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          What is the one thing that everyone receives? Mail! Mail is one of the most important things in the modern day. Furthermore, mail was the only form of communication for hundreds of years. But what happens when we don’t receive it in time? No one likes it when they get mail late. However, this will happen to many people in the US. The United States Postal Service is slowing down their mail delivery.  

This started about two weeks ago. Mail delivery slowing down can have a negative effect on anybody using USPS. For example: somebody you know in a different state sends you a rsvp for their bar mitzvah on the 22 of October. However, you receive the mail on the 24th. Now it is too late to send in your rsvp because the bar mitzvah has already happened. This example is just one of millions of situations and events that could be disturbed. According to an article on the website Reuters.com, USPS mail will take “1-5 business days instead of 1-3".  

To prove, the United States Postal Service spokeswoman, Kim Frum, announced that mail within close quarters will be delivered within the standard 1-3 business days. Yet 40% of mail being delivered from a farther distance will take an extra two days. USPS says they are now using all electric car to deliver mail, they promise that this will make them more “competitive”. The man who has been given the opportunity to lead mail into the modern era, Postmaster General Louis Dejoy, stated he ”… takes a holistic view of the organization and is meant to elevate our business, competitiveness, and our ability to meet the needs of the nation.” The 10- year plan, announced by General Dejoy, is called Delivering forAmerica, which plans to incorporate a new energy-friendly fleet of delivery vehicles to fit the modern world. 

 Not surprising, politics has now entered the conversation. Democratic House Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney of New York is terribly upset with Dejoy’s plan. She criticized the plan along with many other senior Democrats. This conflict caused him and other lawmakers to “spar” over Dejoy’s forthcoming plan. Michigan Senator, Gary Peters, is concerned this plan will put many people out of work and pointed out that many rely on the postal service for prescription drugs, financial documents, and running their small businesses. Many Democrats have asked for General Dejoy to resign. When asked by Tennessee Democrat Jim Copper how long Dejoy plans to stay in his current role, General Dejoy said, “A long time, get used to me.”  

After a harsh Winter for the post office, with large delays of mail and huge mistakes with delivery, General Dejoy apologized saying to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, “this was unacceptable.” With Biden nominating three Democratic people to the agency Board of Directors, many hope that Dejoy will step down, and Biden will fulfill his Presidential vow to put the agency back on track. When the new nominees were asked if they would fire General Dejoy they said they were never asked to do so, nor would they be focused on that throughout their new post at The Board. President Biden cannot remove General Dejoy, only the Postal Service Board of Governers can do so.   

As this situation evolves, and the politicians fight, one thing is for sure:  the American people are paying the price. 

America is in a crisis. Over the past two years America has been losing big chunks of money and no one really has payed attention. Then Covid-19 came around; everything and everyone went downhill. We need to start paying attention to what our world is coming to.  

 The resources that were put into finding out what covid was, were awfully expensive. On top of that people got fired and lost their job so the government sent care packages of money to people who lost them. After two years of people losing their jobs, they still do not have them back. People are still struggling day to day, not knowing what to do. Many people are getting payed more to sit at home than people who get up every day and risk their lives working outside daily. 

Because of the descending of money, the economy has raised prices on everything. Just a couple of months ago gas prices went up to about $3.20 a gallon. And that is just one example. Another is how buying a house is out of the question. House prices rose and they are higher than it ever has been. Nowadays houses cost double what they normally would. Which makes it harder for people to find houses within their budget. There are many more examples, and I can go on and on about.  

Although where some of the money is going is a useful source, the government needs to think smarter. The government keeps raising money towards whatever there in control of, and that is not right. Even though we want covid to stop, but also have more resources on how to get rid of Covid, it is not right to make citizens pay three times the amount of what we usually reimburse. 

Now the government is in doubt. The website Biden's inflation crisis and America's loss of economic confidence - Washington Times said, “The President now claims to the cost of these proposals will be zero.” Viewing that the President said that, is frightening. This can affect everyone and can be very harmful to our country. But showing everyone what is really happening is important too. Learning what is going on can help people unite. Our generation these days are so worried about what's going on in their friend group or what's going on in their school but have no clue what's going on in the real world. Or even worrying about the new phone or who is trending on TikTok but we need to start worrying about what they are going to do if the government shuts down. What will we do then? 10% of America is suffering from having not enough money for food. And we are worrying about the wrong things. 

People need to know what is going on. Especially in our generation. Everyone needs to learn how to focus on what really matters. The government is one of the most powerful things that exist in America. And if that goes down, who knows what will happen. 

Sources: 

Biden's inflation crisis and America's loss of economic confidence - Washington Times 

Barry Sternlicht: There's a crisis in the economy, government should pay people to work (cnbc.com) 

America's CEOs are losing confidence in the economy - CNN 

Photo Credit: Historic Tours of America

On September 14th, 2021, Jutus Callejas called police scared of the well-being of his wife and kids. That conversation led the police to do a welfare check and later the police talked to his wife Esther. She said her and her children were fine. Esther Callejas, an Arizona mother of two, shot her kids hoping they would go to heaven on September 30th. She called her family to tell them the news. After the call, the family members called the police. They responded at the home on South 8th Place and “began immediate lifesaving actions.” 

The days before the shooting, Esther hid the handgun she used in her house specifically in her kids’ playroom. She tested the gun by firing a shot and accidentally hit her left hand. Then she aimed for her kids. Her two kids both ended up in the hospital. When the police arrived, they found three family members on the ground bleeding from gunshot wounds. Her two-year-old daughter, Esperanza, was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the hospital. The son was next to his sister and was shot to the head, torso, and left arm. 

Esther reportedly purchased the special handgun years ago and hid it from her husband. She said she was going to shoot herself, but she could not reload the gun. After she could not reload the gun, she took her prescription medication and did not call the police. She said that she is depressed and on prescription drugs. Now she is facing one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first degree murder. 

The next day when being interviewed by the police Esther admitted to shooting her children. Police said that the officers on the seen were shaken by the scene. Jutus said, “You can imagine, something nobody should have to see our officers see it again and again. Behind the badge, our officers are people. At the end of the day, they are people first and they have human emotions so when that’s happening, they are able to put that aside, they are able to get the job done but then when reality hits them it can hit really hard. It’s not normal to see a child shot. It’s not normal to do CPR on a baby who is shot by a parent.” (lawandcrime.com) This quote from Jutus is impactful to many mothers because they want the best for their kids and want them to live, so to see another mother do that to her kids is heartbreaking.  

She has admitted to officers that she did shoot her kids and want them to go to heaven. She admitted to shooting her daughter close up and two times in the chest. Also, Esther admitted that she shot her son. She was sick and on anti-depressants when this happened, so it could have played a huge part in her decision making. Esther is now booked into the Maricopa County jail. Her bond was set at 2 million dollars. She was seen in court on October 5th, but there have not been any updates on the case.