USPS

Donald Trump says the Democrats want to give the Post Office $25B because they want it to make it work better and be able to handle the anticipated torrent of mail-in voter ballots this fall from people who fear a trip to the voting booth could result in COVID-19.

The sweet irony: Had Trump taken the threat posed by COVID-19 seriously in the first place, there would have be no surge in mail-in voting.

While Trump always makes it about himself, alleging a massive but non-existent mail-in fraud scheme is in the works to deny him re-election, the Democrats want to give USPS money so it can continue to be one of the most respected parts of the government.

A Pew Research survey in April found that 91 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the USPS. Eight percent have an unfavorable opinion.

That topped the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (79 percent) and the Census Bureau (77 percent).

Ironically, those are the two other units of the government that the president is politicizing.

The Post Office handles 143B pieces of mail every year. That includes prescription medicines delivered every day to millions of Americans, many of them elderly and housebound. Does Trump want to deny them life-giving medicines?

The Post Office also plays an important part in the social life of rural America, often serving as the hub of the community. Those rural areas are prime Trump districts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mailmen & women were deemed "essential workers" and were cheered as heroes by quarantined Americans.

Those postal workers are far more essential than some of the people at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The cancellations of the Democratic and Republican conventions are just the tip of the iceberg. The American Hotel & Lodging Association is tailoring its pitch for more federal COVID-19 relief to the axing of this month's Democratic and Republican conventions in Milwaukee and Charlotte, respectively.

Oxford Economics projects Wisconsin will take a $186.5M economic hit, while North Carolina will be down $289.2M.

Hotels, restaurants, retail, transportation and event venues are among the biggest losers.

Chip Rogers, CEO of the AH&LA, says the political conventions represent just a small example of the negative impact that COVID-19 has had on the travel and hospitality business.

He anticipates state and local governments will lose nearly $17B from the drop in travel this year and warns that the market won't recover until 2023, pushing hotels and convention markets to the brink of collapse.

"That’s why it is vital that Republicans and Democrats come together to provide additional relief for industries impacted by this unprecedented health crisis," said Rogers.