Benefit fund hurting U.S. Postal Service

In its July 12 editorial, The Gazette lambasted the U.S. Postal Service. It stated that stamps were 2 cents in 1919 as compared to the current 44 cents. With businesses' increasing use of the Internet for communication and advertising, The Gazette wonders if the Postal Service will still be around for patrons to use their Forever Stamps.

The same Internet is creating the same havoc in the newspaper industry for the same reasons. In 1919, the cost of The Gazette was 5 cents. Today, the cost is 75 cents. With The Gazette's decreased share of the households in Cedar Rapids/Marion metro area that receive the paper, I'm sure The Gazette wonders if it also will still be around.

The major reason the Postal Service is losing money is because President George W. Bush signed in 2006 a law that mandated USPS transfer $5 billion every year to the U.S. Treasury to pay for future retiree health care costs. No other federal agency or private company is required to do that. Just a sneaky Bush tax.

John Pfiffner

Cedar Rapids