Neither rain, sleet nor the coronavirus pandemic could stop John Oliver from trying to save the U.S. Postal Service on Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight.” (See the video below.)
The post office is in dire straits, the HBO comedian warned in his main segment. COVID-19 threatens postal workers, infecting more than 1,000 and killing 40. And the Postal Service itself faces an existential threat in the form of debt and may not survive after September without an influx of money.
President Donald Trump has called the Postal Service a “joke” for undercharging for shipping parcels, but Oliver was dead serious in his defense. The internet is not so much to blame for its shortfall, Oliver said, as is a 2006 law requiring the post office to prepay health care benefits for retirees. Without that law, the USPS may still be turning a profit, he explained.
Watch Oliver break down why we need to save the post office and what he’s doing about it: selling “Last Week Tonight” stamps featuring some of the characters that have appeared on the show.
The comic encouraged those who liked the segment to buy a stamp.
“If you hated it, buy one anyway and mail me a letter about how much I suck,” he said. “It’s all the same to them. You’d be doing a really nice thing.”