclear capability is ludicrous. Iran already has nuclear power plants. Are they supposed to shut them down and revert to fossil fuel. It is sad to acknowledge but Trump is using his power to simply bully people and countries around like a big kid in a school yard. We will lose any good will that we might have had in the world. I am waiting for a backlash from Europe.
I own Amazon too – are you still in awe? But really, singling out Amazon is a giveaway. USPS has other arrangements with other companies the details of which seem to be unavailable.
Like so many psychorepublicans he may also believe that the post office is socialist, even though the constitution seems to authorize it.
It’s part of Trump’s pattern of being mean, childish, spiteful, vindictive and as relentless as a snapping turtle. As ugly too.
And yeah, I should have bought lots more Amazon too. Watch for him to go after Microsoft this week.
LOL. Yes. Still in awe, and you’re likely right about Microsoft because Bill Gates wasn’t nice to him.
“Like so many psychorepublicans he may also believe that the post office is socialist…”
Which it is, in a sense. It takes a huge hit from its mandate to deliver mail anywhere in the country for the price of a stamp. Think of all the sparsely inhabited areas in the US this includes. All commercial delivery services add mileage costs to any delivery, letters/documents included. Of course the PO can’t compete with them, so the more package deliveries (their own and others) they can get, the better off they are.
I suspect those psychorepublicans are also the very first to complain if their mail carrier is ever late.
He is just pissed off Bezos is richer than he is and has a newspaper that is holding him to account. the fact goopers went in and fucked up USPS by demanding a front loaded retirement deal is what keep the USPS somewhat poor. As an Amazon stockholder, I thank you for all your monies 🙂
You are most welcome, and, if I have one regret (actually I have many) I regret not mortgaging my house and investing in Amazon stock when it first went public. I am in awe of you.
I didn’t do it Mike. After the ‘rents passed away the people that ran the fund I would go on to inherit at 35 bought it for me, my uncle is a financial genius 🙂
Ah! Still dude you are an Amazon shareholder. In awe 🙂