Last week I commented on the need for journalists to provide details, not just conclusions, in their stories. A recent news article reminded me that often politicians will make proposals touting the results they are seeking, but without any credible detail on how those results are realistically going to be achieved.
The case in point was NJ.com’s coverage of a proposal by Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr., to establish a pilot program whereby the U.S. Postal Service would get into the banking business by cashing checks and providing no-fee ATMs, low-cost checking accounts and low-interest loans. A few years ago I first saw the term “banksters,” but now Congressman Pascrell and his colleagues say that 63 million Americans are “underbanked.”
I tried to see if there was any more detail of the proposal readily available, so I went to the congressman’s official web page. I did find a few press releases on the topic, but alas, no details on how it would work. I am skeptical that an agency that is having a lot of trouble with its core mission of delivering the mail would be able to provide the free and low cost services being envisioned and at least not lose any more money.
This proposal is similar, at least as to the lack of details, as the creation of a state bank in New Jersey that was part of Philip Murphy’s first campaign for governor or the “public option” that was initially proposed but ultimately deleted from the Affordable Care Act. Another similarity is that each would have a non-taxed (indeed, likely tax-supported) government agency compete with tax-paying private businesses.
The lack of details could mean that the proposal is simply not well thought out (which is a reason to be wary), but the cynic in me sees it as an intentional means of putting forward a trojan horse policy proposal. It is, after all, much easier to argue that poorer Americans need these services than to prove that the postal service bank will deliver for them.
Jay Bohn
April 19, 2021