Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Thinks Post Offices Should Be Financial Centers
She wants the USPS to compete with banks
WASHINGTON — Freshman phenom Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants to turn traditional post offices into more robust financial centers that compete with private-sector banks.
According to the Big Government plan laid out by the New York Democrat and Bernie Sanders, I-VT, the United States Postal Service needs an upgrade to services provided to citizens. By offering check cashing services, low-interest lending products, checking and savings accounts and electronic money transfers, the government will be able to compete with the same banks they regulate.
In an exclusive article submitted to Medium, the pair backed their push for postal service expansion: “Post offices exist in almost every community in our country. There are more than 31,000 retail post offices in this country. An important way to provide decent banking opportunities for low-income communities is to allow the U.S. Postal Service to engage in basic banking services.”
Opponents of this plan believe Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has grossly overestimated the need to expand the U.S.P.S because the “underserved” have plenty of options — including check cashing from the likes of Walmart.
Data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shows slightly over 6 percent of U.S. households are unbanked — meaning just over 93 percent of Americans have either a checking account, savings account or both.
To further complicate the plan, reports show the U.S.P.S lost $3.9 billion in the 2018 fiscal year, mainly due to high pension and salary expenses and a rapid decline in mailing volume. With the mail service losing money on its “bread and butter” services, it would be hard to trust they would turn a profit if additional services were offered.
The Office of Inspector General stated they would not recommend a “post office bank” in a correspondence with The Nation.
With proposals like the Green New Deal and sharp criticism of President Trump, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is having a memorable first year in office. It is unclear if her and Sanders plan to push their plan into the House for a vote, although it may lose traction once there.
