General Discussion
Showing Original Post only (View all)Gutting the Postal Service. [View all]
James Royal recently published an article at Motley Fool evaluating the Postal Service as a business. Link: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/03/04/how-the-postal-service-is-being-gutted.aspx
The title of the article is "How the Postal Service is Being Gutted" and draws the conclusion that "...the postal service is a fundamentally sound business, though not without its challenges. If you look closely, you'll see a concerted campaign to drive USPS out of business..."
Royal outlines three myths about the Postal Service. The first myth is that recent losses demonstrate that USPS is not a viable business. Royal notes that the majority of the red ink is the result of the healthcare pre-funding mandate imposed by the lame-duck Republican Congress in 2006. The pre-funding mandate requires the Postal Service to pay for 75 years of future employee health care benefits in a 10 year period. This onerous requirement means that the Postal Service is currently paying for future health benefits for employees who have not been hired yet and, in many cases, not born yet. Despite this burden, credit needs to be given where credit is due:
As if the pre-funding mandate were not a sufficient burden, the Postal Service is also restricted to investing those funds in low-yield Treasury bonds. This forces the Postal Service to save even more now than a private company would to obtain the same payout later.
The second myth that the article examines is "snail mail is dead." The article points out that, even though letter mail volume is declining due to replacement by e-mail, the larger problem is that, at 46 cents, first class mail is grossly underpriced compared to European services which are priced closer to $1 for a letter. Though the article doesn't mention the fact, European postal services tend to be more privatized than their American counterpart. FedEx and UPS provide no comparable service at anything close to the same price. Another area in which USPS provides underpriced service is pre-sorted bulk mail. Bulk mailers get discounts for pre-sorting mail that exceed the cost-savings to the Postal Service.
One barrier to proper pricing is that price increases are overseen by a separate agency, the Postal Regulatory Commission, and are restricted to increasing no more than the general rate of inflation. If costs exceed the inflation rate during a given period, they can not be recovered.
In addition to saddling the Postal Service with the suffocating health care pre-funding mandate and preventing it from properly pricing its products, Congress has also prevented the USPS from increasing revenue by expanding its services into related lines. While our representatives exhort the Postal Service to operate like a business on the one hand, on the other they also say that USPS can not "unfairly" compete with private companies. Recent restrictions include: implementation of an online payment system in 2000 (internet companies complained); putting public copy machines in Post Office lobbies; selling phone cards; and selling postage meter cartridges (Pitney Bowes objected). "And, of course, rivals such as UPS complained, ultimately leading Congress in 2006 to restrict USPS to mail delivery."
The third myth examined is that "privatized mail delivery would be cheaper and more effective." The article points out that in 2011, USPS delivered more than 30% of FedEx Ground's packages. FedEx uses the Postal Service because it is cheaper. Another way the Postal Service is forced to operate at a handicap is by preventing it from negotiating volume discounts with large parcel shippers. And then there's this:
The article concludes by suggesting that the only sensible reason for handicapping the Postal Service in this fashion is to set it up for "failure" and subsequent privatization. The Cato Institute, which was founded by Charles Koch, has been advocating for this outcome for decades. FedEx founder and CEO Frederick Smith has served on the Board at the Cato Institute and FedEx continues to help fund the think tank.
Royal points out "two plums" that can be plucked from a privatized Postal Service. One would be "busting the union, lowering wages, and shifting that profit into investors' hands..." And the other:
I have been following the Postal Service's plight for many years and have explained the financial squeeze imposed by Congress to numerous people. In doing so I have witnessed a curious phenomenon. When I explain the health care pre-funding mandate people suddenly appear almost disoriented. Not a minute later they often refer to it as "pension pre-funding" and I have to correct them. "The pensions are fully funded. The pensions are actually overfunded. The pre-funding mandate covers future health care premiums..." People need to be told twice- and then their jaw drops...
I think people resist understanding the truth about the mandate because the truth is- it is blatantly abusive. Nobody wants to examine what else is hiding underneath that rock. If Congress will sabotage the Postal Service, what else might they be capable of doing? Is the handling of the Postal Service an anomaly or a template? They also have Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in their hands...
NALC (the carriers' union) is sponsoring a national day of action to mobilize public support on March 24. Details here: http://www.nalc.org/
Highly recommended site for information on USPS: http://www.savethepostoffice.com/