To the editor:

I would like to ask Democratic voters to vote for Elliot Fausz for Congress in November and, furthermore, that Republican voters not vote to re-elect Randy Forbes to the job.

Among the unforgiveable things Forbes has supported is the current postal crisis, created by the Republican-sponsored Postal Enhancement Accountability Act in 2006.

The Act identified 400 “logistical distribution facilities” that could be consolidated for cost reduction. To date, 141 have been consolidated. In many locations, mail is already being delayed. One of the plants slated for possible closing is the Hampton Roads SCF Distribution Facility in Norfolk. The movement of that facility’s mail 90 miles north to Richmond will only make matters worse.

Some may think it will not affect them, but major corporations are continually cutting costs by sending jobs overseas. The corporate philosophy of the USPS is no different. Workers are expendable.

The result is the erosion of the middle class, meaning most Americans will become poorer. Those people will depend more on government and programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Forbes’ reasoning that the private sector does everything better is as flawed as the Democratic idea that every problem of society can be solved by government.

For workers displaced from jobs through no fault of their own and the young who seek small business as the solution to present and future problems, please consider the following. Even on the Internet, everything depends on advertising, and every business needs lower delivery costs.

The demise of the Postal Service will benefit private companies, which will be free to raise prices. Increased costs will mean lower profits or outright small business failure.

Fundamentally, the USPS is a public service. It has served everyone well. It is not perfect, but what human creation is?

In 1900, a man could purchase an automobile for $500. A postage stamp was 2 cents, and it took a week to send a letter from Boston to Los Angeles.

Today, the average car costs close to $20,000, and the postage stamp is less than 50 cents to deliver the same mail, which now arrives in three days.

People in other industrialized nations, where privatization has taken over, pay $2 or more per stamp.

In 2010, I sent Randy Forbes detailed information on the USPS and even wrote a bill that, if enacted, would have solved some of the problems.

Mr. Forbes is simply a fat-cat politician who cares more for his image and party than the constituents he represents.

My friend, actions speak louder than words. Vote for the man, not the party.

David L. Bupp

Suffolk