USPS

jumprightinit

jumprightinit

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The USPS says they are going to stop Saturday mail delivery but still deliver packages on Saturdays. They ended up the year $16 Billion in the red by dropping Saturday mail delivery they say they can save $2 Billion next year. Just watch, they will be $18 Billion in the hole this year.
 
Just saw a news report on CNN where the House of Representatives have five post offices in the building...Most are wanting the Post Office to close some of them as a cost savings and they are not all really needed...Bureaucratic balking on the matter on the part of the USPS....
 
It's their gross amount of unefficiency that's killing them. I heard from someone in my business class that when he lived in a small town in California, which may explain a lot about this story, if they wanted to send a letter accross the small town, it would first go down the hill to San Bernadino and then come back. Only the Government would think that would be efficient.
 
I was kind of wondering if anyone was going to pipe up about what the postal service's real problem is, or at least a very big one.

There are those in the government who seem to feel that the postal service would be way better off as a private corporation, the same party that would have liked to and still does turn social security over as a wallstreet managed entity.

Efforts have been underway for some time to interfere with USPS profits and ability to generate more in order to further this concept of turning the PO over to private management where it can theoretically be better managed (can you see future bailouts when it is mismanaged?).

The postal service was forced to have to pay into it's own retirement fund the amount needed to insure it's full load over the next 30 years, but at an accelerated period that amounts to something like $11 billion a year.

Other efforts to hamper the ability of the post office to make more money have been successfully done as well, such as the proposed ability for post offices to offer many other services such as copies, faxing, selling commonly used shipping and office supplies that would make sense to be able to get when you go to the post office. Politicians have been actively blocking post office business plans because they do not want the post office to do well, it doesn't fit the plan to make it a private entity.
 
Read the Postal Reorganization Act of 1971, they are supposed to be self sufficient, and not make a profit or lose money in the long term. The problem is Congress won't let them operate efficiently. When they tried to close the one horse town post offices that cost about $100,000 a year to operate, the Congress stopped them because of public out cry. The people would still get mail service, it would be rural routes, but the want their post offices.

When expense increase, the post office cannot raise prices until they go though the postal rate commission which is controlled by Congress. While Fedex and UPS can change rates as needed, the post office has to wait on Congressional approval.

If the post office is privatized, the expense to the taxpayers will increase. The reason being, no company will take over the remote rural areas that the post office now serves 6 days a week. The only way the remote area will get service will be with government subsidies, that will come from our tax dollars. Just like Fedex and UPS uses the post office today to deliver to remote areas so will the replacement companies.
 
Originally Posted By: woodguru
There are those in the government who seem to feel that the postal service would be way better off as a private corporation, the same party that would have liked to and still does turn social security over as a wallstreet managed entity.

Efforts have been underway for some time to interfere with USPS profits and ability to generate more in order to further this concept of turning the PO over to private management where it can theoretically be better managed (can you see future bailouts when it is mismanaged?).

Other efforts to hamper the ability of the post office to make more money have been successfully done as well, such as the proposed ability for post offices to offer many other services such as copies, faxing, selling commonly used shipping and office supplies that would make sense to be able to get when you go to the post office. Politicians have been actively blocking post office business plans because they do not want the post office to do well, it doesn't fit the plan to make it a private entity.

I'm dubious about your claim. Do you have any links to substaniate that it's the evil Republicans and not the inefficiency of the Postal Service? Or perhaps the powerful unions? I would not want folks to think this is just a figment of your imagination,again.
 
Originally Posted By: varhunterIt's their gross amount of unefficiency that's killing them. I heard from someone in my business class that when he lived in a small town in California, which may explain a lot about this story, if they wanted to send a letter accross the small town, it would first go down the hill to San Bernadino and then come back. Only the Government would think that would be efficient.

Same thing here. If you mail something 2 miles or 20 away it goes on a 6 hour round trip to be prossesed.
 
Originally Posted By: frozenbuttOriginally Posted By: varhunterIt's their gross amount of unefficiency that's killing them. I heard from someone in my business class that when he lived in a small town in California, which may explain a lot about this story, if they wanted to send a letter accross the small town, it would first go down the hill to San Bernadino and then come back. Only the Government would think that would be efficient.

Same thing here. If you mail something 2 miles or 20 away it goes on a 6 hour round trip to be prossesed.

The local volume doesn't justify full time employees to handle the low volume. Part time employment is a major problem, the people don't make enough to make a living, so the need another job, so they cannot be available at drop of the hat because of fluctuation in volume. It also cost less to truck it to be run through machines than have people hand sort the few pieces of mail at local post offices. The cost of the machines along with maintenance personel would also be an additional expense.
 
Originally Posted By: woodguru
Efforts have been underway for some time to interfere with USPS profits and ability to generate more in order to further this concept of turning the PO over to private management where it can theoretically be better managed (can you see future bailouts when it is mismanaged?).



The profitable areas, like major towns and extremely large cities will be easy to sell. The money losing areas, the remote rural areas and the small towns will not be easy to sell. These areas will either go back to being government run post offices or the buys will receive massive taxpayer subsidies. The small towns and remote rural areas are now subsidized by the cost of postage. That funding will be lost if privatized. The cost of postage will also increase when ever the new owners want it to, just like UPS and FedEx, they will be able to recoup the increase in fuel costs on a regular basis. Currently the post office has to ask the rate commission for increases, and they are controlled by Congress, and PUBLIC OPINION.

Yes, sell the post office, it will become the one of the largest cluster plucks every created by Congress. Or make Congress let them run it as a business without Congressional bull shirt.
 
No links to show it's the evil republicans Woodguru? Here's one:


"But post office officials say the cuts, rate increases and staff reductions are not enough to make up for the two reasons it is losing money. One is a requirement that it pay nearly $5.5 billion a year for health benefits to future retirees, a mandate imposed on no other government agency. Second, since 2007, first-class mail volume has declined by 37 percent as use of e-mail and online payment services has soared." Oops,looks like it's not the Republicans ha.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/us/postal-service-plans-to-end-saturday-delivery.html?_r=0
 
And, the reason for the $5.5 Billion a Year for health benefits for people who aren't even hired at this point would be....

Quote:Also, postal worker unions hold sway over some lawmakers who are influential in writing legislation that governs the agency.
 
A full-time postal worker with 15 years on the job gets:

1. 26 days per year of paid annual leave.
2. 10 paid holidays per year.
3. 13 paid sick days per year.

That's 49 days off each year with pay.

Plus 12 workweeks each year of unpaid leave for qualifying events under the FMLA.

Plus an enviable healthcare plan which is:

"The Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP), administered by the Office of Personnel Management, is among the most generous and popular of all postal benefit plans."

And you wonder why the USPS is always losing money?
 
And, the reason for the 49 days off annually, and unpaid leave annually, and envious health care plan would be...

Quote:Also, postal worker unions hold sway over some lawmakers who are influential in writing legislation that governs the agency.
 
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