No Bully Pulpits Here
A group of industry trade organizations recently launched www.postaljournal.com, a Web site they hope will serve as a discussion forum to exchange ideas about the future of the U.S. Postal Service.
The founding organizations — which include the Association for Postal Commerce (www.postcom.org), the Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (www.mfsanet.org) and the Envelope Manufacturers Association Foundation (http://www.emafoundation.org) — deny the site will be used for overt lobbying.
“It’s sort of like an online journal where papers are contributed and people can feel free to offer additions or alternative points of view by writing to the editor. We’ll have it serve as a basis where thoughts can be freely expressed,” says Gene Del Polito, president of Postcom.
“It’s not our intention to use this as a vehicle to convince anybody about the passage of any particular or future legislation,” he continues. “But our feeling is you have to create some place where those who are responsible for creating policy can go and learn about pros and cons, learn about the ideas that people have been willing to contribute, and then judge for yourself whether the ideas need to be focused on more closely.
The issue of recrafting the postal system is probably going to be a three- or four-year project,” says Del Polito. “So there’s a need to air alternative ideas and discuss them. It’s going to be an ongoing process.”
