Quote :

"WASHINGTON — The post office is announcing a new rate increase in an effort to reduce massive losses. The amount of the increase and likely date for it begin are being announced by postal officials Tuesday. The plan will still have to be reviewed by the independent Postal Rate Commission. The post office also has proposed ending Saturday delivery to save money. Congress will have to approve that if it is to happen. The current first-class rate of 44 cents took effect in 2009."

Personally I hate postal mail, find it wasteful, ineffective, and unnecessary. The fact that there is not an adequate repository online for bill payments and bill management is a big shortfall. I think it is time financial institutions, utilities, and credit card companies created a standard for online billing where you could log in to one place (bank account maybe) and view and pay ALL of your bills. There are security obstacles with that but they could certainly be overcome.

This would certainly save those entities millions in postage and printing costs. It seems like every online bill payment system only works with half of the things you need to pay leaving you to do the rest the old fashioned way.

As far as Saturday delivery goes I say do away with it. USPS and Fedex have always had it as a premium service and they are both profitable.

7/6/2010 9:34:21 AM

Quote :

"I think it is time financial institutions, utilities, and credit card companies independent private non-government organizations created a standard for online peer-to-peer billing"

Important fix.


Also, the USPS was never really only about commerce or infrastructure.
It has more to do with everyone having an address... the government being able to find you...
[/conspiracy theory]

7/6/2010 9:49:44 AM

^lol big brother

7/6/2010 9:51:01 AM

Well the banks "independent private non-government organizations" and it took federal law to get them to do away with shipping paper checks all over for processing. Now once a check hits the first bank it is scanned and destroyed and the rest of the transaction is handled electronically.

7/6/2010 9:53:57 AM

Quote :

"it took federal law to get them to do away with shipping paper checks all over for processing"

remember the good old days when check kiting was feasible

7/6/2010 10:09:45 AM

^^
nice catch.
I mean "independent" from commerce.
I should've said:
"I think it is time independent, non-commercial, and private non-government organizations created a standard for online peer-to-peer billing"

Quote :

"it took federal law"

Not to be picky, but when the problems created by an oligopoly are fixed by legislation, that wasn't a problem with the private sector, it was a problem with the government allowing the oligopoly in the first place. So it's not like the law saved the day -- the law is an unnecessary fix to a problem created by the lack of enforcement of another law that already exists. (or in some cases, should already exist....)

[Edited on July 6, 2010 at 10:16 AM. Reason : ]

7/6/2010 10:15:18 AM

^ Fair enough.

I think I derailed my own thread in a way with the original comments. I think USPS is going to continue to lose money with every postage increase. Lets face it people send very little personal mail these days, its not like a .10 increase is going to make a difference to the typical person. The majority of mail sent is by businesses, businesses eventually are going to reach a breaking point where the cost outweighs the benefits. (a .10 increase is pretty heavy if you send millions of letters)

I do not know how much its going to go up when they announce the increase but it seems like it goes up every few months.

7/6/2010 10:22:44 AM

Personally I would like to see the whole thing go down in flames since mailing letters is so antiquated anyway. The only thing I receive is junk mail, and bills that I also get through email. Packages can be handled by FedEx and UPS.

7/6/2010 10:27:17 AM

I think USPS should be divested to private companies. Its original purpose was to provide mail (at the time only means of communication) to the entire country, even rural and hard to reach areas that private business would not go in to.

I am pretty sure UPS or FedEx could run mail service a lot more efficiently and with less liability to taxpayers.

7/6/2010 10:38:28 AM

UPS, DHS and FedEx turn a profit. why not allow them to compete for the added volume of the USPS with a contract?

7/6/2010 11:18:44 AM

Quote :

"This would certainly save those entities millions in postage and printing costs. It seems like every online bill payment system only works with half of the things you need to pay leaving you to do the rest the old fashioned way. "

what bills are you having to pay by physical mail?

7/6/2010 11:45:33 AM

Honestly, I'm surprised that USPS cannot turn a profit given what I have to assume is increased utilization from e-commerce. Sure, no one sends letters anymore, but the amount of junk mail has certainly increased. Are they jacking up the rates for commercial mailings as well?

Anyone have any numbers over the last 10 years or so? At what point did they start having such massive losses? It can't be all due to fuel prices.

7/6/2010 11:52:53 AM

fuel is a scapegoat.

the USPS isnt viable because like most government programs it is bloated with properties, wasteful spending and people.

7/6/2010 11:55:13 AM

funfact: the usps tracking system is written in cobol and runs on non-x86 hardware

7/6/2010 12:04:51 PM

^^

well of course that's my assumption, but I'm open to the idea that there could be a real explanation for it.

I guess not.



^ disturbing.

[Edited on July 6, 2010 at 12:08 PM. Reason : .]

7/6/2010 12:07:28 PM

remember a while back when there were a few months where you couldn't track packages on their website? thats when they moved from solaris to suse.



[Edited on July 6, 2010 at 12:12 PM. Reason : l;]

7/6/2010 12:12:03 PM

I believe the following could help the USPS:

1. Raise postal rates significantly--but lock the rate in for the next 3-5 years. In this way, businesses could plan their current and future mailing costs more effectively and the USPS could get some desperately needed cash now (probably).

2. Offer more services and flexibility to meet customer demands. The idea here is that, yes, costs would go up some but profits would go up more.

3. Get higher-paid employees out with buyouts and so on. Lower payroll costs wherever possible, but keep training and quality customer service at a high level.

4. Reduce redundancies.

5. Keep high-traffic USPS locations open at least an hour later. Close others low-traffic locations earlier and/or have them open fewer days per week.

6. Stop Saturday deliveries, but keep key locations open for package receipt and other services on Saturday.

7. FULLY recognize and adapt to the changing business environment as it relates to the effect of the Internet and competitors on mail services.

7/6/2010 12:38:54 PM

nothing pisses me off more than service locations that are only open when im at work.

7/6/2010 1:08:45 PM

does anyone in here get any mail worthwhile on Saturdays? it seems like all i get on Saturdays is junk mail.. the bills and other important stuff always comes during the week.

my point being, eliminate Sat delivery. i've been saying this for years, it's simply not needed.

[Edited on July 6, 2010 at 1:25 PM. Reason : .]

7/6/2010 1:24:22 PM

USPS + Government + Profitability = Irony

Like others have said, contract it over to the private companies that do it ten times better. USPS is just another example of bloated government organizations wasting money. When was the last time you were at a USPS office and actually noticed the employees behind the counter giving a crap?

7/7/2010 2:03:57 PM

Quote :

"When was the last time you were at a USPS office and actually noticed the employees behind the counter giving a crap?"

That assumes it has actually happened. Generally speaking, USPS workers are slow, lazy, and rude pieces of shit.

7/7/2010 2:09:18 PM

I've had some pleasant experiences

then again it must be my big-gubmint lavender-colored glasses

7/7/2010 2:13:11 PM

It's terrible at what it does, but it's a successful job creation program.

7/7/2010 2:25:27 PM

USPS needs more union to work. gotta have more union. (in a Walken voice)

7/7/2010 3:32:16 PM

Quote :

"I believe the following could help the USPS: 1. Raise postal rates significantly--but lock the rate in for the next 3-5 years. In this way, businesses could plan their current and future mailing costs more effectively and the USPS could get some desperately needed cash now (probably). 2. Offer more services and flexibility to meet customer demands. The idea here is that, yes, costs would go up some but profits would go up more. 3. Get higher-paid employees out with buyouts and so on. Lower payroll costs wherever possible, but keep training and quality customer service at a high level. 4. Reduce redundancies. 5. Keep high-traffic USPS locations open at least an hour later. Close others low-traffic locations earlier and/or have them open fewer days per week. 6. Stop Saturday deliveries, but keep key locations open for package receipt and other services on Saturday. 7. FULLY recognize and adapt to the changing business environment as it relates to the effect of the Internet and competitors on mail services."

This plan would work if there was a purpose to increasing profitability in a government program. Why does the government care about inefficiencies? They can just pass the cost on to the tax payer/loan bearer. They don't ever run the risk of "going out of business" as each individual program can be sustained by the enormous size of the government. Plus the employees will still be paid enormous salaries regardless of how inefficient the organization is (Amtrak anyone?)

I just can't see the government attempting to become more efficient because too many people depend on it being incredibly wasteful.

However, I like the idea of allowing Fed-Ex or UPS to phase mailing services by contract. That would be an interesting way to stimulate the sector and reduce government waste.

7/7/2010 3:47:28 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usps

Fun Facts

Quote :

"The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly referred to as the "Post Office", "Postal Service", or "U.S. Mail". Though postal services have existed on American territory before the United States' establishment, the USPS's first incarnation was established by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1775 by decree of the Second Continental Congress."

Quote :

"The USPS is often mistaken for a government-owned corporation (e.g., Amtrak), but as noted above is legally defined as an "independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States," (39 U.S.C. § 201) as it is wholly owned by the government and controlled by the Presidential appointees and the Postmaster General. As a quasi-governmental agency, it has many special privileges, including sovereign immunity, eminent domain powers, powers to negotiate postal treaties with foreign nations, and an exclusive legal right to deliver first-class and third-class mail. Indeed, in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision that the USPS was not a government-owned corporation, and therefore could not be sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act."

Quote :

"The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the U.S. Founded by Benjamin Franklin, its mission is to protect the Postal Service, its employees, and its customers from crime and protect the nation's mail system from criminal misuse"

Quote :

"Violence as "going postal" In the early 1990s, widely publicized workplace shootings by disgruntled employees at USPS facilities led to a postal regulation that prohibits the possession of firearms in all postal facilities. Due to media coverage, postal employees gained a reputation among the general public as being mentally ill. The USPS Commission on a Safe and Secure Workplace found that "Postal workers are only a third as likely as those in the national workforce to be victims of homicide at work."[105] This stereotype in turn has influenced American culture, as seen in the slang term "going postal" (see Patrick Sherrill for information on his August 20, 1986, rampage) and the computer game Postal. Also, in the opening sequence of Naked Gun 33?: The Final Insult, a yell of "Disgruntled postal workers" is heard, followed by the arrival of postal workers with machine guns. In an episode of Seinfeld, the character Newman, who is a mailman, explained in a dramatic monologue that postal workers "go crazy and kill everyone" because the mail never stops. In The Simpsons episode Sunday, Cruddy Sunday, Nelson Muntz asks Postmaster Bill if he has "ever gone on a killing spree", with a reply of, "The day of the disgruntled postman went out with the Macarena". There have been over 30 acts of postal mass shootings, resulting in death, recorded and investigated by authorities since 1983.[citation needed] The last postal shooting incident occurred in 2006."

7/7/2010 3:55:43 PM

Quote :

"It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution"

That's not entirely true. But whatever

7/7/2010 4:04:47 PM

I read once we have more postal workers than three branches of our military combined.

7/7/2010 4:06:48 PM

^according to Wikipedia, the USPS has 596,000 employees. US Armed Forces has 1,473,900 AD, 1,458,500 Reserve, and that doesn't even include civilian employees.

*side fact, our AD numbers are second only to China, and we are narrowly ahead of India.

7/7/2010 4:50:32 PM

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/mar2010/post-m03.shtml

Quote :

"USPS has already shrunk its workforce by 200,000 in the last decade, even as the number of postal addresses in the US has increased by 18 million, Potter said."

The article says they are planning on cutting 30 k more full time positions this year.

7/7/2010 5:09:06 PM

BUT WHO WILL DELIVER MY NETFLIX?!!!!

7/7/2010 6:28:52 PM

Thanks bobster. Like I heard they do employ about as much as 3 branches of our military combined.

7/7/2010 7:57:47 PM

^ I'm confused.

Are you being sarcastic?
I was lying and have never read that they have more postal workers than the three branches of our military combined.

or are you saying that 600k = 1.5 million?

Or is this a RAWR military spending RAWR statement?

[Edited on July 7, 2010 at 8:11 PM. Reason : ?]

7/7/2010 8:10:21 PM

^no need to be confused. According to wiki 664,000 postal workers.

Also according to wiki. Army 548k, Marine 203k, Navy 332k, AF 323k, CG 41k

7/7/2010 8:40:44 PM

i heard a while back that usps was forced to structure their pension in some new way in the past year that is very different from private industry forcing them to go in the red to the tune of billions where they weren't in that sort of situation before. anyway, i think needs to be mentioned here.

7/7/2010 9:04:02 PM

Quote :

"does anyone in here get any mail worthwhile on Saturdays? it seems like all i get on Saturdays is junk mail.. the bills and other important stuff always comes during the week."

we get some pretty sweet magazines on saturday

7/7/2010 9:24:14 PM

USPS should start charging UPS, FedEx, DHL, et. al. more money to deliver parcels to rural route and rural drive addresses that what it currently does.

As for Aaronburro, your understanding of the Constitution is completely and utterly flawed.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7

[The Congress shall have Power]To establish Post Offices and post Roads;

7/7/2010 9:25:43 PM

Or, we could just let it die, because eventually it probably will.

7/7/2010 9:52:48 PM

you can't let it die until you give everyone internet access. The government could easily eliminate the post office and currency and give everyone a mandated phone.

This phone by default is everyones "mailbox", wallet, etica. you can also subscribe to a wireless internet or mobile service.

Kids and people without an address would simply use a debit card to swipe into a machine and check their mail/ use their money.

Phones would have a swipey. This is obviously 5 years down the road bur possible 5 years ago.

7/7/2010 10:25:12 PM

a swipey...dear god

7/7/2010 10:31:23 PM

wtf is a swipey?


I don't think anyone suggested doing away with deliveries altogether. I am just saying turn them over to a private company so the taxpayers are not on the hook when USPS dies a slow death. (revenues continue to decline, overhead continues to climb)

7/7/2010 11:46:11 PM

Quote :

"I don't think anyone suggested doing away with deliveries altogether."

Would the phone swipey do away with deliveries too?

7/8/2010 7:52:27 AM

why do people still respond to that troll alias?

7/8/2010 8:42:53 AM

Regarding contracting out services, perhaps the USPS can contract out all delivery efforts to various private entities but staff a core group to maintain the system of physical addresses and Post Office boxes.

As for USPS services, I think they hold value from a personal standpoint as they're still the cheapest way to send a package.

7/12/2010 2:08:36 PM

A swipey is obviously an attachment that allows you to swipe a card on a phone. People already have them but now that I think about it they wouldn't be necessary.

The usps would only have to put a bar code under the magnetic strips of everyones card and they could scan it with their phones camera.

7/12/2010 9:02:11 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nKlzQo3Wqo

7/12/2010 11:15:10 PM

bump by request

8/11/2011 9:42:30 PM

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/11/news/economy/postal_service_layoffs/index.htm

Quote :

"Postal Service asks Congress to allow 120,000 layoffs, overhaul benefits"

8/11/2011 9:43:04 PM

[BYE]

8/11/2011 10:52:07 PM

??

8/11/2011 10:54:20 PM