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Historian Takes Exception To 'Just Business' View Of Post Office

U.S. Postal Service clerks help customers at the Los Feliz Post Office in Los Angeles.
Kevork Djansezian
/
Getty Images
U.S. Postal Service clerks help customers at the Los Feliz Post Office in Los Angeles.

Could the U.S. Postal Service go out of business? Not likely, despite the complaints of President Trump about its management.

What is now the Postal Service was one of the first federal operations of the newborn United States, and was central to the growth and prosperity of the country.

Richard John at Columbia University wrote about the history in his book Spreading the News: The American Postal System from Franklin to Morse, and he wrote a recent op-ed piece in the Washington Post arguing that people should stop thinking of the USPS as strictly a business. We discuss past triumphs and present challenges of the postal system in America.

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The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily news program focused on issues, people and events across Southern Oregon and Northern California. Angela Decker is the program's senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Geoffrey Riley hosts the show.