You do n’t have to hate Donald Trump to know that he ’s a liar . His latest serial of tweet about Amazon swindling “ the United States Post Office ” is particularly deceptive . you’re able to tell , because his latest tweet starts with the phrasal idiom , “ I am right . ” Trump is not good . The Postal Service is actually in force buddies with Amazon , because Amazon supplies it with a buttload of business organisation . Some might even jest that Amazon is the reasonableness the Postal Service still exists .
It should n’t be a surprise that Trump is all orange - in - the - case over Amazon . The whole Twitter tirade really seems like an endeavor at being a subversive judgment of conviction of the Washington Post , which is own by Trump enemy Jeff Bezos . But the effort is only backward . Before we get into the truthy stuff and nonsense , however , have ’s have a look at some of those Trump tweets . Here ’s one from Tuesday morning :
I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy . Amazon should pay these costs ( plus ) and not have them bourne by the American Taxpayer . Many billions of dollar . P.O. leader do n’t have a cue ( or do they ? ) !
— Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump)April 3 , 2018
Trump did one on Monday first light , too :
Only fools , or worse , are pronounce that our money lose Post Office makes money with Amazon . THEY LOSE A FORTUNE , and this will be alter . Also , our fully tax paying retailer are shut computer memory all over the country … not a level acting arena !
— Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump)April 2 , 2018
Oh , and there was this little yarn on Saturday :
While we are on the issue , it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will fall behind $ 1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon . That amounts to Billions of Dollars . The Failing N.Y. Times reports that “ the sizing of the company ’s lobbying stave has ballooned , ” and that …
— Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump)March 31 , 2018
Part two is extra salacious :
… does not admit the Fake Washington Post , which is used as a “ lobbyist ” and should so cross-file . If the P.O. “ increase its tract rates , Amazon ’s shipping costs would arise by $ 2.6 Billion . ” This Post Office scam must cease . Amazon must pay off real costs ( and taxes ) now !
None of what ’s in these tweets is true , although the Washington Post credit is telling . The part about “ our money lose Post Office”is sort of true , but it has nothing to do with Amazon . In 2017 , the United States Postal Servicelost $ 2.7 billion , and it’slost $ 65.1 billion since 2007 . Some of these loss can be traced back toa 2006 lawthat mandates the Postal Service pre - fund future retirees ’ health benefits , so you might not weigh it all a total loss . They ’re investments in the wellness of letter carriers ’ lifetime !
you may attribute the actual losses to a lot of things , but you ca n’t quite attribute them to Amazon . The on-line retailer is actually a neat supporter to the Postal Service . Like a brother , Amazon gives the Postal Service many billions of dollar mark every yr , sinceabout 40 percentof all Amazon ’s purchases go through the US postal arrangement . Last twelvemonth alone , Amazon supplied $ 7 billion of the Post Office ’s $ 19.5 billion in tax income . That ’s over a third .
So patently Amazon and the Postal Service have a particular relationship , but it ’s not an sole commitment . Amazon delivers many of its packages in bulk to US Postal Service distribution gist , where those intimate - looking white motortruck take care of the last geographical mile . ( Amazon also has its own fleet of logistics specializer , butthat ’s a whole other level . ) As it does with other expectant shipper , the Postal Service offers Amazon a bulk ratein what ’s called a “ workshare rebate . ” The Postal Regulatory Commission reviews each of these arrangements , which means it ’s unbelievable that Amazon is make unnecessary expense for the Postal Service . In fact , it ’s illegalfor the Postal Service to ship anything below toll thanks to the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act .
These are all big words and long papers that we should n’t needs assume that Trump has study . It ’s profoundly indecipherable how the former realism TV star arrived at the $ 1.50 figure that he says the Postal Service loses every time it delivers an Amazon parcel . Skeptics might point to a special correspondence that Amazon made with the Postal Service in 2012 for Sunday deliveries . That agreement is publichowever heavy cast , so it ’s hard to be intimate exactly what these spare deliveries cost . Given Amazon ’s history of being a good friend , there ’s a chance that the Post Office actually makes more money by deliver packages on Sunday . But hey , maybe President Trump has admittance to top clandestine document that detail exactly how the financials work . Although assort through the details would ask the septuagenarian to read schoolbook .
It ’s not just the money stuff that Trump gets incorrect about Amazon . The president ’s claims that Amazon is a “ taxation - free monopoly ” is most definitely assumed . Amazon collects taxes in 46 states andpaid $ 957 million in federal income taxlast twelvemonth . This yr , the company ’s tax eyeshade is small thanks to deferred payment furnish by Trump ’s big corporate tax cut . So in a way , you might say that Amazon ’s near billion - clam taxation check partially helped to fund the Postal Service . What a good friend !
None of this is to say that Amazon is an holy man . The companyactually does some pretty evil things . rip off its in effect chum the Postal Service , however , is not one of them .
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