trymahjong Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 http://www.nbcnews.com/business/saturday-mail-service-saved-now-usps-says-1C9291015 Postal Service is going broke--this suggestion shot down--now what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 The Postal Service isn't going broke. It's operating under artificial burdens imposed by Congress, which seems hell-bent on destroying it. http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/07/20/how-congress-is-killing-the-post-office/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 The Postal Service isn't going broke. It's operating under artificial burdens imposed by Congress, which seems hell-bent on destroying it. http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2012/07/20/how-congress-is-killing-the-post-office/ More like an artificial monopoly. It is illegal for any private company to deliver mail for cheaper than the Postal Service does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 More like an artificial monopoly. It is illegal for any private company to deliver mail for cheaper than the Postal Service does. Is there an entity that is trying to deliver mail for cheaper than the postal service? I just gave FedEx $24 to deliver a DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Is there an entity that is trying to deliver mail for cheaper than the postal service? I just gave FedEx $24 to deliver a DVD. Why would any entity try to violate US law? It's a market segment they're not allowed in, so they go after other parts of the market. Fedex has asked Congress to end the monopoly in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I would be happy if they cut delivery to one day a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Sorry that I cannot cite a source, but my memory is clear. Circa 1978-79 in Rochester, NY, someone started a delivery service that undercut the U.S. Post Office rates. Their delivery area was restricted to a small area of downtown, which included City Hall, city and county courthouses, and numerous law firms. It was profitable because they were skimming the cream off the Post Office's business - high volume, short distances; They didn't have the expense of delivering to suburban or rural areas. The Post Office successfully sued them, and they ceased operations. The Post Office may seem antiquated to some. Many people haven't communicated via pen and paper, or affixed a stamp in their entire lives. Yet, it's a healthy redundant service. If, (Heaven forbid) the internet should come under attack, or cellular service should fail we would Is there an entity that is trying to deliver mail for cheaper than the postal service? I just gave FedEx $24 to deliver a DVD. Why would any entity try to violate US law? It's a market segment they're not allowed in, so they go after other parts of the market. Fedex has asked Congress to end the monopoly in the past. still have a means of communication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 More like an artificial monopoly. It is illegal for any private company to deliver mail for cheaper than the Postal Service does.It's actually illegal for others to carry and deliver "letter" mail and to put anything into a mailbox (home or business). There's an exception for "urgent" letters that cost at least $3 more than post office rates, thus the loophole UPS and FedEx use for "letter" delivery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I'm disappointed, actually. I was looking forward to the cancellation of Saturday mail service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Here's my issue... the national economy is in a fragile recovery. The biggest issue in our country isn't the deficit (of which the USPS is such a small part) but rather underemployment. Sure, the numbers are slightly better than they were, but that is because millions of people have simply dropped out of the work force. I am sick and tired of the teapublican talk about cutting everything. We NEED to be doing the exact opposite. We should be bolstering the USPS. We should be hiring more teachers. We should be spending more on research. We should be having a massive hiring spree to fix interstates, bridges, dams, etc... (the majority of which are in terrible shape). And yes, we should be taking care of veterans so that they shouldn't have to be waiting for hundreds upon hundreds of days just to get help at VA clinics around the nation. If Ryan and his ilk come out one more time and compare the national economy to a family budget, I'll scream. Seriously? Besides being an oversimplification to dumb down things to pander to their base; they are way of the mark. If families were only allowed to spend within their means, our country would collapse. Who could buy a house if they couldn't get a mortgage (debt)? How many could buy new cars if they had to pay in cash with no financing involved? What would happen if credit cards were banned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Didn't we do that already? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livincinco Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Here's my issue... the national economy is in a fragile recovery. The biggest issue in our country isn't the deficit (of which the USPS is such a small part) but rather underemployment. Sure, the numbers are slightly better than they were, but that is because millions of people have simply dropped out of the work force. I am sick and tired of the teapublican talk about cutting everything. We NEED to be doing the exact opposite. We should be bolstering the USPS. We should be hiring more teachers. We should be spending more on research. We should be having a massive hiring spree to fix interstates, bridges, dams, etc... (the majority of which are in terrible shape). And yes, we should be taking care of veterans so that they shouldn't have to be waiting for hundreds upon hundreds of days just to get help at VA clinics around the nation. If Ryan and his ilk come out one more time and compare the national economy to a family budget, I'll scream. Seriously? Besides being an oversimplification to dumb down things to pander to their base; they are way of the mark. If families were only allowed to spend within their means, our country would collapse. Who could buy a house if they couldn't get a mortgage (debt)? How many could buy new cars if they had to pay in cash with no financing involved? What would happen if credit cards were banned? I tend to agree with your point, but I'm not sure that I agree that the post office would fit into the same category as the other areas that you describe. I'm all in favor of government spending in areas where there is a significant national interest and/or benefit to that spending, such as bolstering the education system, improving infrastructure, but I'm not sure the USPS fits in that category. Mail delivery/communication is an area where there are many efficient private options that are capable of filling the void. Even if you discount the internet, there is certainly an option to deregulate letter delivery and allow FedEx and UPS to compete. The result is that you could still have a fully redundant system without requiring government involvement. I would much rather see that money re-routed to infrastructure spending instead of being used to prop up the USPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
west20th Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I would much rather see that money re-routed to infrastructure spending instead of being used to prop up the USPS. USPS does not receive government funding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 USPS does not receive government funding. But KinkaidAlum is proposing that we do so, which is what he was responding to, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
west20th Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 But KinkaidAlum is proposing that we do so, which is what he was responding to, I believe. USPS being government funded is a common misconception I wanted to point out. I should have pointed that out in a separate post rather than a reply to your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livincinco Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 USPS being government funded is a common misconception I wanted to point out. I should have pointed that out in a separate post rather than a reply to your post. Kind of. You are correct that day to day operations aren't funded, but it's a little bit of a technicality because the USPS is something like $15 billion in debt to the US Government due to ongoing losses. I know that there's a lot more complexity to it (pension funding and the like), but at some point that amount becomes a government expense unless the USPS becomes profitable and repays it. I just don't see that happening for a number of reasons (a lot of which aren't the USPS' fault). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 It's my understanding that the USPS is in debt because the Republican controlled Congress has forced it to be. I'll see if I can track down the article I read that backs that claim up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livincinco Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 It's my understanding that the USPS is in debt because the Republican controlled Congress has forced it to be. I'll see if I can track down the article I read that backs that claim up...That's also partially correct. Congress has required the USPS to forward fund their pension liability in some ways that don't seem to make sense, but that's only a portion of their operating deficit. The reason that they are looking to eliminate Saturday service is that it's part of a propsed plan to get them into the black which is not looking like it's going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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