My Tail is Tucked Between My Legs

I've definitely been off my game the past couple of days. I put a correction in a previous post, and now I feel compelled to issue a groveling mea culpa on another matter.

I did an interview for NBC affiliate stations on the financial mess at the Postal Service. I haven’t spent any time on that issue, so I quickly scanned some material from my Cato colleagues Chris Edwards and Tad DeHaven and saw that Congress had given an indirect bailout to the Postal Service by suspending $4 billion of required pre-funding for retiree health benefits. I then went on the air and said that this was a taxpayer subsidy for the Postal Service’s lavish pay and benefits. The Postal Service does have lavish pay and benefits, and the indirect bailout may lead to a direct infusion of taxpayer money at some point in the near future, but what I said I was wrong because no taxpayer money is currently being allocated (and I would have avoided the mistake if I paid closer attention to what Chris and Tad wrote). So, please, postal workers, don’t go…um…postal on me.

I don't know if this matches my most embarrassing moment, when my cell phone rang during a live interview with Britt Hume, but I'm definitely feeling a bit sheepish.