At first look, keeping the U.S. Postal Service's Williams Street Processing Center in Buffalo open seems like a victory for Western New York. The reality, however, is it is just more bad government money being thrown at a deficit problem that continues to grow.
Last week, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer - who will be in Dunkirk today - touted the decision to keep the Buffalo mail facility open for another three years, preserving 700 jobs. How does that fix the postal service's high-expense problem?
It does not.
"Western New York businesses, residents, and senior citizens rely each and every day on the Williams Street Processing Center for timely and reliable mail service that delivers everything from paychecks to Social Security payments at their door," Schumer said last week. "The Buffalo processing facility is simply too important to the Western New York community, and its 700 employees, to be shut down, and I'm thrilled to announce that the Postmaster General agrees."
Just like the stimulus solution of 2009, government has again bailed out its own public-sector jobs to make it look like it has done something to boost the economy.
How does this decision help the high tax burden of Western New York to bring in private-sector jobs? How does this fix the postal service's money woes?
It does not.
"I am pleased that the United States Postal Service has listened to our arguments and recognized that their original closure plan was ill-conceived," said U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins. "This reversal highlights the importance of speaking out and challenging the federal bureaucracy and shows what can be achieved by joining together and using our voices to fight for what's right."
There's nothing "right" in soaking the taxpayers - on a local or federal level. Continuing to delay fixing the postal service problems, however, is "ill conceived."
