Save the Post office from our government

[Harry Dresden]

Congressman Finally Takes Action To Remove Needless Requirement Bankrupting The Postal Service | ThinkProgress

About 80% of USPS financial losses since 2007 are due to a Congressional mandate to prefund 75 years of future retiree health benefits over 10 years. In 2012 USPS lost a record $15.9 billion, but $11.1 billion of that loss went to prefund healthcare. This must change.

USPS shouldn’t move to 5-day delivery. This would only save 3%, risk further revenue losses, and slow mail delivery.

USPS needs to re-establish overnight delivery standards to ensure the timely delivery of mail and prevent the closure of mail plants.

USPS needs to generate more revenue by ending a 2006 ban prohibiting USPS from offering new products and services.

Due to the fact that under normal circumstances current workers fund the pensions of current pensioners, no doubt this will set up a battle between those who've retired and drawing pensions and those currently working.
I disagree. 5 days per week is enough.
The USPS should not be in the business of competing with companies that are set up to perform overnight service. Those other firms, do this much more cost effectively, more efficiently and with greater reliability.
Let the USPS do what it is good at. Delivering pieces of mail at a low cost to any destination across the nation for the same price.
The USPS should be downsized ,streamlined and run like a for profit business.
Cut out the fat. Get rid of the excessive number of supervisory people who really don't do anything productive.
The USPS CAN work. And work well. The federal government just has to get out of the mail business.
Workers should be contributing MUCH more toward their health insurance and pensions. They should also be contributing to Social Security.
Lastly but most importantly, kick out the postal worker's union. No public employee should be represented by a labor collective.

Due to the fact that under normal circumstances current workers fund the pensions of current pensioners, no doubt this will set up a battle between those who've retired and drawing pensions and those currently working.
just like i did for the guys before me.....i put in my 33 years and i expect to get just what they said i would get if i put in 30 years....
I disagree. 5 days per week is enough.....
if you worked there you might not think so....

The USPS should not be in the business of competing with companies that are set up to perform overnight service. Those other firms, do this much more cost effectively, more efficiently and with greater reliability.


the PO developed overnight Mail back in 1970 and Congress let Fed-X run away with it because it took them 5-6 years to give them the ok to get into it.....but Fed-X does not do it anymore efficiently and reliable than the PO in spite of what you may have heard.....i talked with the 2 drivers on my route and the businesses that use both of them.....it sounds about the same.....

The USPS should be downsized ,streamlined and run like a for profit business.

the first two they have been doing the last one they are held back by Congress....

Cut out the fat. Get rid of the excessive number of supervisory people who really don't do anything productive.

every carrier and clerk and front line supervisor has been saying this for 30 years .....

Workers should be contributing MUCH more toward their health insurance and pensions.
every contract we ended up paying a little more

They should also be contributing to Social Security.

anyone hired after 1984 i believe was the year.....have been....

Lastly but most importantly, kick out the postal worker's union. No public employee should be represented by a labor collective


why?.....do you think postal management is so wonderful you get treated better than a private place?....and dont tell me about OSHA and the Dep of Labor....please....

 

[kaz]

If it you cannot substantiate, then it is false.

Can you prove the bottom of the ocean is wet, or do you admit that the statement the bottom of the ocean is wet is false?

Common knowledge of the one does not mean common knowledge makes your silly statement accurate.

You can never win a semantics match with me. Ever.

You just showed that. You can never win a match versus girl logic. Girls do have something worthwhile you don't though...

 

[Harry Dresden]

There is a ton of fat that can be trimmed before anything else is proposed. Saturday delivery and getting rid of the post offices that don't do enough business to cover their payroll would be a good start.

They wouldn't have to trim anything if they didn't have to provide 75 years worth of retirement and medical. Did you even read the link?

That's nonsense. And thinkprogress has a pro labor liberal agenda.
Come on now.
The notion that every place with a zip code must have a post office is ludicrous.
In densely populated areas, PO's can easily be combined. We don;t travel by horse back anymore. So there is no excuse for people who don't choose to get their mail delivered to home, to not go to the local PO...
There are so many aspects of the USPS that defy logic. The example above is just one of those.

that is not PO logic spoon.....it was mandated by Congress years ago for every zip to have a PO.....now that has been overridden...and the last few years they have been combining....but some of the offices they have been shutting down,like the one i was in....was ridiculous....

 

[JakeStarkey]

Can you prove the bottom of the ocean is wet, or do you admit that the statement the bottom of the ocean is wet is false?

Common knowledge of the one does not mean common knowledge makes your silly statement accurate.

You can never win a semantics match with me. Ever.

You just showed that. You can never win a match versus girl logic. Girls do have something worthwhile you don't though...

 

[Harry Dresden]

They wouldn't have to trim anything if they didn't have to provide 75 years worth of retirement and medical. Did you even read the link?

The whole thing stinks of the UPS/FEDEX lobby.

Oh please.. Can we please keep out the conspiracy theories....

especially since all 3 work together.....they do have their differences .....but they do work together.....

 

[OohPooPahDoo]

Correct! There is a little town near here with a population of less than 2,000 that has it's own PO....Just a couple miles away is a larger town that also has it's own PO....Both towns could easily be serviced by one office. Each town has a postmaster. A position that no doubt pays quite a hefty sum. That is WASTE.

You're talking about the Post Office as if its purpose is to generate profit.

In order to be self sustaining, it SHOULD turn a profit.

Incorrect. To self sustain it only needs to break even.

 

[JakeStarkey]

You're talking about the Post Office as if its purpose is to generate profit.

In order to be self sustaining, it SHOULD turn a profit.

Incorrect. To self sustain it only needs to break even.

Yup.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Service first, as efficiently as possible, but always service before profit.

Anyone who puts profit in government before service needs to be booted out.

Why do you believe the two must be mutually exclusive?

Because business is about profit, government is about service.

In a perfect world you'd be correct. However, in looking at career politicians, greed, graft and corruption, it is painfully obvious government is not about service. Rather it is about self enrichment.
Now, the USPS operates AS any business. It performs services for which customers must pay. The USPS has a budget, pays employees, has accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.
The USPS IS a business. A business that in an indirect manner, belongs to the people of the USA....
The USPS should operate with the same type model as any other business.
The current model under which the USPS operates is impossible to sustain.
It has to be revamped in its entirety.

 

[thereisnospoon]

You're talking about the Post Office as if its purpose is to generate profit.

In order to be self sustaining, it SHOULD turn a profit.

Incorrect. To self sustain it only needs to break even.

No....If the USPS is to grow, it needs to turn a profit.

Look, the jobs of postal workers can no longer be protected. The USPS should be cut loose and subject to the economic realities that affect any other market based business.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Why do you believe the two must be mutually exclusive?

Because business is about profit, government is about service.

In a perfect world you'd be correct. However, in looking at career politicians, greed, graft and corruption, it is painfully obvious government is not about service. Rather it is about self enrichment.
Now, the USPS operates AS any business. It performs services for which customers must pay. The USPS has a budget, pays employees, has accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.
The USPS IS a business. A business that in an indirect manner, belongs to the people of the USA....
The USPS should operate with the same type model as any other business.
The current model under which the USPS operates is impossible to sustain.
It has to be revamped in its entirety.

talk to your congress.....whenever the PO got a REAL business guy in there running the place he usually resigns because his hands are tied by Congress.....

 

[thereisnospoon]

Because business is about profit, government is about service.

In a perfect world you'd be correct. However, in looking at career politicians, greed, graft and corruption, it is painfully obvious government is not about service. Rather it is about self enrichment.
Now, the USPS operates AS any business. It performs services for which customers must pay. The USPS has a budget, pays employees, has accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.
The USPS IS a business. A business that in an indirect manner, belongs to the people of the USA....
The USPS should operate with the same type model as any other business.
The current model under which the USPS operates is impossible to sustain.
It has to be revamped in its entirety.

talk to your congress.....whenever the PO got a REAL business guy in there running the place he usually resigns because his hands are tied by Congress.....

I cannot fathom how it is this garbage is permitted to continue.

 

[Lakhota]

In order to be self sustaining, it SHOULD turn a profit.

Incorrect. To self sustain it only needs to break even.

No....If the USPS is to grow, it needs to turn a profit.

Look, the jobs of postal workers can no longer be protected. The USPS should be cut loose and subject to the economic realities that affect any other market based business.

Why does the USPS need to "turn a profit"...?

The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office and U.S. Mail, is an independent agency of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. The USPS traces its roots to 1775 during the Second Continental Congress, where Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general. The cabinet-level Post Office Department was created in 1792 from Franklin's operation and transformed into its current form in 1971 under the Postal Reorganization Act.

More: United States Postal Service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[thereisnospoon]

Incorrect. To self sustain it only needs to break even.

No....If the USPS is to grow, it needs to turn a profit.

Look, the jobs of postal workers can no longer be protected. The USPS should be cut loose and subject to the economic realities that affect any other market based business.

Why does the USPS need to "turn a profit"...?

The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office and U.S. Mail, is an independent agency of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. The USPS traces its roots to 1775 during the Second Continental Congress, where Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general. The cabinet-level Post Office Department was created in 1792 from Franklin's operation and transformed into its current form in 1971 under the Postal Reorganization Act.

More: United States Postal Service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's a business in a competitive marketplace. Why not?
Is it better to keep it as is. A wasteful bloated agency that is in part a warehouse for employees who don't produce any work?
Forget 'protecting jobs'...That's crap. You people are all about 'save the post office' I want my Saturday mail'...Ok fine. Not the way the USPS is currently operating.
Can't have it both ways.
I'm not interested in the history of the USPS because that is immaterial to the discussion.
The USPS is on the verge of financial disaster. First class mail volume if down 25% in the last 5 years. People are SICK of junk mail.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Save the Post office from our government

Nonsense.

The Post Office was ruined when it as taken from the government, it started to fail when it was run like a private business – which was clear idiocy.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Why do you believe the two must be mutually exclusive?

Because business is about profit, government is about service.

In a perfect world you'd be correct. However, in looking at career politicians, greed, graft and corruption, it is painfully obvious government is not about service. Rather it is about self enrichment.
Now, the USPS operates AS any business. It performs services for which customers must pay. The USPS has a budget, pays employees, has accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.
The USPS IS a business. A business that in an indirect manner, belongs to the people of the USA....
The USPS should operate with the same type model as any other business.
The current model under which the USPS operates is impossible to sustain.
It has to be revamped in its entirety.

Either you are clearly unaware of the situation, or you are acting deceitfully. The current model of the USPS is a deliberate suicide pill created by a GOP Congress, and you know it.

It can't make a profit because the Congress created a law structure that prevents profit.

Remove the law, not revamp the USPS.

 

[Nova78]

Stick a fork in it -its done - hard to say which is more worthless -a mailman or fireman.

Over the past 35 years, the number of fires in the United States has fallen by more than 40% while the number of career firefighters has increased by more than 40% .

 

[thereisnospoon]

Because business is about profit, government is about service.

In a perfect world you'd be correct. However, in looking at career politicians, greed, graft and corruption, it is painfully obvious government is not about service. Rather it is about self enrichment.
Now, the USPS operates AS any business. It performs services for which customers must pay. The USPS has a budget, pays employees, has accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.
The USPS IS a business. A business that in an indirect manner, belongs to the people of the USA....
The USPS should operate with the same type model as any other business.
The current model under which the USPS operates is impossible to sustain.
It has to be revamped in its entirety.

Either you are clearly unaware of the situation, or you are acting deceitfully. The current model of the USPS is a deliberate suicide pill created by a GOP Congress, and you know it.

It can't make a profit because the Congress created a law structure that prevents profit.

Remove the law, not revamp the USPS.

You juts cannot get away from 'protecting jobs'...
Stop it.
The USPS bleeds money and it is NOT solely because of the pension obligation.
There are several factors. Some of which have been discussed here.
There are too many PO's in small towns that do not require a PO. There are too many managers and supervisors who don't produce work.
There are mail routes which make no sense.
For example.....
Zip Code 28127..This is in central NC..The zip code covers two counties. The counties are divided by a lake which is ten miles long and has one bridge at each end. The post office is located in the town of New London., Stanly County...The post office is easily a 15 mile drive from the homes on the other side of the lake. Carriers must either traverse the river to the north of the lake or to the south to get to their routes. It's lunacy. There is a PO that is much closer to the homes on the east side of the lake, but the USPS in its infinite wisdom will make no changes.
And tucked right between two larger towns is this little sliver of land called Misenheimer, NC. Zip 28109..This town, if you want to call it that, has a grand total of......FOURTEEN households....There is a post office there.
So you tell me, so you will now tell me for the sake of whatever your agenda may be, this makes complete sense.

 

[Harry Dresden]

No....If the USPS is to grow, it needs to turn a profit.

Look, the jobs of postal workers can no longer be protected. The USPS should be cut loose and subject to the economic realities that affect any other market based business.

Why does the USPS need to "turn a profit"...?

The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office and U.S. Mail, is an independent agency of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. The USPS traces its roots to 1775 during the Second Continental Congress, where Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general. The cabinet-level Post Office Department was created in 1792 from Franklin's operation and transformed into its current form in 1971 under the Postal Reorganization Act.

More: United States Postal Service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's a business in a competitive marketplace. Why not?
Is it better to keep it as is. A wasteful bloated agency that is in part a warehouse for employees who don't produce any work?
Forget 'protecting jobs'...That's crap. You people are all about 'save the post office' I want my Saturday mail'...Ok fine. Not the way the USPS is currently operating.
Can't have it both ways.
I'm not interested in the history of the USPS because that is immaterial to the discussion.
The USPS is on the verge of financial disaster. First class mail volume if down 25% in the last 5 years. People are SICK of junk mail.

part a warehouse for employees who don't produce any work?

they don't?......come on down and carry a few routes.....it might change your opinion.....

People are SICK of junk mail

it is considered the most effective way to advertise....which is why that stuff just keeps on coming....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Save the Post office from our government

Nonsense.

The Post Office was ruined when it as taken from the government, it started to fail when it was run like a private business – which was clear idiocy.

you have no idea what you are saying......it was never taken from the Govt.....it is an independent Govt agency that is still governed by Congress and the Board of Governors and the Postal Rate Commission....and it is not run like a private business.....no where near it.....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Because business is about profit, government is about service.

In a perfect world you'd be correct. However, in looking at career politicians, greed, graft and corruption, it is painfully obvious government is not about service. Rather it is about self enrichment.
Now, the USPS operates AS any business. It performs services for which customers must pay. The USPS has a budget, pays employees, has accounts payable, accounts receivable, etc.
The USPS IS a business. A business that in an indirect manner, belongs to the people of the USA....
The USPS should operate with the same type model as any other business.
The current model under which the USPS operates is impossible to sustain.
It has to be revamped in its entirety.

Either you are clearly unaware of the situation, or you are acting deceitfully. The current model of the USPS is a deliberate suicide pill created by a GOP Congress, and you know it.

It can't make a profit because the Congress created a law structure that prevents profit.

Remove the law, not revamp the USPS.

Jake that "suicide" pill was also backed by quite a few Democrats.....and if you notice today's Democrats are not doing much about that Pill.....