The New York Times chooses postoffices in small Arkansas communities to highlight the fight over the Postal Service’s move to cut costs by reducing local service.
Will the Prim, Tilly, Ida and Fox postoffices go the way of those in Newnata, Rushing and Cozahome?
But if the people in Fox have a say, it will not happen again, at least not here.
“There are those who have been downtrodden so long, they can’t get back up,” said Stanley Morrison, 59, a logger and a justice of the peace here in rural Stone County. “And there are others who’ve been downtrodden so long they decide to fight back.”
Happily, the Times notes the awe-inspiring hypocrisy of the likes of U.S. Sen. John “Dr. No” Boozman and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, professed budget hawks, who are fighting to preserve deficit-running postal outposts in their territory. Boozman even comes up with a rare moment of clarity — one that would be useful applied to many other issues, such as health care.
Mr. Boozman has even proposed legislation that would ban the closing of any post office if the nearest one is more than 10 miles away. “There are times when it’s not as profitable,” he said, explaining this apparent departure from small-government orthodoxy, “but it’s important to provide that service.”
Boozman: BHD of the day and early nominee for BHD of the year.
PS — Times article includes a photo slideshow. The YouTube is from a group fighting to save the Fox postoffice.