Why does Congress insist on destroying the Postal Service?

[ShaklesOfBigGov]

Why does Congress insist on destroying the Postal Service?

The USPS ought to be abolished.

Going Postal

Daniel McAdams

The USPS is a Soviet nightmare. Want to rent a P.O. box? Be prepared to fill out an extensive and invasive application form and prove that everything on it is accurate.

People hate the USPS so much they look for any possible alternative. Which is one reason they lose a ton of money. Then come crying to the taxpayer to bail them out.

Just last month the USPS told us they lost $1.9 billion in the second quarter of the year. The Postal Service says it is in desperate need of legislation to help make them “more competitive.” Only government action can make them competitive!

“‘To return the Postal Service to solvency requires a comprehensive approach, which is reflected in our updated Five-Year Business Plan,’ said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe.”

Five year plan? Where have we heard that before? Oh yes…

So now we hear that the same USPS that cannot operate without massive financial losses — even with a monopoly on first class mail delivery — somehow has the resources to photograph the front and back of each piece of mail processed!

They cannot deliver our mail properly, cannot operate at a profit, cannot provide anything resembling customer service beyond the 1950s East Europe model, yet somehow they have unlimited resources to play big brother with all our postal communications."

.

This is about the liberal mindset that somehow, government can perform a task at greater satisfaction and more efficiently than what can be accomplished through the private sector. They are so quick to demonize when a business makes a profit. Then look to punish those very ones who ARE successful through increased taxes, to make up for every government program that fails to ( grasp the very basic notion of ) work within their own financial means. In a battle of ideologies, the private sector continues to be the more successful in becoming more self efficient while effectively meeting the needs of the people, meanwhile those under it's bureaucratic competitor continues to fail under an increased volume of debt. This is the result of supplying their employees with high benefits they know they can't really afford, while refusing to make cuts that would allow them to work within a "budget" in order to demonstrate they can effectively be competitive. Financial efficiency, after all, is simply a term the government is unfamiliar with.

 

[Harry Dresden]

And I am sure I can "rattle things off" from my profession that he would not be able to comprehend.
WTF does that have to do with the PO?

well lets see....the thread is about the PO.....and you said...."No offense to anyone but people that use snail mail are borderline illiterate".....does that explain it?....is that Prof. borderline illiterate?....

On sending information he is.
Why attach a stamp to a piece of paper when one can scan and e-mail it for free.
And Moe, this is not an indictment of any of the good people that work for the USPS.
Not their fault technology will leave them no longer employed with the USPS.
E-mail, bill pay and scanning is FREE.
USPS is not free and SLOW.

the guy sent packages and large Envelopes.....

 

[Gadawg73]

Close the USPS, let UPS and fedex do it. They seem to know how to deliver things all over the world and still make a profit.

You'll have to amend the Constitution for that.

I prefer knowing there exists an agency that provides legal timestamps in a courtroom.

To this day, I do all bills and checks through the USPS, because I know there's a legal reference point., btw I'm 23 years old.

Chain of custody with UPS and FedEx as well as other delivery companies is as good or better than the USPS.
Bar codes are bar codes. Timestamps are timestamps.
Been gathering them for evidence for years and guess what?
You have to have someone from the USPS come in and validate it before it gets into evidence.
And that is harder to do than with a private company.
FYI, any time stamp can be entered into evidence with the proper tendering of it.

 

[ShaklesOfBigGov]

I read, but I also understand. The Constitution authorizes the federal government to create a Post Office. It doesn't mandate the government to do so.

Learn the difference.

There is no difference.

And you were completely wrong..and are now trying to play word games.

Using your logic:

To provide and maintain a navy;

Isn't a mandate..it's a suggestion!



What a fool you are..

Why can't we allow for cuts rather than increased funding to the United States Post Office, hasn't Congress already accepted continued budget cuts to the Pentagon? I'm sure there are businesses within the private sector which can make up for the difference in the packages that must continue to be sent, the public most likely won't even feel the difference. You will effectively reduce the size in our government debt through a decrease in Federal spending, the private sector creates more jobs to meet up with the increase in demand, everybody wins!

 

[Gadawg73]

well lets see....the thread is about the PO.....and you said...."No offense to anyone but people that use snail mail are borderline illiterate".....does that explain it?....is that Prof. borderline illiterate?....

On sending information he is.
Why attach a stamp to a piece of paper when one can scan and e-mail it for free.
And Moe, this is not an indictment of any of the good people that work for the USPS.
Not their fault technology will leave them no longer employed with the USPS.
E-mail, bill pay and scanning is FREE.
USPS is not free and SLOW.

the guy sent packages and large Envelopes.....

Good for him.
UPS is quicker and cheaper.
All about choice.
People are choosing not to do business with the USPS.

 

[TooTall]

You ever read this thing??



It just amazing you think of yourself as an American.

I read, but I also understand. The Constitution authorizes the federal government to create a Post Office. It doesn't mandate the government to do so.

Learn the difference.

There is no difference.

And you were completely wrong..and are now trying to play word games.

Using your logic:

To provide and maintain a navy;

Isn't a mandate..it's a suggestion!



What a fool you are..

To establish post offices and post roads;

To provide and maintain a navy;

I see quite a difference. Where does it say they have to MAINTAIN the post office.

 

[candycorn]

The biggest slap Congress has delivered to the USPS, though, is a 2006 decision to make the agency pre-fund its pensions for 75 years, an onerous burden not required of any other government agency, let alone adopted by any private company. Most of the USPS's losses are caused by this requirement. The other factor is the steady decline in First Class mail, as more people use the internet for routine correspondence.

The Postal Service keeps on coming up with plans to make itself profitable, or a least less unprofitable, and Congress keeps saying no or ignoring the USPS's structural issues

I totally agree with you that Congress seems to have it in for the USPS. The mandates are clearly an attempt to go after the postal service.

By the same token It needs to be privatized over the next 10-20 years.

Eventually it will dawn on whichver company(s) get the privatization contract that they can't do it for a price anywhere near the cost it will need to be kept at and it will again have to be subsidized. People will still need to be able to mail their bills and such so you can't just get rid of the service all together.

The smart thing to do would be to shift the cost to the creditor/service provider who can supply SASEs through the BRM program. It won't happen but that is what needs to transpire.

 

[bripat9643]

You ever read this thing??



It just amazing you think of yourself as an American.

I read, but I also understand. The Constitution authorizes the federal government to create a Post Office. It doesn't mandate the government to do so.

Learn the difference.

There is no difference.

And you were completely wrong..and are now trying to play word games.

Using your logic:

To provide and maintain a navy;

Isn't a mandate..it's a suggestion!



What a fool you are..

Thanks for proving you are a moron.

 

[Redfish]

So, again, what is the postal service wanting to do, to change with the times? You answered yes, yes what?

You said nothing. What specific plans do they want to deploy and how does it help them?

to let the people they hire to run the show....run it.....here is an example......back in the early 90's scanning technology started,such as scanning delivered parcels as delivered....UPS and Fed-x started doing it as soon as it was available....the PMG at that time was Marvin Runyon from Coke a Cola.....he wanted to do it too....but he had to go through this committee that committee....and had to get the useless "Board of Governors" to agree with him and then Congress.....meanwhile 3 years later UPS and Fed-x are already on the next Generation scanners and can keep track of the stuff they scan while the PO was just starting the process....Runyon also thought that the PO needed to be able to make at least a modest profit.....

That makes sense, let those who do, make the changes and make it run smoother. Much better answer than Jake's bizarre answer. It's to bad people like him are in your corner, they tend to hurt, not help you.

The volume of mail is decreasing, what do you think can be done to help it run more efficiently and profitable? Would decreasing the number of sites help or would grouping mail boxes on routes help cut down on costs?

Do away with Saturday delivery, close redundant post offices, cut DC staff by 1/3.

 

[Jackson]

why do you on the right hate the constitution?

Why do you on the left ignore it?

 

[Harry Dresden]

On sending information he is.
Why attach a stamp to a piece of paper when one can scan and e-mail it for free.
And Moe, this is not an indictment of any of the good people that work for the USPS.
Not their fault technology will leave them no longer employed with the USPS.
E-mail, bill pay and scanning is FREE.
USPS is not free and SLOW.

the guy sent packages and large Envelopes.....

Good for him.
UPS is quicker and cheaper.
All about choice.
People are choosing not to do business with the USPS.

UPS is quicker and cheaper.

many a business that i have dealt with will tell you that you are wrong....its all up to the individual isnt it?...

People are choosing not to do business with the USPS

is that why Revenue from package deliveries has continued to grow. Revenue was $2.9 billion, up $237 million, or 8.8 percent, over last year......

 

[Redfish]

the guy sent packages and large Envelopes.....

Good for him.
UPS is quicker and cheaper.
All about choice.
People are choosing not to do business with the USPS.

UPS is quicker and cheaper.

many a business that i have dealt with will tell you that you are wrong....its all up to the individual isnt it?...

People are choosing not to do business with the USPS

is that why Revenue from package deliveries has continued to grow. Revenue was $2.9 billion, up $237 million, or 8.8 percent, over last year......

OK, then why is the USPS never able to make expenses at least equal to income? Why does it always lose money?

The price of postage goes up every few months, but they continue to lose money. Where is it going?

 

[Harry Dresden]

to let the people they hire to run the show....run it.....here is an example......back in the early 90's scanning technology started,such as scanning delivered parcels as delivered....UPS and Fed-x started doing it as soon as it was available....the PMG at that time was Marvin Runyon from Coke a Cola.....he wanted to do it too....but he had to go through this committee that committee....and had to get the useless "Board of Governors" to agree with him and then Congress.....meanwhile 3 years later UPS and Fed-x are already on the next Generation scanners and can keep track of the stuff they scan while the PO was just starting the process....Runyon also thought that the PO needed to be able to make at least a modest profit.....

That makes sense, let those who do, make the changes and make it run smoother. Much better answer than Jake's bizarre answer. It's to bad people like him are in your corner, they tend to hurt, not help you.

The volume of mail is decreasing, what do you think can be done to help it run more efficiently and profitable? Would decreasing the number of sites help or would grouping mail boxes on routes help cut down on costs?

Do away with Saturday delivery, close redundant post offices, cut DC staff by 1/3.

cutting Saturday Delivery has good points and bad points.....one of the major bad points is every Monday would be like a day after a Holiday,depending on the time of year there will be 2-3 x as much mail to be delivered.....and if its a Monday or a weekend Holiday it will take just about the whole week to catch up.....which means overtime.....

 

[Redfish]

That makes sense, let those who do, make the changes and make it run smoother. Much better answer than Jake's bizarre answer. It's to bad people like him are in your corner, they tend to hurt, not help you.

The volume of mail is decreasing, what do you think can be done to help it run more efficiently and profitable? Would decreasing the number of sites help or would grouping mail boxes on routes help cut down on costs?

Do away with Saturday delivery, close redundant post offices, cut DC staff by 1/3.

cutting Saturday Delivery has good points and bad points.....one of the major bad points is every Monday would be like a day after a Holiday,depending on the time of year there will be 2-3 x as much mail to be delivered.....and if its a Monday or a weekend Holiday it will take just about the whole week to catch up.....which means overtime.....

does a couple of hours of overtime cost more or less than 8 hours at straight time?

 

[Harry Dresden]

Good for him.
UPS is quicker and cheaper.
All about choice.
People are choosing not to do business with the USPS.

UPS is quicker and cheaper.

many a business that i have dealt with will tell you that you are wrong....its all up to the individual isnt it?...

People are choosing not to do business with the USPS

is that why Revenue from package deliveries has continued to grow. Revenue was $2.9 billion, up $237 million, or 8.8 percent, over last year......

OK, then why is the USPS never able to make expenses at least equal to income? Why does it always lose money?

The price of postage goes up every few months, but they continue to lose money. Where is it going?

my opinion is because they need REAL Business people running at least the business end of it.....not ex carriers and clerks.....AND they need to let those people run it,not 500 guys in DC who know shit about the place and let them run it more like a business....when Business guys were brought in to be the PMG it was doing better like in the late 80's and Marvin Runyon in the 90's.....but these guys gave it up after being frustrated with Congress or the useless Board of Governors over ruling most of what they wanted to do....
like the PMG in the 90's said....."try running an 80 billion dollar a year Company that is not supposed to make a profit....if you have a 30 million dollar surplus you have to find something to spend it on"....many times it was just blown money.....he was lucky he had something to spend it on....new vehicles....the PO was pretty healthy in the 90's and was making money,Runyon did not like people micro-managing his decisions so he stepped down.....he put up with it for 6 years .....he would have pulled his hair out with the 2006 $5 billion a year ruling....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Do away with Saturday delivery, close redundant post offices, cut DC staff by 1/3.

cutting Saturday Delivery has good points and bad points.....one of the major bad points is every Monday would be like a day after a Holiday,depending on the time of year there will be 2-3 x as much mail to be delivered.....and if its a Monday or a weekend Holiday it will take just about the whole week to catch up.....which means overtime.....

does a couple of hours of overtime cost more or less than 8 hours at straight time?

nationwide 2-3 hours for most of the carriers?.....im sure it would cost something....

 

[Gadawg73]

Question is why does the Post Office lose money.
Decline in mail volume
Advanced payments to cover expected health care costs for future retirees.\

Simple solution:
End all health care costs for all future retirees
Lay off all employees that are not needed for the reduction in mail volume.

 

[blackhawk]

And yet some people thought government could manage to run healthcare go figure.

 

[Gadawg73]

the guy sent packages and large Envelopes.....

Good for him.
UPS is quicker and cheaper.
All about choice.
People are choosing not to do business with the USPS.

UPS is quicker and cheaper.

many a business that i have dealt with will tell you that you are wrong....its all up to the individual isnt it?...

People are choosing not to do business with the USPS

is that why Revenue from package deliveries has continued to grow. Revenue was $2.9 billion, up $237 million, or 8.8 percent, over last year......

LOL, I deal with UPS because they bring it to my damn door and the Post Office leaves a note that the large package is at the post office for me to pick up.
What world do you live in?

USPS loses billions a damn year.
Please join us in the real world.

 

[HenryBHough]

I spend about a hundred fifty bucks a year for a box at a private post office (UPS store). Because the address is a business address UPS charges less to deliver there than to a residential address; the store accepts and signs for deliveries, stores packages safely indoors and requires a signature from a family number to release them. Neighbors think I'm nuts but only until a package dumped on their doorstep is soaked in the rain or disappears.