Christ First Forum

U.S. Postal Service could close this winter
Nancy Houser

The United States Postal Service, facing massive budget problems, may soon close its doors. The only solution is if the parties can miraculously reach a compromise for a bailout.
The U.S. Postal Service will soon be facing a deficit of $9.2 billion this fiscal year that has been said to be a possible shutdown of 3,600 offices, reported in an article written by Laurie Segali in Money. However, the deficit is combined with other issues...such as a union which has been preventing the post office from laying off workers in order to control the debt, and a lack of political bipartisanship to assist the struggling federal giant from going under.
According to Business Insider, the only answer for the country’s “neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet….” from going under is a bailout from Congress in the next couple of months. Without it, over 574,000 Americans who work for the U.S. Postal Service will be unemployed before Christmas---a decision that lies on the back of both parties in Congress.
According to Donahoe, there are several requests in the bailout:
• Elimination of Saturday mail service and deliveries.
• Eliminating the agency’s union [American Postal Workers Union] that is preventing the post office from laying off 120,000 employees. Currently, the union has a no-layoffs clause in their contract with 207,000 mail sorters and post office workers.
“Our situation is extremely serious,” said Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe. “If Congress doesn’t act, we will default.” The postal service had suffered an $8.5 billion net loss in 2010, compared to only $3.8 billion the year before that.
In June of this year, the postal service had already announced they would skip the retiree fund payments, a federally mandated prepayment, according to an article written by Aaron Smith titled, “Postal Service to skip retiree fund payments.” Additionally, the postal service is now unable to make its $5.5 billion dollar payment to its employee healthcare plan. Due by September 30, cash is unavailable because of their labor costs, fewer packages and letters.
According to the New York Times, two major competitors with lower labor costs are United Parcel Service (UPS) at 53% and FedEx at 32%. The United States Post Office has an 80% labor cost and superior health benefits that are more generous than any other federal agency.
Currently the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is holding a hearing today, Tuesday September 6, 2011, regarding the situation. Unfortunately, New York Times is also reporting that the feuding political parties have failed on any solution or compromise, with partisanship possibly forcing the post office to close entirely by winter.
“The situation is dire,” said Thomas R. Carper, the Delaware Democrat who is chairperson of the Senate subcommittee that oversees the postal service. “If we do nothing, if we don’t react in a smart, appropriate way, the postal service could literally close later this year. That’s not the kind of development we need to inject into a weak, uneven economic recovery.”

I know this is a tad late to respond to this thread, but I've been wondering what is going on. Usually the USPS doesn't hesitate to raise postage when they need to. My hubby and I live on a farm so we get our mail delivered…even packages. We send mail…even packages, which get weighed when the postman gets back to the post office and then we pay the postage the next day. Well, we got a notice a couple weeks ago telling us there were going to be some sizable changes coming soon. One change has been that our mail is being delivered 3-4 hours earlier than it used to be. We also read in their notice that the small rural P.O.'s may have to close and our mail be delivered from other areas. We can't even imagine how this is going to work. Our local paper had an article in it this past week that we may be going back to Pony Express! I think they were joking and yet it had a ring of truth to it.

What was proposed in the notice wasn't too clear (maybe the workers are pretty much in the dark as we are). Most everyone I've talked to about this thinks the changes are going to result in a tangled mess and workers more stressed out than they already are. They will certainly need bigger vehicles to deliver the mail, especially on holidays when packages and increased items of mail are the norm for a few weeks.

If our government has so much money that it can send billions to other countries to help them out, you'd think they could spare a few 'million' for their own postal service. In my opinion I can see where UPs and FedEx and all the others may find themselves making more money than ever by raising prices since there won't be much competition. I'm sure e-mail has cut down on the postal profits just as cell phones have cut down on Ma Bell's land lines. (Ma Bell, and dozens of other companies, that is…)

LoveInChrist,
Songbird :-)

Songbird, I think you're right about the postal workers being in the dark but the USPS just another union run business, subsidized by the government, living off the rest of us for too many years. I never understood about the USPS being in the red because they have gotten every penny off the public they ever asked for and they always got it up front, in the form of postage. They even have a monopoly on letter delivery.

I have no sympathy for the USPS but I do have sympathy for all the postal workers who would lose their jobs if the rest of their customers where like me. I buy about 20 stamps a year and do all my bill paying online. My packages come and go by UPS/FedEx.

Maybe if the USPS could be bought out by a truly private run company, we'd see the dinosaur post office come out of the dark ages and maybe even get a tracking system for packages. :)

I'm a big customer of USPS,and I pay all of my mail by mail...

Goes to show you...the government has trouble running EVERYTHING..

High pensions is killing their business,and workers are being laid off, to pay these high pensions...

Maybe they need to be like us....401Ks...

Just another scare tactic

janlyn wrote:Songbird, I think you're right about the postal workers being in the dark but the USPS just another union run business, subsidized by the government, living off the rest of us for too many years. I never understood about the USPS being in the red because they have gotten every penny off the public they ever asked for and they always got it up front, in the form of postage. They even have a monopoly on letter delivery.

I have no sympathy for the USPS but I do have sympathy for all the postal workers who would lose their jobs if the rest of their customers where like me. I buy about 20 stamps a year and do all my bill paying online. My packages come and go by UPS/FedEx.

Maybe if the USPS could be bought out by a truly private run company, we'd see the dinosaur post office come out of the dark ages and maybe even get a tracking system for packages. :)

I know you are right about the PO getting every penny off the public they ever asked for. Not long ago I found out that when we rural people send a package, the rural carrier who takes that package back to the PO at the end of his deliveries, is required to pay for that package out of his own pocket. Then, and only then, when the sender pays the postage in the little brown envelope the PO supplies, does the delivery person get reimbursed for that package they've had to pay for! Outrageous! So you see, the PO doesn't even take responsibility for their rural customers owing them. They make their rural delivery people take it out of their own pockets to insure that USPS gets their money. Then those workers take the monetary loss if the sender doesn't pay. I was also surprised to find that some wind up not paying!!!! I learned this one day when I was on my way to town and had to stop at the small PO to get a money order and stamps. And yes, you guessed it…the delivery person also pays for what stamps you buy when he is on route and must wait until you pay him. So, I always write a check so he'll have the money up front. We also mail payments by check for utilities, and all bills as we have never had a credit card.

LoveInChrist,
Songbird/Carol :-)

songbird wrote: Not long ago I found out that when we rural people send a package, the rural carrier who takes that package back to the PO at the end of his deliveries, is required to pay for that package out of his own pocket. Then, and only then, when the sender pays the postage in the little brown envelope the PO supplies, does the delivery person get reimbursed for that package they've had to pay for! Outrageous! So you see, the PO doesn't even take responsibility for their rural customers owing them. They make their rural delivery people take it out of their own pockets to insure that USPS gets their money. Then those workers take the monetary loss if the sender doesn't pay. I was also surprised to find that some wind up not paying!!!! I learned this one day when I was on my way to town and had to stop at the small PO to get a money order and stamps. And yes, you guessed it…the delivery person also pays for what stamps you buy when he is on route and must wait until you pay him. So, I always write a check so he'll have the money up front. We also mail payments by check for utilities, and all bills as we have never had a credit card.

LoveInChrist,
Songbird/Carol :-)

Wow! I didn't know that!
Shame on the USPS.

Personally I think big brother wants easier access to everyones private business,they can get it easier from the net..first they want everyone who is employeed or being paid by a check to have direct deposit to bank,which they(B G) already have working for them as spys..
I believe g ovrment will then eventually close all Post Offices
SLOWLY so most won't ask whatsup..this is to force eveyone transaction's to be by Net , not only utilities in "PAYE E GROUPS" but everything else they do by mail,then they will charge HUGH INTERNET service..
perhaps in order to monitor everyone's buying they will be forced to buy all their needs like clothing,food Via Net

Maybe they all will be wearing black uniforms and wearing black berets (Bill Clinton had) China to make when he was President and they are yet to be used,laying in moth balls I guess..
I think Postal Service as we know it will cease altogather,though delivers will be made by a new breed of Goverment employeees ( Thug's ) perhaps ones Marc Card will be scan by men(Thugs) in black
Everyones Bank acct. will be maintain by Big goverment,no checks,no cash,goverment will maintain your acct./credit ..
And because of charge for *Goverment-Net* Service 2/3 of your credited acct. will go to goverment and 1/3 for your needs..
I would assume ones buying would be limited,they will tell you what you are egibile to buy and how much..kinda like theWWII Food,Clothing,Gas,Etc.Coupon Book,but this time for convience it will be a smart card..
welfare use them already I understand,now who do you supose thought that one up and why..
well future use of course,just like they came up wih *CREDIT CARDS* get the people tapered in so they would use cash less and less and cards more,then the spider closes the WEB..no cash,no checks,no money orders . . etc etc etc
goverment encourages card companies to push credit cards
now what obama did about companies charging interest was not because he had pity on credit card holders, it was to encourage them to use them more without fear ,well of course he does the more they are used cards instead of cash the less cash one will have, and since more people are using credit cards beyone the limit the more they are trap and without a choice.