Open Thread: What to Do With USPS?
While the United States Postal Service has been facing financial concerns for some time, it has never been as close to the brink of bankruptcy as it is today, with a $5.5 billion payment due in September and a lack of resources to make the payment. Unless Congress intervenes, USPS could have to shut down operations this winter. As the postmaster general, Patrick R. Donahoe, remarked, "If Congress doesn't act, we will default." With less demand for the service than ever, though, could competition against private competitors actually be a good thing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
According to the New York Times,
In recent weeks, Mr. Donahoe has been pushing a series of painful cost-cutting measures to erase the agency’s deficit, which will reach $9.2 billion this fiscal year. They include eliminating Saturday mail delivery, closing up to 3,700 postal locations and laying off 120,000 workers — nearly one-fifth of the agency’s work force — despite a no-layoffs clause in the unions’ contracts. [...]
...[D]ecades of contractual promises made to unionized workers, including no-layoff clauses, are increasing the post office’s costs. Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors. Postal workers also receive more generous health benefits than most other federal employees.
While USPS has the legal authority to shut down branches, it must go to Congress for permission to end Saturday delivery and layoff employees. Some more creative ideas to increase revenue are also being tossed around, including "gaining the right to deliver wine and beer, allowing commercial advertisements on postal trucks and in post offices, doing more 'last-mile' deliveries for FedEx and U.P.S. and offering special hand-delivery services for correspondence and transactions for which e-mail is not considered secure enough." Furthermore, post offices could run operations "out of stores like Wal-Mart or [share] space with other government offices."
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, says most of the Congressional proposals to save USPS would merely be expensive and ineffective bailouts that would not work to solve any of USPS's underlying problems. He instead favors creating an emergency oversight board to find spending cuts and allow labor contracts to be voided.
Missing the $5.5 billion payment, meant to finance retirees' health care, would not be the end of USPS, but it would signal that by early next year, USPS would run out of money. Do you think Congress should intervene to save USPS? Or do you think it would be to USPS's advantage to be forced to compete with the private industry and e-mail?
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Comments
Do we really need a USPS delivery
Submitted by johnsonl on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:17am.
every day? Keep the P.O.'s open, cut delivery to 3-5 times a week and start the layoffs by attrition. I have worked in postal facilities alongside postal workers. They have, through the union, milked the system for way too long.
I agree
Submitted by Bob K on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 1:54pm.
somewhat, johnsoni. I especially like the 3x per week offering. Make it Mon. Weds. & Fri., the prime days. As for post office closures, a good example is the smallish city I live in. They have one main p.o., and two small sattelite ones. One of the small ones is right downtown where the county office, courts, etc., are. Keep that, close the other smaller one. Greatly expand P.O. box availability and even raise the annual rate (yes, I have one). Here, you actually have to wait to be able to get one. And people using them certainly cuts down labor and costs for the post office.Expand mail boxes (for drop off) and machines for postage, etc. much more in malls and at big box stores. And tear up the freakin' union contract for postal workers and renegotiate. Let's be honest, if the union workers do not like it, let them quit, it is not like they would be hard to replace.
absolutely right re the milking.
Submitted by russedav on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 4:21pm.
But the problem's the unjust political monopoly, blocking the marketplace's power to improve the situation, typical deranged, fascist, treasonous congressional incompetence (con is the opposite of pro so congress is the opposite of progress).
Even the playing field and let UPS & Fedex compete equally and things will improve via competition, with or without the USPS.
Buckle up folks because this
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:21am.
Buckle up folks because this kind of stuff is going to happen more and more as the government spending bubble pops.
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Chris Matthews: The Joy Behar of MSNBC.
Bill Maher: The Joy Behar of HBO.
Paul Krugman: The Joy Behar of The New York Times.
What's the problem?
Submitted by Ultra_C on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:23am.
I really don't know what the problem is. Why is USPS so far in the red? I'm all for loading up with free market solutions, but seriously, what are the real problems?
I'm not so sure about Saturday delivery, but the economy depends a great deal on day to day USPS mail delivery. Many, many people have a big need for home delivery of their mail. And it's not really too much for us to ask of our federal government, is it?
As a conservative, I don't believe that the government has the answer to very many problems, but I do believe that certain services should be provided by the federal government. National defense, yes of course. Regulation of imports, no problem. A nationwide postal service -- that's also a no brainer.
So, FIX IT, please.
I agree that there needs to
Submitted by Gat New York on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:41am.
I agree that there needs to be some basic, common postal delivery in this country that is affordable and reliable.
USPS simply needs to hire/retain innovative business developers to re-engineer the service - cut out unnecessary services and make existing services more efficient. And they need to renegotiate union contracts.
Math
Submitted by compguytracy on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:50am.
By my calculations, if the usps is delivering the amount of mail stated, what 3-4 billion pieces a year? at .42 cents, the cost of one piece of mail, not that all mail costs the same, postcards, but then you have heavier mail, so an average, that is still 12.6 bill a year, where the frock is the money going??
"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?" Orwell, 1984
Ceteris paribus
USPS
Submitted by stan25 on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:23am.
Start by getting rid of the union. That is the main factor in the demise the post office.
Phase it out!
Submitted by Herbster on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:31am.
More fear mongering to keep people distracted from what is really going on in the country. SARS, Bird flu, GM, Chrysler, Bailouts, "Stimulus, " Timmy the tax cheat, etc....all of these were life and death situations - - - if not acted upon immediately, the world would stop spining on its axis. My concern here is-----the P.O. will get money....from guess who? We taxpayers. In a few years, the P.O. beggars will be back.
The P.O. is obsolete!
Solution: Let WalMart create WalPost. They have a business model that is second to none and would make WalPost customer oriented, inexpensive and profitable. It would create jobs throughout the country. Of course, the leftist unions would scream, but, I have two words for them.....and they aren't "Happy birthday" as the old joke goes. Right now, P.O. customer service is not in their DNA....it is last on the list, instead of first. WalMart understands business, and delivering the mail should be looked at as a business, which it has not been these many years.
Yep, allow competition
Submitted by MPH on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 5:02pm.
Right now the USPS has a government granted monopoly on delivering first class mail. End it. The Constitution authorizes the Congress to create post roads and a post office. It doesn't grant them the monopoly power. Let any delivery service have access to your mail box for incoming mail, and see what competition will do for us.
Use more Hope and Change
Submitted by BBallleaper on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:33am.
Or have Maxine Waters take it over. In all seriousness, STOP HANDLING PACKAGES! Stop delivering 93 pounds of wasted coupons offers at a rate so cheap it just keeps getting heavier every day!
Or raise the rates on bulk
Submitted by Gat New York on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:37am.
Or raise the rates on bulk junk mail significantly which would either bring in a lot more revenue or cut costs on handling/delivery of it is reduced in volume.
Bingo!
Submitted by Bob K on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 2:01pm.
We have a winner! Don't you just love how every year the USPS whines until they get a increase in what you are I pay for First Class postage, but meanwhile they offer a low low rate to businesses sending us junk we toss out unread? I have a P.O. box, and every day the trash cans are overflowing with unwanted junk mail. If they have to pay more, they will STILL send it to you.
contract with Fed X
Submitted by ohio granny on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:34am.
contract with Fed X, they are non-union. UPS is part of the teamsters union. Do we really want anymore teamsters after what baby Hoffa said??? Not me for sure.
Right on, granny!
Submitted by Newsbubba on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:50am.
Sell it all to Fed Ex. They can cancel the union contracts, enter into agreements with retailers like Walmart, Rite-Aid, etc, and private contractors in rural or remote areas, for pickup and delivery, and be making a huge profit in no time.
I can't even remember the last time I actually mailed a letter on paper! All packages go through Fed Ex or UPS. I prefer Fed Ex because they are non-union.
I spend some time on a very remote island where the local "Post Office" is already a contract operation run by a local couple. They drive about 20 miles to a Post Office and pick up and deliver the mail into the USPS system. They also receive and ship Fed Ex and UPS from the same store. The whole world could do the same. The service is great, and they are glad to see you!
USPS has been trying their best to shut them down and replace their operation with "home delivery." I'm pretty sure that that will cost one hell of a lot more than what they do now, and all the other services would disappear. You couldn't even buy a stamp!
If you want to let USPS do something, put them in charge of Obamacare. It's going to be a total cluster fugue anyway, and they have years of experience in that!
What to do with the USPS? Privatize most of it.
Submitted by Red Jeep on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:02am.
Private bids on routes. Retain post offices as they exist now, but all delivery would be through private carriers.
The USPS is the second largest employer in this country and only offers one product.
The USPS has 574,000 workers and 218,000 vehicles?!?!.What's up with dat? Almost one vehicles for every 2 workers?
Privatize.
.ie "Libs can only exist, by -me
Submitted by MacWell on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 9:13pm.
Well said and spot on me. Know what else makes em mad? Explain that there was one time in history that true communism worked, when they ask when, tell them in the early Christian church, see: Acts ch.2 . So, lets get this straight, the libtards love communism, one for all and all for one?, right? But, the only time it worked was during a highlight of what Christianity is, or is supposed to be, and they hate Christianity, and G_d. Oh my, christians and angels and G_d, OH MY! I don't want to scare them too much, all this G_d talk.
I agree with the consensus here, I think it's way past time that we the people bury the dead horse that is the USPS. It cannot be fixed because it has been so entrenched, for so many years, that the parody that Newman, (Seinfeld) does on the post office and postal workers in general probably isn't far from wrong.
I say we go a step further, I say we privatize everything in government that can be, and encourage businesses to be generous with their people so they can keep unions away. I say show the workers the books, let them see where their money's going. Their money, let each employee receive stock options after an appropriate internship. Bring back the apprenticeship program in the building trades, and take it further. We should take one thing from Europe, there, you go to school, or join an apprenticeship program and learn a trade. Everyone in the world with a brain knows that having a job is better than not having a job, except of course, liberals.
I like your thinking.
Submitted by Red Jeep on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:12pm.
.
You could, but...
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 9:59pm.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 7, if I remember correctly...can stand in the way.
To fully do that, I'd recommend an amendment to the Constitution.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
how many private sector
Submitted by sometimesright on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:02am.
how many private sector businesses can get away with lowering level of service while increasing rates? AND stay in business for extended periods of time? the free market methodology is focus or fold. nothing inspires innovation like the prospect of bankruptcy. maybe i'm being too harsh. fed-ex and ups manage to do it right. maybe someone should trade ideas. copy others' successes, duplicate duplicate duplicate. IMHO
Put the damn steering wheels back on the left side.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:03am.
It's no wonder there are so many bi-polar USPS workers.
That and partner with Good Humor to also sell ice cream.
I wonder if they were designed for rural delivery...
Submitted by Red Jeep on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:26am.
...but that didn't happen? Meanwhile I see all these private carriers in our rural areas of the country where I live, sitting sort of in the middle of their cars , driving with their left hands and delivering mail out their right side windows to mailboxes.
Benjamin Franklin started the first Colonial Postal Service
Submitted by c5then on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 12:11pm.
He set up a system of post offices and regular deliveries between them before the Revolution. He was the very first Post Master of Pennsylvania. So yes the answer is that it was set up for rural delivery.
The time it took an average letter to go between Philadelphia and Boston in the early 1760's was three days. Imagine that. They haven't gotten any better in 250 years. Philadelphia to Charleston,SC. was 4 days. I don't think they delivered to every person's door. You had to go to the local post office to pick up any mail.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
Someone should take a long,
Submitted by Scuba Dude on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:53am.
Someone should take a long, hard look at the budget for the USPS. It is time to start slicing and dicing.
It maybe that privatization is the way to go.
Shut it down and allow the
Submitted by Beukeboom on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:55am.
Shut it down and allow the free market to decide who will take over delivering mail.
Privatize it.
Submitted by c5then on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 12:02pm.
The USPS is wasting a large amount of money by paying way too many management people way too much money. Another big problem is they try to subsidize the bulk-rate mail delivery (you know all the unwanted CRAP that they deliver to your house and then you throw it away in the trash) by using the first class mail rate.
If they got rid of bulk-mail and eliminated weekend delivery and then reduced their upper management by 50%, they might get back into the black. The other thing that they can eliminate is probably all the stand-alone post offices in many of the 'burbs and rural areas. Leasing a space in a strip mall or a local big-box store (Wal-Mart, Supermarket, etc.) is probably cheaper than all the maintenance when you own your very own 100+ year-old building
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
What to Do With USPS?
Submitted by fishwaltz on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 12:15pm.
Well, I'm a tad biased, being a retired middle manager from the USPS. But one of the huge problems has been going on for years...
The Post Office should never have been used as a cash cow for congress. Congress has purloined billions of dollars over the last twenty some years. Much of it in over payments to the old CSRS retirement system. If they would repay even part of that, the service could go on, with changes.
Next, the USPS needs to be able to compete. The 'rules' do not favor that. The USPS was set up as a government entity removed from politics (yeah right). At least it's not a cabinet post any longer, but political... you bet. What impedes it's ability to compete are a number of things. The way the original charter was written in '69 and '70 for one thing. Saturday delivery comes to mind. That costs a ton of money. Post Offices in tiny little towns (sometimes wide spots in the road) that could easily be served by a Rural Route or HCR / Star Route (private contract) that is in the area each day anyway. Even the smallest of these cost in excess of $100k a year, and many double or triple that.
Congress keeps them there, wouldn't want to rile up the voters, huh...
Second class postage rates are lose lose... no money in them. Why? Congress mandates the rates be kept low for newspapers and magazines. Someone mentioned bulk (junk) mail... frankly that class of mail is a money maker, as is Priority Mail and most Parcel Post.
Postal Unions... what can be said? They are not cheap, although there is now a two tiered employee class. One vested with benefits and the other not. As time goes on the non career employees will overtake the career.
Also, changing the charter would keep UPS out of the USPS's hair as well. Many times when the USPS would have a great new idea for service(s). Either UPS would sue, win and stop the USPS from doing whatever it was, or congress would stop us from doing it. Gee, you wonder why... all you had to do was figure out where the donations to re-election funds came from.
The USPS never had that problem with FedEx. Actually FedEx is a great partner. There are many other things that could be done, and frankly I hope they do fix it. It would be a shame for one of the few agencies that actually provides a service seen daily by communities gets tossed.
Okay, off my soapbox.
my sympathies...
Submitted by Rackie on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 1:01pm.
I have a friend who did his time with USPS - his take was that if someone was too stupid to sort mail they made them a supervisor who then spent their career screwing with the carriers. The 2 worst places for service are any post office and any DMV office.
fishwaltz
Submitted by stratman on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 2:04pm.
Thank you for your thoughtful post. I was not aware of all the idea-killing shananigans that neuter the ability of the USPS to keep viable. What a corruption of the human will.
I was already under the assumption that bulk mail was a critical money maker for the USPS. As much as I have little need for it, I know it is akin to commercials on TV to keep me from being charged (more) to benefit from the service.
It is amazing that 44 cents will send my letter thousands of miles in a matter of a handful of days dependably regardless of weather. The USPS is the one of best values, if not the best value, the American Public experiences from its Government.
I like my mail carrier. I don't like to go to my local Post Office for counter service. I am unsure if complete privitization is the best route. I'd first like to see if changes can be made that address your comments about removing the constraints on implementing ideas as well as some of the ideas presented by ohters in this thread. To do so will probably require major changes in entrenched management mentalities and worker contracts. I don't see that happening anytime soon, especially with Obama in office and a weak-kneed Republican political aristocracy.
US Postal Service stuck in "feather bedding" mode
Submitted by lrgon on Wed, 09/07/2011 - 2:48am.
The US Postal service is running a $9.2 billion deficit for the current fiscal year which ends September 30 but the unions don't care about that. Unions aren't interested in anything that approaches fiscal sanity by finding ways to trim this massive deficit.
The USPS plans to save some money by operating out of stores like Wal-Mart or sharing space in other government offices. But it will be unable to make a $5.5 billion payment due the end of this month for retirees' future healthcare, and postal officials warn that by early next year the agency will be out of the money it needs to pay its employees, fuel its trucks, and deliver the mail.
In 1872, the Post Office was given a monopoly on local as well as interstate and intercity delivery of letters, eliminating private local carries. The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 replaced the Post Office, a department of the federal government, with the U.S. Postal Service, a quasi-independent agency set up to be self-sufficient, relying on the sale of postage, mail products, and services for its revenue. The USPS enjoys advantages most private enterprises don't have, including exemptions from federal state and local taxes. It also has eminent domain powers.
Two years ago, the USPS considered closing 3,200 offices, but only 80 were closed. The red tape kept most from closing. You see the complaint department kept these closings from happening.
A post office may not be closed "solely for operating at a deficit," though four out of five post offices are losing money, said Thad DeHaven, a budget analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute and co-editor of DownsizingGovernment.org.
"Can anyone seriously imagine any other business not being able to close a store or factory for 'solely operating at a deficit'? That would be a recipe for bankruptcy," DeHaven wrote in a recent article entitled "Why the USPS Should Be Privatized."
While the Postal Service has been structured like a business, "Congress prevents it from actually operating like a private business by inhibiting its ability to reduce costs, improve efficiency or innovate," DeHaven wrote.
More plagiarism from the master plagiarist loon.
Submitted by The Vet on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 10:55am.
Loon's post ---
The US Postal service is running a $9.2 billion deficit for the current fiscal year which ends September 30 but the unions don't care about that. Unions aren't interested in anything that approaches fiscal sanity by finding ways to trim this massive deficit.
The USPS plans to save some money by operating out of stores like Wal-Mart or sharing space in other government offices. But it will be unable to make a $5.5 billion payment due the end of this month for retirees' future healthcare, and postal officials warn that by early next year the agency will be out of the money it needs to pay its employees, fuel its trucks, and deliver the mail.
In 1872, the Post Office was given a monopoly on local as well as interstate and intercity delivery of letters, eliminating private local carries. The Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 replaced the Post Office, a department of the federal government, with the U.S. Postal Service, a quasi-independent agency set up to be self-sufficient, relying on the sale of postage, mail products, and services for its revenue. The USPS enjoys advantages most private enterprises don't have, including exemptions from federal state and local taxes. It also has eminent domain powers.
Two years ago, the USPS considered closing 3,200 offices, but only 80 were closed. The red tape kept most from closing. You see the complaint department kept these closings from happening.
A post office may not be closed "solely for operating at a deficit," though four out of five post offices are losing money, said Thad DeHaven, a budget analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute and co-editor of DownsizingGovernment.org.
"Can anyone seriously imagine any other business not being able to close a store or factory for 'solely operating at a deficit'? That would be a recipe for bankruptcy," DeHaven wrote in a recent article entitled "Why the USPS Should Be Privatized."
While the Postal Service has been structured like a business, "Congress prevents it from actually operating like a private business by inhibiting its ability to reduce costs, improve efficiency or innovate," DeHaven wrote
The bolded parts were stolen from here.
I haven't taken the time to read. . .
Submitted by rickbren on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 12:31pm.
. . . all of the posts. But the quick and easy solution is to PRIVATIZE mail delivery. With a couple of exceptions - the military and the judicial system - the federal government has the out house touch. Everything it touches turns to crap!
When I served in West Germany from 1977-80 the price of an in country stamp was $0.61, more than than four times the cost of a stamp in the U.S. at the time - $0.15. I am thinking about putting in an application with both UPS and FEDEX. They may need a lot more folks when the USPS folds. . .
Lowest pay rate for a letter
Submitted by ex buff e-dub on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 12:37pm.
Lowest pay rate for a letter carrier is about $45,000 / year plus bennies. For what is essentially an unskilled / semiskilled job. I wonder why they're going broke?
http://www.nalc.org/depart/cau/pdf/wages/paychart0311.pdf
They make far more than most of the people...
Submitted by Red Jeep on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 12:49pm.
...they are delivering mail to for a semiskilled job. Very few responsibilities.
"another fine mess you've gotten us into..."
Submitted by Rackie on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 12:43pm.
give it to the CBC. They'll have it on life support in no time, then we can pull the plug.
Post roads, anyone?
Submitted by deadeyedan on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 1:57pm.
Since the Constitution does give the power to Congress to create specifically "post roads", would the elimination of the post office (another Constitutional right of Congress) mean that the feds would be out of the business of building roads?
Imagine the havoc if suddenly they couldn't.
Liberalism - government of the people by the theories and for the ideologists
Ah, but -
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:04pm.
The rationale for building the U.S Highway system and especially the Interstate Highway System is defense.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
USPS - first things first
Submitted by Agnostic on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 2:02pm.
stop the green initiative - you can't afford it.
Electric trucks and Global Warming Projects
This is what happens when
Submitted by jessieH on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 2:10pm.
This is what happens when government workers are allowed to unionize. They talk about separation of Church & State, when they should be talking about separation of unions & government. When you let two seperate criminal organizations combine, the results are disasterous.
Cut back
Submitted by StarAZ on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 2:35pm.
I understand it's an issue of paying retirement in advance or something. We need mail service. I for one do not pay bills on the internet so some idiot Russian scammers can get me. I get mail! I want mail! I get checks in the mail! Five days a week or even three is OK. Forget paying carriers to be on stand-by, forget subsidizing steroid-shooting cyclists, forget the fancy catalogs for stamps, the ritzy direct-mail newsletter, etc. Deliver the mail. Forget priority guarantees even--they don't pay you or anything if these are missed anyhow. Just do the job!
Going Postal,
Submitted by upcountrywater on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 2:54pm.
USPS SWAT
You Didn't Build That.
Start completely over and
Submitted by Beukeboom on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 3:15pm.
Start completely over and leave the unions and big government out of it.
Agreed.
Submitted by mandrake on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 3:43pm.
I do 99% of all my real mail thru internet banking and email. But still my mailbox is full every day with advertising stuff I don't want and just throw out. Now if private companies had to pay their own way with delivery of ads..instead of getting the postal service to do it for them, then mabye the nonsense would stop.
Let's see how Hoffa's union buddies help out.
Submitted by pbthinker on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 3:22pm.
After what Hoffa said yesterday, let's see how his union buddies are willing to help out the USPS. They're already fighting part of the attempts to save money, such as no Saturday delivery, etc. You can bet, saving money means saving payroll and the unions are going to let them save payroll. In the normal world, they'd declare bankruptcy, who knows what will happen here. I just hope they don't give them any money unless they do something serious, and increasing the price of a postage stamp isn't serious.
A self-licking ice cream cone
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 4:18pm.
Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors. Postal workers also receive more generous health benefits than most other federal employees.
And there you have the roots of insolvency. With 80% going to personnel active and retired, USPS can't compete with the commercial enterprises.
When USPS was transformed in 1971 into a quasi-government agency by the Postal Reorganization Act , it was supposed to be self-sustaining. But it is hamstrung partly by Congressional oversight (the closing of unproductive post offices, for instance) and a unionized work force with lavish benefits packages. Compounding all that is the impact of the Internet, which has considerably reduced 1st class mail, and the cuts into the package delivery business by UPS andFEDEX.
Bailout the USPS with what?
Submitted by Dave. on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 4:16pm.
We don't have any money.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
#newtone on twitter
Submitted by bkeyser on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 5:24pm.
it's a busy hashtag.
Found this there. How quaint. Liberals now have a game where you can kill tea party members. How long before some nutjob union hack actually follows the orders given?
And then there's this; a nice montage of recent tweets by the tolerant, peace-loving left. They complain daily that the right has been trying to Obama out of office, and then post these types of comments for all the world to see.
2012 is going to be dicey folks.
BK
Submitted by ricklail on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 6:19pm.
That one comment is a direct threat against a sitting governor. Where is the FBI?
Bk, nice touch popping them into another window.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 7:14pm.
Took time to load, and sure enough I got teabagged, by a Red White N' Blue Tie flapping zombi.
What's so hard about: Taxed Enough Already?
You Didn't Build That.
Medved riding the bigfoot train again
Submitted by ckc1227 on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 5:49pm.
It's sad to hear a guy who is obviously quite smart abandon all logic. Coming up, he's going to argue that new animal discoveries make a good case for the existence of bigfoot. It really doesn't, Medved.
Who the HELL uses mail anymore?
Submitted by NJRightWinger12 on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 6:21pm.
No one has mentioned the most obvious reason-its a friggin DINOSAUR! No one uses it, wants it, needs it! The postal workers in Rural Canada went on strike last year, and NONE OF THE PEOPLE noticed it! And thats up in Upper Bumblefck Canada! Between faxes, emails, and now texts, not to mention bills and ordering and everything else can be done WITHOUT the USPS! Its just been another Govt money pit! Close it up, NOW!
Who the HELL uses mail anymore?
Submitted by Dave. on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 6:52pm.
My creditors.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
The Government needs to be forced to tell the truth to us
Submitted by djwolf12 on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 7:01pm.
This is all the cause of Union-backed Early Retirements and Pension Payouts! When even the news anchors on M.S.S.R. (MSLSD) say that this is the cause, then you know that is a problem. People get upset with me because of the bluntness of how I say things (like Jer), but what I have to say resonates with people because of the truth behind the substance. What is so physically demanding of opening up 30-40 mailboxes everyday and putting mail in them? This gives someone the authority to retire with full benefits and pensions AT AGE 50 when us regular working stiffs have to retire when our backsides hit the bottom of our caskets??????
Another Godless Socialist
Submitted by bkeyser on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 7:56pm.
kills five, shoots another, runs over an elderly woman than shoots himself - possibly because he was rejected for military service. I hear Jimmy Hoffa Jr. was devastated at the loss of a potential Teamster posterboy.
My colleagues at the VA Medical Centers are speculating...
Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 9:01pm.
...that they are next for re-alignment. The VA medical system is under constant re-alignment, so to a certain degree they are used to it. There has been talk about integrating the DOD and VA facilities, and while it makes some sense the patient bases are very, very different. The average VA patient is older, more medically complex and the service lines are tailored to the needs of their demographic. The DOD systems include military spouses and dependents, so they have a different service line tailored more to a younger patient base. They do a lot of purchasing and back-office functions together (e.g. DOD/VA prescription plans, Tricare contract administration,etc.), but still retain separate systems for patient care delivery.
I honestly don't know what I would do with the post office except to privatize it where that could be accomplished. I agree that mail service does need cutting back but this will prove politically painful to both parties. Technology sure changed everything for them, didn't it?
Allowing labor contracts to
Submitted by needle on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 9:14pm.
Allowing labor contracts to be voided or at least renegotiated a la Wisconsin sounds like a good start.
Besides that I say:
Do not close any postal locations, but instead equip all locations with expanded PO Box facilities and then either cease delivering mail for free or deliver it once a week for free, but charge for more frequent delivery of the mail and use the additional PO Boxes for those who do not care to pay for delivery. There can be deliver service priced at different rates: daily, every other day, twice a week, and weekly all according to their costs and what the market can bear. With this approach the Post office should be able to control its costs and eventually pay off its debt.
Sorting the mail used to be a costly process for USPS, but that has been solved with enormous automated sorting factories. However, delivery remains the most significant cost factor, which cannot be automated in any effective practical way.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
USPS thoughts
Submitted by Unsane on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:24pm.
Privatizing sounds good. Imagine if I could pay for mail delivery from FedEx or UPS much like I pay for, say, cable or my cell phone. For better service, I'd do it.
I have to admit...I don't use much mail anymore, because my bills are taken care of by computer. But I still get items from online retailers through mail, and I still send postcards when I travel. (Yeah, I know, the novelty. But it helps to be in a generation where one is used to the age BEFORE computers and grew up in that time - I can thrive in both worlds. Anyways...)
The problem with privatizing is that it will likely require amending the Constitution. So, as a stopgap:
1) I wouldn't miss Saturday delivery, for one.
2) Instead of USPS stand-alone offices, why can't they operate out of shopping centers and strip malls, merely paying rent to those who own them? Could that move save money?
3) Let people go via attrition.
4) Look and see if you can contract out what you can.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Congress step in?? Uh...no...they should step OUT
Submitted by starbuckk on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 10:38pm.
The answer to the problem is in the article itself. Postal service is run by political interest, not good business thinking. Six day a week delivery is an anachronism in today's email/electronic payment world. More and more businesses are pushing their customers to go to paperless billing, electronic payments etc. When was the last time YOU wrote a check? Even greeting cards are going electronic.
Get real people, snail mail is dying. It may take awhile but like everything else, the post office needs to be free to adjust to market demands. Yes, that means the end of six day delivery. Probably three would be sufficient.
And like it or not, staffing cuts are in order. As sad a reality as this is in today's weak job market, the USPS should not operate as a giant welfare organization. It needs to adjust to the demand of the market, which is shrinking. The USPS needs to shrink with that demand and become more efficient. It won't do so as long as political expediency trumps common sense (which is most of the time).
WE Need the Postal Service!!
Submitted by davebrik on Tue, 09/06/2011 - 11:31pm.
The Postal Service is a basic American tradition of having citizens delivering mail WITHOUT the profit motive which would eventually ruin the "service"! If this country cannot save $$ by closing the borders, ending, a war or cutting Michelle's junkets, then we need to start!