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U.S. Postal Service... soon to be gone forever?


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U.S. Postal Service Nears Default

 

 

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ABC News

Sept. 5, 2011

 

As the U.S. Postal Service begins shuttering offices across the country to stem their ever-growing $9.2 billion deficit, the entire agency now faces default and could shut down next summer, USPS spokesman Dave Partenheimer told ABCNews.com today.

 

"Right now we think we can make it through until next summer most likely but then some hard choices will have to be made," he said. "That's why it's such an urgent crisis."

 

USPS owes $5.5 billion to fund future retirees' health benefits, and next year it may not have money to pay its 560,000 employees. Partenheimer said that by Sept. 30, the end of the USPS fiscal year, the agency will have reached its borrowing limit of $15 billion.

 

"That's why we cannot make the payment of $5.5 billion," he said. "Something we desperately need is action from Congress to operate more like a business. That's why we're looking at other proposals to save us money."

 

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday on the situation.

 

According to The New York Times, the USPS is considering several revenue-boosting measures including gaining the right to deliver wine and beer, placing commercial advertisements on postal trucks and in post offices, and offering more hand-delivery services.

 

The USPS wants Congress to restructure their health care and retirement systems, to make them independent from the federal government. In addition, the agency would move to 5-day delivery, Partenheimer said, but can't do so without Congressional action.

 

"That would save us $3.1 billion," he said.

 

In the meantime, USPS continues to cut costs.

 

"We've reduced costs by more than $12 billion in the last four years and cut our career workforce by 110,000 in past four years," Partenheimer said.

 

In July, when news about the office closures made headlines, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe told ABC News, "We do not want taxpayer money. We want to be self-sufficient."

 

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which oversees the Postal Service, has proposed a bill that would allow Congress to appoint a committee to take control of USPS until it's financially stable.

 

That bill has been referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service, and Labor Policy.

 

The USPS responded to Issa's proposal saying, "We strongly oppose a provision in the bill that provides for an additional $10 billion in borrowing authority from the U.S. Treasury. The Postal Service does not need to incur additional debt."

 

Postal Service Profits Plummet

 

"Snail mail" has been on the decline for years due to email and electronic bill paying, but the USPS has yet to adapt, clinging to a traditional brick and mortar model.

 

A March 2010 report from the USPS highlighted a 17 percent contraction in mail volume between 2006 and 2009 due to "e-diversion, ad spend shift and the economic recession," resulting in $16 billion less revenue. The same report projected a 37 percent drop in first-class mail over the next 10 years.

 

In 2010 alone, the Postal Service experienced its largest one-year net loss of $8.5 billion.

 

A bill sponsored by Sen. Ton Carper, D-Del., chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service, calls on the USPS to "develop a plan for the expansion of retail alternatives to post offices, such as self-service kiosks, vending machines, the Internet, Postal Service employees or contractors on delivery routes, and contract postal units."

 

That bill has been referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

 

In a July statement, Carper said, "The Postal Service is facing a dire fiscal crisis and two challenges -- the rapid transition to electronic communications and the lingering after effects of the Great Recession -- which threaten its very existence. In order to survive, let alone thrive in the 21st century, all options have to be considered and the Postal Service has to modernize the way it does business, including where and when it does business."

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/postal-office-nears-default-close-year/story?id=14449522

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Or just let it stop being a government-run monopoly, and allow other competitors to handle regular first-class mail. :nod:

 

Frankly, first-class mail isn't really urgent. When you get bills it's not like they're due the next day. And I'm not like "omg I can't wait to see what kind of junk mail I got today". I think they could stay in business (yet still cut lots of cost) by simply getting rid of 6-day delivery and only delivering on, say, Tuesdays and Fridays. Plus, the employees probably make disproportionately too much for the work they do. On top of their government health/pension benefits, I think on average they earn $40,000-$50,000 per year. To deliver mail. You don't need any kind of education for that, just a drivers license.

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So long as the don't do like the did in the UK and allow the post-office to be paid by advertisers (hereby known as leaflet spammers) to post 20 shades of shite through your door for stuff you'll never buy, offers you'll never take, and insurance you'll never need!!

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. Plus, the employees probably make disproportionately too much for the work they do. On top of their government health/pension benefits, I think on average they earn $40,000-$50,000 per year. To deliver mail. You don't need any kind of education for that, just a drivers license.

 

I agree with most of your post, but the above. $40K a year to walk your ass off in every type of weather? At least in Chicago, I think it's very fair pay. Also, keep in mind, government benefits aren't anything to write home about. I had better insurance when working my first job at Target than I have working in law enforcement. I think some jobs don't have to require a MBA or years of technical training to deserve a decent check.

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Maybe US Postal is much closed and not much outside of the world, and made more loss than good. the parternairs in general advance companies .

in Switzerland often it works of this way

 

In course Thursday a officer in logistics of the Post Swiss. speak of our Post Swiss Company :lol:

 

http://www.post.ch/en/post-startseite/post-konzern.htm

 

Our post has many jobs, people qualified or not example all persons can go to work for sort the letters mail. the only qualification is to work quickly and well.

 

even lots of usable sections such the Finance Post, much better than the banks (because it is the state)

even exaggerated the PostShop :rolleyes:

 

https://sso.post.ch/shops/en/PostShop

 

this section of the Post Swiss go very well

http://www.swisspost.com/int-home/int-global-mailings/int-business-process-solutions.htm

 

 

swisspost worldwide :

 

http://www.swisspost.com/

in sept :

http://www.swisspost.com/unitedkingdom/uk-home/uk-about-us/uk-media/post-archive/2011/uk-mm11-half-yearly-result/uk-press-releases-archive.htm

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Is the American Postal Service like the UK's in that it's uniform pricing. So a letter would cost the same regardless if it's final destination was in the next town or the other side of the country?

 

That is one of the first things which will go if private companies come in, they would make up some charges based on distance so a letter sent to the other side of the country would cost a lot more than a letter posted to the next town.

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So long as the don't do like the did in the UK and allow the post-office to be paid by advertisers (hereby known as leaflet spammers) to post 20 shades of shite through your door for stuff you'll never buy, offers you'll never take, and insurance you'll never need!!

 

Meh, those free leaflets make excellent fire-starting paper & packaging material :P

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Is the American Postal Service like the UK's in that it's uniform pricing. So a letter would cost the same regardless if it's final destination was in the next town or the other side of the country?

 

That is one of the first things which will go if private companies come in, they would make up some charges based on distance so a letter sent to the other side of the country would cost a lot more than a letter posted to the next town.

 

Yes and no. Yes for same price in mainland UK & NI. Different postage per size of letter/parcel. And extra for packages, weight & insurance.

 

Private companies are pretty similar but tend to make most of their money off corporate clients so focus on guarateed delivery. Suspect that if the US is opened out then this is the way it will go.

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Yes and no. Yes for same price in mainland UK & NI. Different postage per size of letter/parcel. And extra for packages, weight & insurance.

 

Private companies are pretty similar but tend to make most of their money off corporate clients so focus on guarateed delivery. Suspect that if the US is opened out then this is the way it will go.

 

Private companies make the money from the mass business mail and then forcing RM to take on the unprofitable "final" mile part of it's letters (IIRC they pay something stupid like 20p per letter regardless of size/weight), B2B they do well

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