OPINION:
The current furor over the U.S. Postal Service and the potential use of mail-in balloting is utter nonsense. The post office has run with excessive costs for decades, and Congress has simply ignored its responsibility to fix the problem. It goes even further than that, though. Between 1840 and 1900, U.S. voter turnout averaged in the upper 70% range. And remember, voters back then got to the polls on foot or on horseback. In contrast, from 1972 through today voter turnout has averageed in the mid-50% range.
To me, this shows that the post office has little to do with the problem. It seems instead to more aptly indicate that “We, the people” may have lost some interest in our own civic duty. I see our Congress doing almost nothing to address this (and I could make the same case against Congress regarding immigration, the national debt and more). For some unknown reason, we willingly accept the same, repeatedly unfulfilled promises every campaign season. Congress plays us for fools and we continue to allow them to do so.
TOM TYSCHPER
Gilbert, Ariz.
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