1.  What percent of the U.S. Postal Service budget is used to pay employees (salaries and benefits)?

2.  By how much has postage gone up in the last 10 years?

3.  What does Robert Schrum, who wrote a report on postal reform, say will be the outcome of continued increased postal prices?

4.  What percent of all postal routes are done by private contractors?

5.  a) Why does Democratic Senator Tom Harkin want to prevent the Postal Service from hiring any more private contractors to deliver the mail on routes with more than one home per mile?
b)  What is the contradiction in Sen. Harkin's reasoning?

6.  For what reason does U.S. Postmaster General John Potter oppose Sen. Harkin's legislation?

7.  Why do you think the postal worker's union has no problem with "highway contract routes" but opposes the extending of private contracting into populated routes?

8.  Drew Von Bergen, spokesman for the postal worker's union said: "A private organization or individual might do a route for six months and then move on and do something else. Postal mail carriers spend their careers there. They care about the customers. We don't feel that would be the case with contract delivery used to save money. It's not the same quality of person doing it."
Do you agree with Mr. Von Bergen's assertion?  Explain your answer.

9.  Ask a parent to read this article and to discuss questions 5b, 7 and 8 with you.