The Politicization of the Post Office was Inevitable
In the ramp-up to the election, the United States Post Office (USPS) has been a strange object of debate. Numerous politicians and pundits (on all sides of the political spectrum) have claimed that the USPS is being politicized. That is a strange claim to me as an economic historian who has spent time studying the history of postal services. I say strange because the origins of the USPS are not to be found in high ideals but rather in the dirty world of politicking. As such, when one claims that the USPS is being politicized, one is highlighting its very nature.