Post Office in Trouble!

[greg334]

I'm not going to slam you for that, it is rather a complex and stupid way of putting together a government program, just like fanny and fredie.

The thing is they have to go to congress because congress has approved their charter and in it they have an obligation to follow the policies that congress passes. The president no longer has much if anything to do with it and while it all sounds great, I think if it was left in its' form that it was in say in the 40's maybe we wouldn't face the problems we have with it now.

 

[Dakota]

Greg..UPS gets lazy out here and if it's under 50 pounds, they drop if off at the post office and we still have to go pick it up.

Funny because UPS is not allowed to deliver to PO boxes

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

 

[AMonger]

President should Executive Order....Fire them all...kick out the unions and start all over again....
BUT they'll probably just throw more gas on the fire instead...

You think this jackball of a president is going to harm a union? He follows the union philosophy of "better the entire ship go down than THE MAN make a buck."

 

[AMonger]

Comic Ron White just tweeted a solution to the problems at the USPS, just minutes ago: make envelopes and stamps taste like something normal men like, which I can't mention here. The number of stamps purchased will skyrocket.

 

[Moot]

The costs are partially to blame for the unions but the bigger costs are involved with mismanagement of the system and yes ... the 6 day delivery, which by the way the president doesn't have the power to change.

The biggest problem with the USPS is their discount bulk mail rates and using profits from First Class mail to subsidize bulk mail. Either raise the bulk mail rates or sell off the bulk mail service.

 

[jujubeans]

The biggest problem with the USPS is their discount bulk mail rates and using profits from First Class mail to subsidize bulk mail. Either raise the bulk mail rates or sell off the bulk mail service.

Their bulk mail is the only thing keeping the post office afloat..First class mail has been down the tubes since the internet.

 

[greg334]

Moot, as juju pointed out, the bulk mail is the mainstay of their business and has been for about 15 years now. It used to be that they actually made a slight profit on the first class and parcel mail but not now.

 

[jujubeans]

Moot, as juju pointed out, the bulk mail is the mainstay of their business and has been for about 15 years now. It used to be that they actually made a slight profit on the first class and parcel mail but not now.

Gosh I love it when you say I'm right....

 

[mcavoy33]

The USPS needs to increase the cost of a stamp and stop subsidizing advertisers. Pass on the true cost of advertising and it won't be losing a mint.

If they are charging me $5 to get my invoices to work in 2-3 days, why are they only charging advertisers a fraction of that to get in everyone's mailbox? Start charging them proper rates and the problem will be solved.

Stamps need to be at least $1.

 

[mcavoy33]

The biggest problem with the USPS is their discount bulk mail rates and using profits from First Class mail to subsidize bulk mail. Either raise the bulk mail rates or sell off the bulk mail service.

I see I was beaten to the punch. They need to treat it as a business.

 

[Dakota]

There hands are basically tied everytime they want to raise rates it takes an act of congress, literally

 

[greg334]

There hands are basically tied everytime they want to raise rates it takes an act of congress, literally

Yeah and that is what is supposed to happen. They are under the control of congress and they have to have permission to set rates, pass a budget and so on.

Even if there is a move to make it a private run company, this will take an act of congress and then may have to modify the constitution to allow it.

 

[Moot]

Their bulk mail is the only thing keeping the post office afloat..First class mail has been down the tubes since the internet.

While First Class mail has taken a hit with the popularity of E-mail and on-line banking, etc, everything I have read about the USPS states that First Class mail subsidizes bulk rate mail. The Green Hornet's little yellow friend had this to say about First Class mail revenues:

In 2009, USPS revenues totaled $68 billion, or $7 billion lower than 2008. About 88 percent of the revenue was generated by "market-dominant" products including first-class mail and standard mail (bulk advertising and direct-mail solicitations). First-class mail, which is the most profitable, accounted for 52 percent of those revenues. The remaining 12 percent of the USPS’s revenue came from competitive products including Express Mail, Priority Mail, bulk parcel post, and bulk international mail.
From the Cato Institute: Privatizing The U.S. Postal Service by Tad DeHaven. Privatizing the U.S. Postal Service | Downsizing the Federal Government

Also check out another not so flattering piece from the Cato Institute: The Last Dinosaur: The U.S. Postal Service