5 ms·

Isn't the argument not to get rid of check cashing, but to provide it as a highly regulated, low cost service of the Post Office? http://www.latimes.com/busine

Isn't the argument not to get rid of check cashing, but to provide it as a highly regulated, low cost service of the Post Office? http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-post-office-banking-20160102-story.html http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-post-office-banking-20...

twblalock 10y ago
Postal bank accounts are a pretty old idea. The US used to have them, and a lot of other countries still do. I suppose the US got rid of postal bank accounts before check cashing places were common, but I think proponents of reintroducing postal bank accounts need to explain why the poor would prefer them to the services they currently use. Such an answer needs to take into account the possibility that many poor people might be willing to pay a fee to avoid contact with a government agency, which many people believe the postal service to be (even though it isn't anymore).
- Cyphase 10y ago
  > .. a government agency, which many people believe the postal service to be (even though it isn't anymore). Can you clarify/defend this? I realize the USPS is not a government agency in the usual sense (it's an "independent agency of the United States government"), but I don't think it's accurate to say that it's not a government agency. Specifically: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Governance_and_organization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#G...
  - twblalock 10y ago
    It's effectively independent. The postal service is not going to bust you for violating parole, put your welfare checks in jeopardy, or ask you about your immigration status. But a lot of poor people avoid contact with government because they fear those things will happen, and a lot of them may not understand that the postal service is different.
    - Cyphase 10y ago
      That's not really addressing the point; whether or not the USPS does those things you mentioned doesn't really affect how much or little of a government agency they are. I would again point you to the "Governance and organization" section on the USPS Wikipedia page.[1] Specifically this paragraph: The USPS is often mistaken for a government-owned corporation (e.g., Amtrak) because it operates much like a business. It is, however, an "establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States", (39 U.S.C. § 201) as it is controlled by Presidential appointees and the Postmaster General. As a government agency, it has many special privileges, including sovereign immunity, eminent domain powers, powers to negotiate postal treaties with foreign nations, and an exclusive legal right to deliver first-class and third-class mail. Indeed, in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that the USPS was not a government-owned corporation, and therefore could not be sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Of course the Wikipedia article cites external sources, such as Title 39 of the US Code[2] (which is entirely about the USPS) and a Supreme Court ruling. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Governance_and_organization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#G... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_39_of_the_United_States_Code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_39_of_the_United_States_...
douche 10y ago
It's hard enough to reach a bank during its open hours, as a working person. Let's make it even more impossible, by offering it through the post office, which is seemingly never open during any time that one attempts to go there.
ams6110 10y ago
The Post Office? Sure, if you want to wait in a 45 minute queue to cash a check.
- rileymat2 10y ago
  You must have a bad/understaffed Post Office, the one in my town has excellent service.

twblalock 10y ago

Postal bank accounts are a pretty old idea. The US used to have them, and a lot of other countries still do. I suppose the US got rid of postal bank accounts before check cashing places were common, but I think proponents of reintroducing postal bank accounts need to explain why the poor would prefer them to the services they currently use. Such an answer needs to take into account the possibility that many poor people might be willing to pay a fee to avoid contact with a government agency, which many people believe the postal service to be (even though it isn't anymore).

Cyphase 10y ago
> .. a government agency, which many people believe the postal service to be (even though it isn't anymore). Can you clarify/defend this? I realize the USPS is not a government agency in the usual sense (it's an "independent agency of the United States government"), but I don't think it's accurate to say that it's not a government agency. Specifically: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Governance_and_organization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#G...
- twblalock 10y ago
  It's effectively independent. The postal service is not going to bust you for violating parole, put your welfare checks in jeopardy, or ask you about your immigration status. But a lot of poor people avoid contact with government because they fear those things will happen, and a lot of them may not understand that the postal service is different.
  - Cyphase 10y ago
    That's not really addressing the point; whether or not the USPS does those things you mentioned doesn't really affect how much or little of a government agency they are. I would again point you to the "Governance and organization" section on the USPS Wikipedia page.[1] Specifically this paragraph: The USPS is often mistaken for a government-owned corporation (e.g., Amtrak) because it operates much like a business. It is, however, an "establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States", (39 U.S.C. § 201) as it is controlled by Presidential appointees and the Postmaster General. As a government agency, it has many special privileges, including sovereign immunity, eminent domain powers, powers to negotiate postal treaties with foreign nations, and an exclusive legal right to deliver first-class and third-class mail. Indeed, in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that the USPS was not a government-owned corporation, and therefore could not be sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act. Of course the Wikipedia article cites external sources, such as Title 39 of the US Code[2] (which is entirely about the USPS) and a Supreme Court ruling. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#Governance_and_organization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service#G... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_39_of_the_United_States_Code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_39_of_the_United_States_...

douche 10y ago

It's hard enough to reach a bank during its open hours, as a working person. Let's make it even more impossible, by offering it through the post office, which is seemingly never open during any time that one attempts to go there.

ams6110 10y ago

The Post Office? Sure, if you want to wait in a 45 minute queue to cash a check.

rileymat2 10y ago
You must have a bad/understaffed Post Office, the one in my town has excellent service.