USPS political money — 2008 cycle

Reading the USPS × 2008 cell

Lead with the number: $509,416. Then name both keys: USPS and 2008. Then name the source: FEC.gov individual contribution aggregates. 1,482 contributions and 675 donors are the volume fields that accompany the dollars. None of those fields names a recipient committee on this page. The join is itemized individual Schedule A activity only.

USPS is the short stored employer. The spelled-out postal-service string is a different key. 675 donors is an identity count, not a headcount of letter carriers. The overlay path Usps 2008 is where rows can be inspected. The industry page Usps drops the year. The cycle page 2008 election cycle drops the employer string. All FEC ties indexes other joins.

Independent expenditures, PAC-to-PAC transfers, and unitemized gifts are outside $509,416. Mixing those tables with this cell would invent a total the packet does not publish.

USPS on the employer/occupation axis

USPS is employer string as stored. Filers typed USPS (or a string that grouped to it). UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, and US POSTAL SERVICE remain other keys. Exact-match grouping is why a short label can look smaller than a reader’s mental sector. $509,416 counts only this key inside 2008. Named people are not invented here; the packet’s identity field is 675 donors.

The all-cycle figure $8,027,435 uses the same string with the year filter off. $7,518,019 sits in other cycles (93.7%). That remainder is not missing money; it is money tagged to other even-year windows on the USPS hub.

675 identities inside a presidential window

2008 is a presidential federal cycle: a two-year FEC tag, not election night. 675 donor identities and 1,482 lines produced $509,416. About $344 per receipt and about $755 per donor are quotients. About 2.2 lines per donor is the same arithmetic. None of those means is a median.

Identities are not a census. People can appear under this string while retired, while consulting, or while listing a household workplace. This page does not invent donor names. The packet’s donor count is 675.

The 2008 hub is not this cell

Every employer string in 2008 lives on the cycle hub. USPS is one of those strings. Without a cycle-wide denominator in the packet, no national percentage is stated. Citing $509,416 as “USPS’s share of 2008” would require a number this file does not have. Open 2008 election cycle to drop the employer filter; keep $509,416 only when both keys remain.

Keep the join language. $509,416 is USPS inside 2008, already contained in $8,027,435. Adding the cell to the lifetime total double-counts. Adding it to a USAspending figure mixes statutes. FEC.gov itemized individual receipts are the universe for this page.

What the dollars are not

$509,416 is not a postal PAC, a USPS employee census, or a government NAICS total. It is not proof that USPS caused a 2008 outcome. Correlation between a stored label and a cycle year is a join, not a motive. FEC.gov does not verify that every filer who typed USPS worked in a single firm or trade. 1,482 lines and 675 identities describe volume in the extract only.

Federal awards, state campaign-finance reports, and independent expenditures sit in other systems. If the live overlay disagrees with $509,416, 1,482 contributions, or 675 donors, the overlay and FEC.gov control. This snapshot is not a third ledger. All FEC ties lists sibling two-dimension pages that are not components of this cell.

How to cite USPS with 2008

Citation template: employer string USPS, election cycle 2008, $509,416 on 1,482 itemized individual contributions from 675 donors, 6.3% of the all-cycle $8,027,435. Source: FEC.gov. Then point to Usps 2008, Usps, 2008 election cycle, and All FEC ties.

Do not add $509,416 to $8,027,435; the cycle cell is already inside the lifetime bucket. Do not fold UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, U.S. POSTAL SERVICE, POST OFFICE, and US POSTAL SERVICE into either figure. Means of about $344 per receipt and $755 per donor stay with this intersection. This snapshot is not a third disclosure system.

Questions

What is the USPS total for the 2008 cycle?

$509,416 in itemized individual contributions, on 1,482 receipts from 675 donors, for the stored string USPS. Source: FEC.gov. The all-cycle grouping is $8,027,435, which already includes this cell. The join is not a PAC total. Cite FEC.gov. USPS in 2008 is $509,416 on 1,482 itemized receipts from 675 donors; the all-cycle grouping is $8,027,435.

Why is 2008 only 6.3% of USPS money?

Because $8,027,435 spans every cycle in the table. $509,416 is the 2008 slice (6.3%). Other even-year windows hold $7,518,019. A smaller share is a calendar fact, not a ranking of USPS and not a judgment about the grouping.

Are the 675 donors named on this page?

No. The packet publishes a donor count, not names. 675 is an identity total for USPS in 2008. Repeat gifts help explain 1,482 contributions versus 675 identities. The overlay holds itemized rows; this file does not invent a roster. Cite FEC.gov. USPS in 2008 is $509,416 on 1,482 itemized receipts from 675 donors; the all-cycle grouping is $8,027,435.

Is USPS 2008 money the same as federal spending?

No. These are FEC individual contributions. USAspending awards are a different dataset and a different form. The packet has no obligation amount. Do not treat $509,416 as grants, contracts, or assistance tied to USPS. Cite FEC.gov. USPS in 2008 is $509,416 on 1,482 itemized receipts from 675 donors; the all-cycle grouping is $8,027,435.