need another bailout

[scottw]

Postal Service Struggles to Stay Solvent, and Relevant
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE NY Times
Published: September 4, 2011

The United States Postal Service has long lived on the financial edge, but it has never been as close to the precipice as it is today: the agency is so low on cash that it will not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment due this month and may have to shut down entirely this winter unless Congress takes emergency action to stabilize its finances.

“Our situation is extremely serious,” the postmaster general, Patrick R. Donahoe, said in an interview. “If Congress doesn’t act, we will default.”

In recent weeks, Mr. Donahoe has been pushing a series of painful cost-cutting measures to erase the agency’s deficit, which will reach $9.2 billion this fiscal year. They include eliminating Saturday mail delivery, closing up to 3,700 postal locations and laying off 120,000 workers, nearly one-fifth of the agency’s work force.

The post office’s problems stem from one hard reality: it is getting squeezed on both revenue and costs.

As any computer user knows, the Internet revolution has led to people and businesses sending far less conventional mail.

At the same time, decades of contractual promises made to unionized workers, including no-layoff clauses, are increasing the post office’s costs. Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors. Postal workers also receive more generous health benefits than most other federal employees.

go figure

[ecduzitgood]

My mail man told me he gets 30 cents extra for every package we send from our house, I can only assume that is when we use on line postage. I am sure that adds up when you consider the amount of houses on his route...that's quit a union
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Raven]

they need all electric vehicles

[spence]

I wonder how much economic output the USPS has enabled this past century by providing cheap and reliable mail service.

-spence

[RIROCKHOUND]

Come on Spence.
the world can live on UPS, FEDex and DHL for mail!

[spence]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

Come on Spence.
the world can live on UPS, FEDex and DHL for mail!

If we did I'm sure the price of a regular first class letter would be at least 2-3 bucks.

As usual, there are multiple aspects to this topic. I do think the USPS has helped subsidize commerce and personal quality of life through cheap and reliable mail service. Especially before the big shipping companies came about I'm not sure there were many other options.

The flip side, and this is big, is that the USPS -- precisely because of it's cheap rates -- is also a willing accomplice to the murder of billions of beautiful oxygen belching trees.

How much of your mail every week is complete junk? 90% 95%?

When catalog season rolls around and people make jokes about the heavy mail bags the carriers just laugh, they love it because it keeps them employed.

I think there's value in keeping the USPS afloat, but also working to restructure it to be more efficient and make junk mail more expensive. There's no reason the taxpayer should be subsidizing a FOUR POUND Restoration Hardware catalog that's only going to be tossed in the recycle bin because it's easier to look online.

-spence

[detbuch]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

Come on Spence.
the world can live on UPS, FEDex and DHL for mail!

For the type of service those couriers provide they are more reliable than the Post Office and they are more sustainable because their labor cost is less. For small, personal letters, more and more people use the internet which is faster, more reliable, and cheaper. The Postal System pretty much relies on junk mail to survive. If the employees would accept a competitive pay and benefits structure and recapture the quality and dedication of the past, it might, on a smaller scale, be functional.

[justplugit]

Most of my mail is bills and junk mail.
You can pay bills on line and do without the junk using
web search for the catalouge items you really want.
The pony express has had it's day.

[striperman36]

Another example of government oversight. Should've gotten into the email certification business or something value add.

Still looking for that magic bullet to opt OUT of all 3rd class bulk sorted mail.

I do like Priority Mail that is value add, wonder if they take a loss on that.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by scottw

Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors. Postal workers also receive more generous health benefits than most other federal employees.

go figure

Typical government run program, inefficeint, overstaffed, over benefited and wasteful.
Private industry is the answer to an efficent and well staffed business
or they go out of business.

There is so much fat and waste in these govt programs that can be cut
and the programs wouldn't miss a beat doing the same job.

[striperman36]

USPS to possibly default on 5.5 billion dollar trust fund payment

Postal Service may default on a $5.5 billion trust fund payment - CNN.com

[spence]

I wouldn't just assume they are overstaffed. The USPS has to touch most US addresses every day. How many see a UPS or FedEx truck?
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[striperman36]

According to the article above they've already cut 250,000 from the workforce of 900,000 at peak in 2006

Another government arena, suffering from innovation disruption, like
Amtrak passenger service, except for the Acela and the AutoTrain DC to FL, is mostly obsolete yet costs billions to maintain.