The United States Postal Service wants to raise stamps to 50 cents and stop Saturday delivery. What they should do is double the postage on advertisement mail because the businesses can write it off on their income tax, and deliver mail on Monday, Wednesday and Friday only. If Christmas falls on Friday: too bad, you deliver mail. Why are we the ones that have to foot the bill every time big business loses money?
Larry Lumsden
Gilbert
Dale Whiting posted at 10:36 am on Wed, Feb 22, 2012.
Larry,
Putting those modest suggestions of yours into practice will not solve the problems. Congress has mandated that the USPS fund it's retirement plan to a degree unpresidented by an indepentent business. The USPS needs to lean way up, needs to cut services to a point comparable with its competitiors, raise prices which are far too cheap, and get a fair break from Congress.
Arizona Willie posted at 1:39 pm on Wed, Feb 22, 2012.
If Congress simply relaxed the pension funding requirements for the Postal Service so they were the same as other government pensions ---- the Postal Service would be fine.
But they do need to raise rates, especially on " junk " mail.
Why do we have to subsidize companies advertising?
There is no reasonable basis for corporations to get a lower rate than everyone else.
Republican businessmen love to whine about welfare etc. etc. and they are some of the biggest beneficiaries of government welfare programs ( yes I know the UPS is independent but it is still run by Congress who mandate the special rate for bulk mail ).
sockratties posted at 2:40 pm on Wed, Feb 22, 2012.
USPS currently has been mandated to pay $55B annually into the retirement fund to prevent the Treasury from having to pay retirement benefits. There are two funds; the pre-existing retirement fund related to postal employees who were under the government Civil Service retirement program and those who are under the newer USPS employee program. The U.S. Treasury funds any supplemental increases in liabilities through tax revenue and borrowing.
This program was set up using data relating to the then larger, more profitable government postal service. The postal service is revising its business model although change is slow because of obligations such as leases, vehicle fleets and congressional mandates. Suggested changes relate to a reduced delivery schedule, not delivering 1st class mail overnight, shifting to more part-time employment, closing of underused facilities and reduction in work force.
The postal service still is required to provide liaison with international mail services, deliver to any domestic address and provide insurance, delivery receipts, registered and certified delivery, postal boxes and retail offices. For many of these services the USPS is the only system that courts accept as legal proof for documentation delivery and reciept.
The USPS plans to reduce its work force by another 140,000 workers by 2015 and close 3700 post offices. It is also shifting the carrier force to more part-time employees and contracting with local stores to handle postal services. Some facilities reductions depend on long term lease commitments and local requirements that are yet to be worked out. All major changes have to be approved by congress where job loss is a dirty word when it's in your own state.
Suelee posted at 2:52 pm on Wed, Feb 22, 2012.
Ben Franklin would turn over in his grave if he knew that there was some expectation that the US Postal Service should be run like a business. The purpose of the post office was to facilitate interstate commerce, communication, and a sense of national identity. It was formed as a governmental services, essential to national security.
Can electronic communication and commerce replace this original purpose as some have suggested? If we put all of our eggs into the electronic basket, one good EM blast from a solar flare or terrorist attack would grind commerce and communication to a halt in seconds. Thus, we may want to think twice about dismantling one of the most effective postal services in the world.
Rich posted at 4:27 pm on Wed, Feb 22, 2012.
The government wants more and more money, to the point where it has mortgaged future generations, now it wants to cut services too. "Working" for the government is the largest entitlement program there is and since they are bombing out guarding the shore, and want to 'restructure' the Post Office, what do we really need them for? They have more than enough money to guard the shore and deliver the mail, it's the fact that they want to mess with our lives that is expensive. If they could manage to get out of our lives, they could probably afford the mail.
Dale Whiting posted at 5:51 pm on Wed, Feb 22, 2012.
sockratties,
Nice piece. Too bad you did not write the piece first. You've got a head on your shoulders. Start using it to do columns!
tededitedit posted at 7:26 pm on Wed, Feb 22, 2012.
Congress and USPS leaders have done a poor job in overseeing the USPS and making it more competitive and efficient. Senators and Representatives make good money, get many benefits, and we know that they had to be rich just to get into office. I think they should have to pay for their own postage. Too many non-profits these days have "executives" that make six and seven figure salaries. Only small non-profits should not pay full price for their postage.
TeaPartyPatriot posted at 8:29 pm on Wed, Feb 22, 2012.
The USPS is a failed socialist program that can be easily replaced by a better run private organization. I haven't used the USPS in years. They are less than useless. They are the epitome for failure. They should be dissolved right after the dept of uneducation.
Dale Whiting posted at 7:48 am on Thu, Feb 23, 2012.
TPP,
Really, not in years?
And just what do you use, FedX, UPS or the pony express? Where so, don't forget to take down your mail box! [wink] Wouldn't want to see you becoming a hypocrite!
Arizona Willie posted at 9:33 am on Thu, Feb 23, 2012.
TeaPartyIdiot ... OK mail me a letter via UPS or FedEx and see how much it costs you.
Require 3 day delivery and send it to my home in Hawaii.
You hate any government program UNTIL you have to pay the bill for a private service.
The Fire Department is a socialist program too. I'm sure you want to have to pay $1500 when the truck rolls up to your burning house before they will put the fire out.
And the Police Department -- there's a tremendous socialistic boondoggle.
Someone steals your motorcycle and you have to pay a private police agency $2,000 to begin an investigation to find it.
Oh yeah, let's not forget the Court system.
Your neighbor's tree falls and crushes your fence and he won't pay so you want to sue him.
Well, let's see ... first you pay the lawyer, then you pay the filing fee, then you pay the bailiff, then you pay the judge --- oh wait a minute you lost? You say the defendant paid the judge more? Oh well, that's private enterprise ---- you wouldn't want to have your case tried in one of those terrible SOCIALISTIC courts would you?
chatmandu002 posted at 10:29 pm on Thu, Feb 23, 2012.
Contract out the delivery of mail.
Accuracy posted at 10:35 am on Fri, Feb 24, 2012.
After the President of the United States, the Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe (U.S. Postal Service's top boss) is the highest paid U.S. government official, earning $245,000 per year.
Slashing Saturday service, delaying delivery of some first-class mail, closing of 223 plants nationwide, putting 35,000 jobs at stake starting in late May or June, and hiking the price of a first-class stamp by a nickel to 50 cents are under consideration.
The closures, and cuts, will save Postmaster General Donahoe’s job and big pay, but not a good 100,000 postal employees jobs.
Accuracy posted at 11:52 am on Sat, Feb 25, 2012.
chatmandu002....Have you heard?? Federal Express may merge with UPS . . . They’ll call it “Fed-UP”
[beam]