Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump He has reduced government expenses and dismantled entire federal agencies and programs, with billionaire Elon Musk and his Government efficiency department leading the post. Musk has now directed his attention to the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Amtrak, indicating that he wants the two services in private hands.
Musk calls for the privatization of the mail, the railway services
“I think logically we should privatize anything that can be privatized,” Cnn and Newsweek On Wednesday, Musk informed an audience at the Media Media Media Conference and Morgan telecommunications. “I think we should privatize the post office and Amtrak, for example … we should deprive everything we may possibly be.”
Musk said about the National Passenger Railway Service: “Amtrak is a sad situation. Is like, If you come from another country, do not use our national railway. It can leave a very bad impression of America. ” Musk’s comments occur when others, including Trump, have directed agencies for not being economically self -sufficient, Atmosphere reported. The post office registered a loss of $ 9.5 billion in the latest financial year ending on September 30. In the meantime, Amtrak operated with a net loss of $ 705 million for the same period.
Amtrak, USPS provides service and access to the United States
Supporters of the two services indicate that the post office had a profit for the last quarter of the last financial year, while Amtrak finally saw that the driving was bounced to pre-covers. More generally, USPS proponents and Amtrak indicate that organizations provide public goods (universal mail and national rail coverage) who may or may not be equalized by private suppliers. Amtrak Reports of about 33 million people used it during 2024 financial year, including passengers in rural areas that a totally private rail service may not arrive. It Post office He stated that in 2023 he served 665 million customers, and delivered more than 1 billion mail pieces to 166 million delivery points.
What comes next?
According to Common dreamsAny attempt to privatize USPS or Amtrak should be approved by Congress, which means that Trump, Musk and Doo could not simply close or sell the services. This is good news for the 600,000 people working for the Post Office and the 21,000 Amtrak employees. Trump recently suggested merging USPS with the Department of Commerce, which would also be illegal without the approval of Congress. Amtrak responded to Musk’s comments saying his “business performance is strong) But he also indicates that he would work with the President to become profitable and create a “world-class passenger rail system”.
Trump and Doig They have pushed or even exceeded the limits of the law in efforts to dismantle large pieces of federal government, expanding a campaign to include agencies such as the Department of Education. Amtrak and the USPS are in their point of view, but these services are not yet at an immediate risk of being privatized or suspended.
