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USPS Reports $15.9 Billion Loss, Asks Congress For Help
New submitter Gaildew2 writes with news that the embattled United States Postal Service has posted a $15.9 billion loss over the past fiscal year, more than three times the amount it lost the previous year.
"The USPS, which relies on the sale of stamps and other products rather than taxpayer dollars, has been grappling for years with high costs and tumbling mail volumes as consumers communicate more online. In September, the Postal Service hit its $15 billion borrowing limit for the first time in its history. That leaves it with few options if it suffers an unexpected shock, such as a slowdown if lawmakers are unable to prevent the year-end tax increases and spending cuts known as the 'fiscal cliff.' ... Postal officials want Congress to pass legislation that would allow the agency to end Saturday mail delivery and run its own health plan rather than enrolling USPS employees in federal health programs, among other things."
The only people using mail anymore are junk mailers. And they get an ENORMOUS discount to send out thousands of flyers and coupons. So let's raise our taxes even more to prop up a bunch of spammers. If you don't, the union gets angry and leans on politicians. That's just good policy.
The ridiculous retiree benefits mandate handed down from congress is pretty much the sole reason for this unnecessary debacle.
No other organization is required to provide such an absurd level of retiree benefits payment so why is this insanity allowed to persist in light of the fact it could potentially doom the USPS?
And what about the people who live in places that are too expensive for privatized couriers to make a profit serving?
What are they to do, take a flying leap?
THANK YOU! I wish more people knew that Congress decided to make demands on the USPS that no company could ever meet. And to think that the Republicans frequently politic on "running the government like a business" yet they make actions to ensure the government business fails.
You're a fucking nincompoop. USPS has been gutted by corrupt politicians who have been paid off by private interests.
The entire "public is less efficient than private" lie that had been repeated so often that everyone now believes it is just that. A lie. The reality is that private industry is far more efficient at corrupting and side stepping morality issues in the quest for a dollar. That *seems* like it's more efficient at first glance, but it actually incurs a giant negative externality that is not accounted for.
Now think very carefully before you reply with some hilariously stupid straw man argument.
Was it the Union or Congress?
I thought it was Congress that mandated that they prepay it all for the life of an employee when hired.
The "crisis" is entirely manufactured by Congress. Yes, Congress. They (and by "they," I mean mostly Republicans who seem to want to drive the post office into bankruptcy) required that the Post Office prepay pensions to the extent that no other business is required to do.
Lest you doubt this statement: The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 required the USPS to prepay pensions for all employees for 75 years in advance within 10 years.
That's right, 75 years. The USPS is required to prepay pensions for the next 75 years. Let that sink in.
Is there any other business you can think of that is required to stash away the pension funds now for its employees not yet born?
I am not a crackpot.
If they cut delivery dates, that limits my options and makes me even less likely to use them, especially if I need timely delivery of something like say a rent check or a bill payment (believe it or not, there are landlords and rental companies, as well as utilities and such that still only accept payment in person or a check in the mail as opposed to paying online).
You're free to spend $13 to FedEx your rent check right now (get your quote here - I picked slowest/cheapest option to send an envelope across town). By what factor would first class postage rates need to increase to be "uncompetitive" with that?
I am not a crackpot.
THIS. Congress tinkers with the mandate of the USPS, and then complains that its not making a profit. Don't you get it? It's not allowed to compete in ways that allow it to make a profit.
Pretty much all the people around at the founding of the nation recognized the value of reliable, efficient, post service available for all. It's essential infrastructure. It's one of the reasons why business works in America. 'Based on the Postal Clause in Article One of the United States Constitution, empowering Congress "To establish post offices and post roads", it became the Post Office Department (USPOD) in 1792. ' - Wikipedia
Geez, try sending essential items to your buddy on Peace Corps assignment in Africa, and you will quickly come to understand the value of a trustworthy, efficient and transparent postal service.
And you can't just eliminate the USPS with a wave of your hand. Just figuring out how to do that would be a tremendous amount of work. Many laws and much legal precedent rely on the existence of the USPO, for instance. And still, weirdly, there are lots of things that cannot be sent over a wire.