On Friday, May 5, Republicans rammed through a terrible bill to repeal Obamacare.  Their bill would have disastrous effects on millions in our country.  Although the exact “scoring” of this bill has not been completed, it’s pretty similar to the bill that came before, under which 24 million people would lose their health insurance, 130 million people with pre-existing conditions would be put at risk, and the very wealthy would receive a huge tax cut. 

A little over a year ago, United for a Fair Economy released State of the Dream 2015: Underbanked and Overcharged. This groundbreaking report looks at the banking industry from the perspective of low-wage workers and people of color. We are thrilled to be sharing a small victory that has happened partly because of this report and the policy solutions it proposed.

Nearly 28 percent of U.S. households (or 100 million people) are either unbanked or underbanked. This lack of access to affordable financial services drives the working poor to rely on costly, and often predatory, alternatives. But what if a trusted, accessible, and secure government agency (that receives no tax dollars for operating expenses) with the world’s largest retail network existed that could help fill this void? It does exist. It’s the U.S. Postal Service.

Today the Office of the Inspector General for the Post Office is releasing their recommendations and opinions on Postal Banking and AFS as a follow up to their paper in 2014. We are excited to read the report, and to be a part of the conversation on how the Post Office can be a positive vehicle for enveloping the unbanked into the financial system. 

This year's State of the Dream Report, Underbanked and Overcharged, found that people of color and the working poor are being taken advantage of to the tune of $103 Billion per year. That report can be found here.

At United for a Fair Economy, we think this is a unique opportunity to engage in a conversation about the vision for what a Fair Economy is, and how a return to Postal Banking could be a positive step toward that vision we all share.

Please join us, and the rest of the Campaign for Postal Banking to push for a bold solution to this serious problem. Let’s create a system that works for all, no matter what your account balance is.