Postal Service Is Nearing Default as Losses Mount

[SecularMotion]

Source: NY Times

The United States Postal Service has long lived on the financial edge, but it has never been as close to the precipice as it is today: the agency is so low on cash that it will not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment due this month and may have to shut down entirely this winter unless Congress takes emergency action to stabilize its finances.

“Our situation is extremely serious,” the postmaster general, Patrick R. Donahoe, said in an interview. “If Congress doesn’t act, we will default.”

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.

The post office’s problems stem from one hard reality: it is being squeezed on both revenue and costs.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/business/in-internet-age-postal-service-struggles-to-stay-solvent-and-relevant.html?hp

[Turbineguy]

1. 120,000 people who do actual work.

They'll keep the managers though.

[Kablooie]

2. Easy fix. Just privatize it.

... Oh? ... When? ..... . Never mind.

[RedCloud]

72. Or stop making them pay 25 years ahead of time to bankrupt it.

RepubliCON rude going on there.

[liberalmike27]

73. I heard a guy from the PO

One night saying not only do they fund their own pensions, but other pensions too, of other government departments, which seems unfair.

[Born Free]

100. Military retirees?

I think it has to do with military retiree pensions if the individuals gets a job at the post office.

I think USPS also helps out the airlines by paying for space even if they do not use it, likewise with some trucking - they are paid regardless.
Furthermore, if the private contractor does ot show up the USPS sends out a postal employee to drive the truck, and I do not think the USPS gets any refund on the
payments to the private contractors. Another deal is with maintenance, some times they contract out maintenance work but then have USPS maintenance employees
do some of the work.


The big one that I have not been able to figure out is the deal with China. More than once I purchased items directly from China because I could not find them in USA and it each order was shipped "free" via USPS registered mail. The minimum cost for USPS registered mail is about $10.73 but the item purchased cost less than the cost of shipping. I know China is subsidizing it , they say so on some Chinese web sites, but is the money going to the post office or is it going some where else because of the trade deals. I asked around but no one has a definitive answer. Registered mail is the most labor intensive mail at the post office, kept under lock and key and only handled by people, no machine processing.


The answer is not to cut back on postal services, but to allow them to do more things that create revenue...

[happyslug]

102. International Post Office Treaties kick in

My sister use to run a Mail Box etc store, and one of the things she found out that when shipping overseas go with the Post Office. Not that UPS and the rest do a bad job, the problem is once overseas are use to dealing with the US Post Office and the private firms the post offices in those foreign countries just refuse to deal with. Bureaucrats like dealing with Bureaucrats they have always dealt with before, and since the 1860s that has been Post Office to Post Office.

The treaties govern international rates AND the US Postal Service will accept packages from overseas if it is a legal package under US Postal Regulations AND the international postage rate (Set by Treaty) has been paid. The Postal Service will also accept any additional "service" provided by that foreign post office, if it is close to an American Service.

Now, $10.73 sounds cheap for Registered Mail, but also about right. Registered Mail is mail where you can trace who had that package all through its develivery service. Each new person has to SIGN for the package. IF the package is lost, the last person who signed for it is liable for it. That person MUST pay for whatever was lost. My father, who was a letter carrier, delivery diamonds and Gold bars via Registered Mail.

Please note, I am taking about registered mail, not the very similar but cheaper Certified mail. Certified mail is signed for at final delivery like Registered mail, but is NOT signed for as it goes from person to person in the delivery chain. Thus no one is responsible for a lost certified letter, for it can NOT be traced to whoever signed for it last. This makes certified mail a lot cheaper, but less secure. Certified mail is used when the sender wants evidence some document (Generally some sort of legal notice) had been received by the person it was delivered to. It is rare for anyone to send anything of value Certified Mail, for most people who send things of value send it registered mail.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. By rendering the US govt without revenue through unnecessary wars and not taxing the rich....

We are destroying our country.

And yet the Constitution has a POSTAL CLAUSE, to set up and maintain a postal service and create a revenue from it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Clause

The right wing shitheads have destroyed our country and we currently have someone in the White House being nice to them.

[alfredo]

6. I wonder who or what the reich wingers will hold hostage q

over this.

[Plucketeer]

16. Heh - you want your mail

or do you want to see disaster relief to those who're suffering from natural disasters? :crazy:

[alfredo]

49. Or unemployment insurance. The reps will try to force privatization.

[elocs]

4. A DU thread on this subject from earlier this morning:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1878722

[qanda]

5. I have no problem with them eliminating Saturday deliveries

I hope they can do something without laying off all those workers though.

[SoapBox]

11. Stopping Saturday deliveries and pick ups? I DO have a problem with that!

I do a LOT of business work on the weekends and usually I'm sending out invoices and/or payments, even on Saturdays.

And funny too, I get the same back to me on Saturday deliveries.

There is all sorts of simplistic chitty-chat about eliminating Saturdays BUT I don't think
that people really truly know how this will affect America and Americans.

Easily, I can think of one thing that comes sometimes in the Saturday mail...and that is MEDICATIONS for
my Mom! How many seniors or others are going to have meds, sent from mail order pharmacies (that MILLIONS
of Americans have been forced to use) delayed? And then, when there are "holiday" weekends, mail will be
delayed by 3 or 4 days!

Best think about it folks, before you bang the GOP drum to eliminate the US Postal Service!!

[IamK]

29. make Saturday deliveries / pickups for an extra fee like UPS... n/t

[joeglow3]

33. You realize that you will still get it on Monday?

It is not as if all mail for Saturdays goes in the trash. Or, are you one of those people who wait until the last possible before doing anything (i.e. paying bills, ordering presciptions, sending out invoices, mailing cards, etc.). Do away with Saturdays and people will have to learn to stop their procrastination 1 day earlier.

[alfredo]

51. On Mondays the carriers will have to carry three days worth of mail.

Mondays blow as is.

[alarimer]

89. Not if it is a holiday.

And there are a LOT of Monday holidays, meaning that some people will not get their checks for several days or payments will be delayed further.

No, we need Saturday delivery more than any other day probably. Better to eliminate Tuesday or Wednesday.

[SKKY]

104. If it meant 120,000 people (or some portion of that) could keep their jobs...

...you wouldn't be able to handle the inconvenience of waiting until Monday??? I find that difficult to believe.

[alfredo]

13. Mail delivery is tough on the body. 6 day delivery allows for

a rest day in the middle of the week for the carriers. If they had to carry 5 days straight you will see more going down with career ending injuries like what ended my career. We don't need more 40-50 year old disabled workers. Also, the PTF (part time flex) carriers (needed for a 6 day delivery schedule) allow for the flexibility needed for efficient delivery of mail. Not only do they step in on that 6th day, they fill in for vacations, sick days, and heavy days like Mondays. Taking Saturdays off make Mondays even more crushing. Mondays carry Sunday and Monday mail. Stop Saturday delivery and Monday's become dangerously heavy. It was a Monday in November that took me down.

Let me speak more for the PTF. The PTF is a career path job. The part time flex learns as they earn. Mail carrying takes a long time to learn right. It takes memory and physical fitness. You have to get to know the people and businesses on the route. You also have to provide them enough work to keep them on the job. If you can't guarantee 1 day a week, why stay with the post office? PTF's are on call. They have to be ready to jump out of the sack and fill in on a route.

[Dulcinea]

101. Why not raise the postal rate for junk mail?

That stuff that ends up in your recycle bin is bulk rate mail. Charge the postal spammers the first class rate! There would be less junk mail, fewer dead trees, & more revenue for the postal service. A win-win.

And, I also have no problem eliminating Saturday delivery, and I'm a regular client of the USPS. I'm an eBay seller & ship through the USPS every week. UPS & FedEx are too expensive.

[NOMOREDRUGWAR]

113. I'd rather see them eliminate Tuesday delivery

if they have to eliminate a day. Tuesdays are usually light mail days because most of the weekend mail comes on Monday.

[Omaha Steve]

7. DU post from Aug 11 The Plot to Kill the Post Office...And Its Union Contracts

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1759600

Rolando lays out the real root of the problem: "The problem lies elsewhere: the 2006 congressional mandate that the USPS pre-fund future retiree health benefits for the next 75 years, and do so within a decade, an obligation no other public agency or private firm faces. The roughly $5.5 billion annual payments since 2007 — $21 billion total — are the difference between a positive and negative ledger."

[roxiejules]

25. New York Times buys in to the postal shell game

http://www.postalnewsblog.com/2011/09/05/new-york-times-buys-in-to-the-postal-shell-game/

It’s gotten to the point that even the New York Times has bought in to the line that the US Postal Service is about to go under due to declining mail volumes and overly generous wages and benefits for its employees. This morning’s Times trumpets “Postal Service Is Nearing Default as Losses Mount“.

The Times fails to explain that the $5.5 billion payment is not a normal, actuarially valid estimate of future retiree’s health benefits. It is a politically calculated number, equal to the amount the USPS was found to be overpaying its annual pension liabilities in 2003. The trust fund simply serves to keep postal funds flowing into the Treasury, artificially reducing the federal deficit.

The simple, undisputed fact is that without Congress’s prefunding requirement, the USPS would have zero debt, billions in spare cash, and a $15 billion line of credit. But when your goal is to shut down post offices, get rid of unions, and slash wages and benefits, you need a better story. The politicians have managed to come up with that story, and so far, the news media have swallowed it whole.

[dkf]

35. Are you saying it shouldn't be prefunded? Or the amount should be changed to what?

[hay rick]

38. It shouldn't be prefunded.

No other corporation or government agency pre-funds health care benefits for future retirees.

The mandate was imposed in 2006 after the postal service demonstrated that it was over-funding pension contributions. Rather than cut off the spigot of money going to Treasury, congress came up with the pre-funding requirement which magically equaled the amount that the Postal Service was overpaying for pension contributions.

[dkf]

105. Well if it's prefunded then they have no justification for taking the benefit away.

I imagine everyone else's health care retirement benefit may be iffy. I don't get one when I retire. I am not aware if many corporations do.

[underpants]

30. Yep they busted it on purpose. Does the DoD create revenue? Do they have to fund future costs?

no of course not.

The obvious tie-in is that the postal service's first employees were Civil War vets and of course there were a lot of Vietnam Vets who got good jobs with good benefits there. But that was when we either fulfilled our promise to Vets or made sure they could do for themselves (GI Bill).

[Dover]

55. And like the utilities, once the cost-regulated gov. run entity is extinguished

and/or privatized, there is no effective watchdog on costs and no one holding the prices down.
Corporations want to replace the government and they are slowly but surely killing it off.

[plumbob]

45. Thank you!

Yes, an ARTIFICIALLY created crisis by the shithead Congress to kill USPS.

Why? Oh, I dunno. Maybe so UPS and FedEx can charge 10 to 20 times more as they do now, but with NO options?


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[kdtroxel]

8. Public Service

United States Constitution, as adopted on September 17, 1787: Article I: The Legislative Branch, Section 8, Clause 7: To establish Post Offices and post Roads

The Post office is a public service provided by the Government, not a for-profit entity. Definition of "Public Service": A service performed for the benefit of the public, especially by a nonprofit organization.

“The legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do it all on their separate and individual capacities.” – Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

[on point]

9. I feel for the post office but it is time to scale back the service.

Some hard advice for the USPS:

1. Recognize reality that email and such are here to stay and is the future. Email is better for our planet as it uses less resources in product, shipment and waste. So scale back. Yes it means job loss buy this is the kind we have to go with and not fight. It is progress.

2. Raise your rate. ESPECIALLY start charging higher rates, non discounted rates for all that advertising trash shipped via the post office and put in our mail boxes on its way to the trash bin / recycling. Yes they may stop shipping, but then hurray!! The post office has been using this for years as subsidy it says for the post office, but I think it is a false economy. To process all that trash requires massive scale in plants, trucks, staff. If the post office went back to carry REAL mail, they could probably go back to smaller offices, fewer people walking a route (no need for trucks to carry tons of waste). I know I get but a handful of real mail every week, all from companies, only once or twice a year are there personal things from real people. On the other hand I throw out BAGS of advertising garbage every week! (yes I've tried to get myself off the lists and never sign up for anything, but the tide never goes away)

So scale back, cut down, go to a few days a week delivery, but keep the offices open on Saturdays and evenings.

Consider other businesses that if the times. Could the USPS be a guaranteed Internet provider for the country instead? Could they guaranty / certify email and software?

[makhno]

14. Interesting idea

Could the USPS be a guaranteed Internet provider for the country instead? Could they guaranty / certify email and software?

I wonder what the legal/constitutional barriers exist (if any) to the USPS providing digital certificates for online transactions or email. My fear is that even if there are people within the organization who would push for novel ideas, any revenue-boosting suggestions would fall on deaf ears. Increasing the role of "big government" and such.

But wouldn't it be cool if the USPS could issue verified personal certificates or digital signatures to individuals?

[customerserviceguy]

39. Seems reasonable to me

There is a Constitutional clause requiring the Federal government to be in the mail business, so the tea partiers can't complain about that. Providing certification to email is a good way to pick something up out of the rush to email. If ISP's simply refused to deliver mass advertising that did NOT have a USPS verification stamp, it would save them a lot of server space, too.

Sounds like a win-win.

[cstanleytech]

52. Umm imo it would not be "cool' unless its totally voluntary and the old ways of emailing are allowed

or atleast thats my opinion.

[makhno]

61. Absolutely

I was just thinking about USPS as a trusted authority. Alternative ways of maintaining one's privacy or proving one's identity wouldn't be made illegal.

Seeing Google and others push SSO solutions, I don't see why USPS can't get in on the game.

[fasttense]

10. Spin and lies by RepubliCON cons.

Just another way to convince gullible people to give up benefits, services and tax money to private corporations. Because corporations don't give a crap about you but government can be held accountable.

[SoapBox]

12. Ditto.

[hack89]

15. I personally have no need for it

I am ok with electronic bill paying and I no longer send personal snail mail. 90 percent of my mail is junk mail.

[OwnedByFerrets]

18. Ok, you may never need a fireman, lets just get rid of fire depts while we are at it.

Or better yet, lets privatize them all so that ONLY those who can pay will have their fires extinguished.

[hack89]

19. They are an anachronism - they need to change or step aside.

they need to face the realities of the modern world - they can remain a government service but not in their present form. I see no need to piss away money just because "we have always had a post office."

[alarimer]

90. Eliminate USPS and all of a sudden UPS cost 3X as much.

Private companies like UPS have already siphoned off the most lucrative parts of the business. AND they refuse to deliver to PO boxes and many rural addresses.

USPS is the only thing standing between us and private corporations which are bound and determined to fuck us all over.

I hate, I mean seriously HATE, corporations and capitalism.

[No Elephants]

97. If you don't buy postage, you are not pissing away a penny on the Post Office..

[Posteritatis]

20. Call me when you can email parcels. (nt)

[hack89]

23. UPS works fine for me. nt

[JAbuchan08]

43. UPS kind of sucks,

I was waiting for a package to be delivered, but they kept buzzing the wrong apartment so I kept missing it, and they eventually returned it to the sender. With USPS I can pick my packages up at the post office.

[plumbob]

46. You don't mind the 1000% to 2000% difference in prices?

Wow, we mail 20-50 packages a day, so we would go from $200-$500 a day for mail expense to $2000-$5000 a day.

Yeah, no we wouldn't. We'd fold.

[hack89]

48. So you would have to pay the real price of shipping

instead of the taxpayer subsidizing it? What if I rather my tax money go towards education instead?

[Occulus]

58. the USPS does not receive one dime of taxpayer money. n/t

[plumbob]

69. USPS receives no taxpayer money and hasn't since 1983.

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blmailus5.htm

The Postal Reorganization Act also changed the United States postal system in other ways:

Finances and rates: It established an independent Postal Rate Commission of five members, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, to recommend postal rates and classifications for adoption by the Governors. It authorized the Postal Service to borrow money from the general public and phased out the general public service subsidy, which the Postal Service ended earlier than required in 1983.


And yet they labor under Congress and their minions who have control, including the ludicrous $5 billion a year contribution to health. No other company has to meet such a requirement.

[hack89]

77. So they need to raise their prices, don't they? nt

[plumbob]

92. Yes, and the commission won't allow it.

Or they could drop the designed to fail payments they have to make on a fully paid benefits program that no one else in the universe has to.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

108. Boy you sure have your "gut opinion" and you are sticking to it - No matter how ignorant your grasp

... of the issues at hand.

Kudos.

[boppers]

94. See #93.

It's mostly self-sufficient, but they still get outside (taxpayer) funding for things like upgrading mail facilities, paying for overseas voting, etc.

[brentspeak]

86. Hey, subgenius: how many tax dollars have you paid toward the USPS?

Try -- none; the postal service is funded solely through its own revenues.

Your handle of "hack" is completely appropriate.

[boppers]

93. Myth. Between 2001-2007, at least 1.2 billion of tax dollars has been spent.

"The Postal Service has received a total of $1.265 billion
in emergency response funds since 2001. Included in this
amount is:
• $175,000,000 from the Emergency Response Fund to the
U.S. Postal Service in response to the anthrax attacks. These
funds were released by the President on November 20, 2001,
pursuant to P.L. 107–38.
• $500,000,000 from the Emergency Supplemental Act of
2002 (P.L. 107–117) to protect postal employees and postal
customers from exposure to biohazardous material, sanitize
and screen the mail, and replace or repair Postal Service
facilities destroyed or damaged in New York City as a result
of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. These funds
became available to the Postal Service for sanitizing and
screening the mail after it submitted an emergency preparedness
plan and an associated expenditure plan to the Congress.
• $87,000,000 from the Supplemental Appropriations Act
of FY 2002 for Further Recovery from the Response to Terrorist
Attacks on the United States (P.L. 107–206) to further
protect postal employees and postal customers from exposure
to biohazardous material and to sanitize and screen the mail.
• $502,944,000 from the Omnibus 2005 Appropriations bill
(P.L. 108–447) to protect postal employees and postal customers
from exposure to hazardous materials in the mail.
Of this amount, $7,000,000 is designated as emergency funding to construct a mail irradiation facility in the District of Columbia. "

http://www.lunewsviews.com/pdfs/psfunds.pdf

[brentspeak]

103. Nice try, DINO. Those were monies directed for anti-terrorism items

Not for running the service.

Either engage in honest discussion, or take your http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8606164&mesg_id=8606315">RW spin and get lost.

[boppers]

110. "funded solely through its own revenues" was your argument.

To defeat that argument, one only needs to find one other source of funding.

It doesn't matter if that funding went to "anti-terrorism items" (one federal funding (taxpayer) source), "compensation for overseas voting costs" (another federal funding (taxpayer) source), "mail for the blind" (another federal funding (taxpayer) source), the postal service is not solely funded through it's own revenues.

Now that you've moved the goalposts to "running the service", you're getting closer, but "how many tax dollars have you paid toward the USPS Try -- none;" is a goalpost that possibly still needs to be moved as well.

[brentspeak]

111. Not surprising that you would insert B.S. into the thread

Here's a little RW piece of drivel from you on the postal service from just last month:

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4898734&mesg_id=4898991

boppers (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view this author's profile Click to add this author to your buddy list Click to add this author to your Ignore list Tue Jun-28-11 02:12 AM
Response to Reply #20
22. (The private sector has never done anything more efficiently or cheaply than state or federal governments.)...Aside from:

Delivering packages
Making products
Distributing goods
Communicating information
...

Centrally planned and run economic experiments have been run all over the globe. Every single one failed.

Every.

Single.

One.

[boppers]

114. Ah, I love the scent of deflection in the evening.

But I wonder why even the content of this post is inaccurate?

"from just last month:"... Today is September 7th, 2001. Last month was August. That post is dated "Tue Jun-28-11", three months ago.

As far as "Delivering Packages" goes, lets compare:
A 10 pound package from Bakersfield, California (93301), to Albany, NY (12201). Overnight.

http://www.shippingsidekick.com/getrates2.wml?origState=Ca&origZip=93301&shipDate=2011-09-07&dropoff_pickup=3&destState=NY&destZip=12201&destCountryid=us£s=10&ounces=0&packageType=5&length=&width=&height=&insValue=&delConfirm=0&isResidential=0

Oh, whoops, USPS doesn't have "Overnight" service, and FedEx and UPS are *cheaper* for 2 day delivery. It's much more competitive on slower shipping, but it fails on both tests of "more efficiently or cheaply" for Overnight service, and 2 day service.

[They_Live]

67. I find UPS and FedEx

to be even more inconvenient and expensive than USPS. As a Amazon marketplace seller, I use the post office often. There's also millions of people who have P.O. boxes that are paid for in advance...what happens to that service?

[demigoddess]

40. it might have an impact on ebay

not to mention other businesses.

[fasttense]

28. I have difficulty believing you don't get packages delivered to your home.

That you get no books, pamphlets and information of value ever delivered to your home.

That you get no magazines or newspapers delivered to your home.

Bills are not the only thing a postal service is used for.

Here in a rural area I know what will happen the minute they shut the US postal service. I'll have to pay 5 times the cost for some uncaring, unconcerned, greed driven corporation to do the same thing the postal service does. But hay, if you want absolutely no services for the 10s of thousands of income taxes you pay, maybe the libertarian paradise of Somalia will be more appropriate.

The postal service is in our Constitution. It's the bedrock of America's freedom of information. Doing away with it will create a another corporate control, price fixing crappy service I have no control over.

[hack89]

31. Then they need to change.

they are too large and inefficient. I understand how important they are but at present they are a bottomless money pity sucking up scarce resources.

[Occulus]

57. Which resources would those be, Sparky?

It's not like the USPS uses taxpayer money.

[hack89]

79. So then they need to raise their prices to reflect reality , don't they? nt

[boppers]

95. See #93.

They do use taxpayer money. It's not the majority of their budget, but the answer to this question ("How is the USPS funded?") requires some very exact wording, to avoid the pedants in the corner issuing corrections.

[westerebus]

65. If ignorance is bliss?

Then you must be one very happy person.

You don't know much about the USPS, Fed-X or UPS.

The USPS is one of the least expensive mail services on the planet and no one delivers more packages than they do.

[hack89]

76. If they are so good why are they broke? nt

[westerebus]

82. They were a cash cow.

The Congress has been milking them for years, forcing them to pre-fund retirees way into the future including health care costs.

Does the CIA, NASA, DOE, EPA, SEC, ATF, DOT, pre fund? No.

Can CIA, NASA, DOE, EPA, SEC, ATF, DOT retirees purchase into the health plans administered by Postal Service Unions? Yes they can.

Did they have to pay union dues to join the NALC or APWU plans for thirty years to be eligible? No they did not.

Where does the offsetting money come from to cover these plans? These health care plans have been pre-funded by the USPS.

Let's see. Should I take a normal option Blue Cross plan were rates will escalate as its a for profit corporation?

Or go with a (union) non profit plan and get the same services for less money out of my pocket? Decisions? Decisions?

And I know that the USPS retiree's health care plans are funded. So who's paying who here for what?

[hack89]

84. So drastically reduced volumes of mail are irrelevant?

did they make corresponding cuts in manpower and infrastructure?

[U4ikLefty]

87. You are wrong but keep harping on your point...why?

[brentspeak]

88. The answer has already been provided to you...right on this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1759600

[alarimer]

91. Arguing with you is like arguing with a tree.

Stupid and pointless because you will not listen to reason.

The ONLY reason the USPS is in this position is because they (alone among almost all organizations) that that they have to prefund their pensions.

My employer does not have to do that, yours probably does not. It is the ONLY reason they are in this situation, because of some unreasonable requirements established by right-wing shitheads in Congress in order to bankrupt or privatize this service.

[David Sky]

107. Birthday cards for the very young and get well wishes for the very old..

I guess that's not important to some, but for many I know in my age group, they don't go on-line in nursing homes, hospitals, nor do four and five year old's at daycare centers.

Other than that, some of us like getting a few magazines, wedding invitations, post-cards from distant places.

Otherwise, I agree, get rid of junk mail advertising entirely, save a few forests.

[OwnedByFerrets]

17. Yeah, when its gone the detractors will be bitching about

having to send $5 letters via UPS.

[mysuzuki2]

21. another thing to consider- UPS does not guarantee it will deliver everywhere.

I think the answer is to charge first class rates for advertising.

[Posteritatis]

27. They also like delivering damaged goods, too

There's a reason so many people call them United Parcel Smashers.

[BlueIdaho]

22. The GOP is systematically breaking our government

And people blame lazy greedy workers. How long could any business survive if they were given a few years to fund all future pension liabilities?

[No Elephants]

98. Who was responsible for giving the GOP a majority on the Postal Commission?

The old paradigms do not work any more.

We need to shift our thinking and perceptions--FAST.

[plantwomyn]

24. Easy fix.

The "official" carrier for the U.S. government is FedEx. Just have the U.S. government use the U.S. Post Office to carry their packages and the problem is solved. They always whine about the government picking winners and loosers. They picked FedEx. Bad choice.

[hay rick]

32. Postal Service also subsidizes FedEx.

FedEx is the Postal Services' largest subcontractor (over $1 billion) by far.

[udbcrzy2]

26. They have been in trouble for a long time

I read some articles some time ago about how the executive relocation packages were dragging them down. They would receive money to relocate and to also buy their homes, some of the homes were up to 2.8 million each.


snip---

In the past, there were no limits. In one case, the USPS paid $2.8 million for a home.

If you compare this home purchase policy with those of various government agencies, you can see just how generous it really is. For example, the Food and Drug Administration has a $330,000 cap for home purchases when an employee is relocated. The Department of Homeland Security tells CNN it would rarely pay to move an employee, but if it did, the total cost would not exceed 25 percent of his or her salary.

I wonder what we would find out if we compared the way USPS home purchasing and relocation policies compare to the relocation packages of Fortune 500 companies.
http://siu.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/05/post-office-mansion/

[defendandprotect]

36. RW Repug elites in the post office may have had $2.8 million homes ... !!!

Otherwise this is nonsense --

The Post Office is also being forced to fund a pension plan at once rather than

over decades -- !!

Among many other gimmicks to defraud the public and destroy the postal service --

[defendandprotect]

34. This is purposeful destruction of the postal service system -- !!

[Scruffy1]

37. Just a thought about letter carriers.

I have sister who is a letter carrier in a small Iowa city. She's the one person who makes the rounds everyday and notices anything unusual like someone not taking their mail from the box. In a small town populated by a lot of old people more than once she has been the one to make sure the occupants are ok or perhaps have suffered a medical probl

[plumbob]

47. Correct and thank you. Our carriers also pick up canned goods for the

local food bank at no charge to us or the bank twice a year.

Fedex would be glad to do the same. No,wait.

[KamaAina]

109. Yup. And that food drive is organized by...

...NALC, the carriers' union. That's right, a union. How dare those evil America-haters feed the hungry? :sarcasm:

[earcandle]

41. When our systems of communication break down we are collapsed.

[Politicalboi]

42. Raise the stamp to a dollar

People pay more for a phone call these days. A hand delivered letter should be worth more than 44 cents.

[mrmpa]

44. pre-funding of health care which was mandated by congress is..

the problem. The pre-funding was seen as a loan by congress and the money was used for other purposes than health care. What is needed is for congress to pay back to the Postal Service what was borrowed and pay it back with interest.

[expatriate2mex]

50. It doesn't need to be done away with,

it does need to be fixed though. I'm a retired postal worker, npmhu union steward, and that place is horribly ran and managed. I hate to say it, but the npmhu was pretty bad also. They never followed through on a single money greivance I filed, hard to get management lined out that way. Management seemed to want to run it into the ground. I never gave up though, I kept filing them.

I know I will get hammered for saying something negative about the union, but it's getting to the falling apart stage and I hate to see it happen. They stood around and watched a lot of mailhandler jobs get killed. We were affiliated with the afl-cio, you would think they would be fired up. I STILL have my union card in my wallet, a retired member is still a member.

The nalc and apwu stood behind their rep's better, but were still lax. The unions need to be vigilant at all times.

[hay rick]

80. Saving jobs vs. saving workers.

You can't save the jobs if the mail volume isn't there. And automation eliminates jobs. Consolidating facilities also eliminates jobs. What USPS could do is ameliorate the impact on employees as much as possible. Sadly, the welfare of the employees is not even a blip on their radar screen.

Sorry to hear about your frustration with your union. I am currently a steward for NALC. Fortunately, I haven't encountered the same problems with money grievances. I represent 40 carriers and at least 5 got paid through the grievance procedure in the last year, including a removal case in which the grievant got over 3 months back pay.

While the Postal Service is poorly managed, that is not the primary source of their fiscal problems. Their real problem is that they are hamstrung by political interference. Retiree health care prefunding. Unrefunded pension overpayments. The inability to raise rates commensurate with costs (see fuel surcharges at UPS, for example). The inability to provide allied services a la the UPS store...

[expatriate2mex]

81. I'm glad they are supporting you.

The NALC was the most supportive at our facility, there were probably about the same amount of . Our loss of jobs came as a result of just wanting to get rid of mailhandlers, clerks started replacing us and the local would not support us. They traded off our grievances for something that would benefit them at the local (6 hours away). We were in a right to work state and when I retired there were only 2 left as members quit due to lack of support, that was out of 15 left and a number of jobs being killed. That went from all but 2 being members. The last I heard there were only 3 mailhandlers there now.

I will add the lack of support contributed to the members quitting, not the other way around. You can only tell them "they are going to support us this time....." so many times till they give up.

I know most unions are not like this, it's just a shame ours was. Best of luck to you and the guys.

[The Second Stone]

53. This will hit the red states the hardest

as postal service in urban areas doesn't lose money or anywhere near as much.

[lovelyrita]

54. Why is is that the main reason for this crisis is so far down

in the article?

"They add that a major factor for the post office’s $20 billion in losses over the past four years is a 2006 law requiring the postal service to pay an average of $5.5 billion annually for 10 years to finance retiree health costs for the next 75 years."

This law was passed to hurt the postal service. How can they compete with anyone with having to pay all this money up front?

[Dover]

63. The private companies don't want to compete with cost-regulated government entities.

They desperately want to eliminate government-funded, regulated entities, just like the utilities.
So they "drown them in a bathtub" of financial debt or write laws that tie their hands.
There seems to be very little interest or effort from EITHER party to stop it. Very telling...
And people still think change can come from the top down? It's very apparent that representative government is dead.

[hay rick]

85. Trying to hide the obvious.

Very first paragraph:
"The United States Postal Service has long lived on the financial edge, but it has never been as close to the precipice as it is today: the agency is so low on cash that it will not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment due this month and may have to shut down entirely this winter unless Congress takes emergency action to stabilize its finances."
No mention of what the payment is for.

From paragraph 9:
"Missing the $5.5 billion payment due on Sept. 30, intended to finance retirees’ future health care, won’t cause immediate disaster."
The reason for the payment is safely tucked away in a subordinate clause.

Finally, paragraph 15:
"Postal service officials say one reason for their high costs is that they are legally required to provide universal service, making deliveries to 150 million addresses nationwide each week. They add that a major factor for the post office’s $20 billion in losses over the past four years is a 2006 law requiring the postal service to pay an average of $5.5 billion annually for 10 years to finance retiree health costs for the next 75 years."

The construction "they add" minimizes the importance of what follows. Saying that the pre-funding requirement is a "major factor" in the post office's losses is a misrepresentation that diverts attention from the fact that the pre-funding requirement actually accounts for the ENTIRE loss over that time period.

[Strelnikov_]

96. Have seen a lot of articles playing the same game you point out

The agenda is becoming obvious.

[goforit]

56. Oooops! I quess we won't be able to pay our bills now.

Or even send in our owed TAXES!!!

[zogofzorkon]

59. Make them the new banking system. The infrastructure is in place.

There is a history <http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/museum/1d_postalsavings.html>

[Taverner]

60. National Takeover

Bring 'em back in, fix em, then sell em again like Nixon did

Costs money to make money

[begin_within]

62. Why don't they just raise their rates? Mostly they carry business advertising mail now.

Businesses are still going to pay the higher rate, because it's still a very good deal compared to any other way they could get the piece to the customer's hands. That's the solution, not layoffs.

[plumbob]

71. The Postal Rate Commission won't allow it. The PO does not control

their own rates.

[bongbong]

64. Third World America

America will officially become Third World just in time for the Koch Brothers to declare another record-breaking profit year!

Jezuz Luvs USA! USA! USA!

[bongbong]

66. Constitution?

Hey, who cares if it is in the Constitution? The only thing that matters is the 2nd Amendment!

Jeezus Luvs Your Guns! Jeezus Luvs When You Shoot An Evildoer! USA! USA!

[penndragon69]

68. Blame congress.

Congress forces the postal service to pay 5 billion dollars into retirement and pension accounts every year...no exception.
The problem is that the fund accounts are fully funded but they still have to fork over the money each year.
The postal service had tried to get congress to give them a waiver from these mandatory over payments, but they refuse to budge.
If the postal service did not have to make these extra payments, they would be in the BLACK, and making a profit.
Congress will squeeze them until they are fully privatized and rendered obsolete.
Goodbye 45 cent postage, hello $50 a month subscription mail service.
Teavangelicle neo-con fascists are disgusting!

[Swede Atlanta]

70. I hope they can pull this together but .......

I have hoped that the Postal Service could re-create itself in light of changes in technology and usage. It appears they have been unable to do this in any appreciable way. I can't imagine what Cantor and Boehner will do as they near default. I can suspect privatization will be on the table with the winner paying much less than market value and then watch postal rates go up several hundred percent and availability evaporate.

[Ed Suspicious]

74. It sounds to me like it's not about recreation.

It sounds like it's about congress finding a golden goose and killing it off with greed.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

75. Oh well, I am sure the tea baggers will bring this to a swift resolution

Given their commitment to the original intent of the constitution and all,

[Jakes Progress]

78. gomer norquist wins. America loses.

The PO should be the poster boy for privatization.

[julian09]

83. Rates will go up like Cable or Sat TV

They will create new stamps and charge you for them whether you use them or not.:crazy:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

99. Maybe the Post Office will go bankrupt

The USPS might be pushing for a GM- or KMart-style "fakeruptcy". They can go bankrupt, and without missing a delivery or losing a penny, can rid themselves of obligations to employee contracts, retirees, etc. They can close "losing" post offices, leaving people with long drives to pick up their mail.

The USPS is dead. Long live the USPS.

:hi:

[formercia]

112. Drama

Save me or I'll kill myself.


Perhaps the CEO would take a cut in Pay. That should cover it.

[4_TN_TITANS]

106. They'll never let the post office shut down...

That is how all those precious financial institutions get their bills to you.