What can be done about the Post Office?

[A.Wilder]

There is a gas station/post office near my house, i think they need to do more of that type of service rather than stand alone post offices. If you are rural, you get a PO box, no more delivery (exceptions for disabled), sorry. Also, the gas/PO is worked by the gas station people, not actual post office employees. So there is no union or anything. I'm not sure how it works financially, but the place is always busy with people buying beer, getting gas, and mailing stuff.

[leaftye]

There is a gas station/post office near my house, i think they need to do more of that type of service rather than stand alone post offices. If you are rural, you get a PO box, no more delivery (exceptions for disabled), sorry.

That's already how it's done. Fyi, other services you city folk take for granted are different in rural small towns too.

[vwtool]

...If you are rural, you get a PO box, no more delivery (exceptions for disabled), sorry...

I'm surprised to hear an "every man for himself" argument of gov't services coming from you.

It costs more money to get mail to a rural address. So what? Providing infrastructure for ALL of our citizens is what a government SHOULD do. Let's, once and for all, drop this stupid and insulting notion that government services should be run on a strict profit model.

[Robstr]

Let's, once and for all, drop this stupid and insulting notion that government services should be run on a strict profit model.

Hell, the USPS is the government function that fits into the profit model. The Post Office has run at a profit in the past and might still without the retirement funding.

The USPS is actually a model in the rest of the world for postal efficiency and quality of service. Nobody realizes just how good it is to get your stamped envelope and everyone else's across the country in a couple of days for less than a dollar. And get it back to you if the address doesn't exist.
Put stamps and an address on a rose and it'll get where you want it.

This crisis is manufactured by people won don't want government to work, and have sabotaged it to prove a point.

[vwtool]

Hell, the USPS is the government function that fits into the profit model. The Post Office has run at a profit in the past and might still without the retirement funding.

The USPS is actually a model in the rest of the world for postal efficiency and quality of service. Nobody realizes just how good it is to get your stamped envelope and everyone else's across the country in a couple of days for less than a dollar. And get it back to you if the address doesn't exist.
Put stamps and an address on a rose and it'll get where you want it.

This crisis is manufactured by people won don't want government to work, and have sabotaged it to prove a point.

USPS works fine. I used to ship rare/vintage vinyl all over the globe, and my success rate with the Postal Service was no different than with FedEx or UPS, and they were more convenient and offered more options.

Frankly, anyone who says USPS needs to close doesn't deserve to live in a civilized country.

[roadtripper]

Frankly, anyone who says USPS needs to close doesn't deserve to live in a civilized country.

troof.

[MAC]

1 - Close all of the small town post offices and only have a few big ones for each county. There's 3 one man post offices within 6 miles of my house - the only thing they do is open the doors for all the old weirdos who have post office boxes and come in to chit chat the morning away.

2 - Stop delivering on saturday or monday - we don't need to get our mail 6 days a week.

3 - They need to get serious about customer service for commercial customers. My company tried to give them about 100 small packages a day a few years ago and it was a total disaster. There were a few days they forgot to make the pickup.

[MAC]

I do generally have good results shipping all my ebay crap with usps priority. They've only lost 1 thing in 11 years and it did turn up after a few weeks. And it was my fault for using a stupid packing method.

[lostmypassword]

USPS works fine. I used to ship rare/vintage vinyl all over the globe, and my success rate with the Postal Service was no different than with FedEx or UPS, and they were more convenient and offered more options.

Frankly, anyone who says USPS needs to close doesn't deserve to live in a civilized country.

It's not, not even close. They are terrible compared to UPS and FEDEX. I've shipped around 30 packages a day for 8 years now.

[MidnightSpecial]

The USPS is one of the things about the US that I actually miss.

[pentaxshooter]

Burn it to the ****ing ground.

[SOAR]

This is the beauty of free market capitalism. Adapt or fail. FedEx and UPS will pick up the slack and I am okay with that.

What free market capitalism? Do you know anything about how the USPS operates? They don't get to just do whatever they want. They are bound by all kinds of legislation that tells them what they can and can't do, and also things they must do.

On the topic of Fedex or UPS picking up the slack... Don't bet on it. Neither of them are interested in getting into that mess, and if they were, you better prepare for $5 stamps. May not be a big deal for you... But for companies who send a lot of mail, that is quite damaging to business.

My company spends about $15k a month on letter postage as it sits right now. We also can't get around sending mail, we are a health insurance admin, and mail is just one of those things that is not going away anytime soon in our industry. You want UPS/Fedex to pick up letter delivery for $5 a pop? Cool, hope you're ready for a major increase in your health insurance premiums... and that's just one example.

The USPS, and the services they provide are a lot more important to our society than junk mail.

[theevilshiftkey]

[quote} Originally Posted by A.Wilder
There is a gas station/post office near my house, i think they need to do more of that type of service rather than stand alone post offices. If you are rural, you get a PO box, no more delivery (exceptions for disabled), sorry.That's already how it's done. Fyi, other services you city folk take for granted are different in rural small towns too. [/quote]

That's already how it's done. Fyi, other services you city folk take for granted are different in rural small towns too.

Not really. I used to live on a dirt road so remote that it didn't even have a NAME. Guy still delivered to my door 6 days a week.

[XiaoNio]

I look at USPS a lot like I look at Amtrak. Basically, they end up with the worst of both public and private enterprise. We expect them to provide utility to everyone but don't back them up and expect them to turn a profit. They're both also often cited as sources of government waste, but let them take steps to become more effective and there's uproar.

Anyway, I'm less upset about the postal service than I am about the complete lack of government support of rail infrastructure. Or how a train ride from New York to DC costs as much as a flight even though I'm sure the true cost is vastly different.

[FBMphil]

Rail infrastructure is an interesting topic. Working in an industry (think third party logistics, but...not really) that grew side by side with the growth of freight rail, I keep tabs on the rail industry as it's a solid indicator of economic health.

The private freight rail industry funds a large portion of infrastructure improvement on its own and has done so for decades; they've dumped half a trillion into the rails since '80. Rail and intermodal transportation grows consistently month over month and eats away at trucking's admittedly large share of the freight pie.

Modern rail is largely the modern day bastion of purely capitalist industry while passenger is the subsidized redheaded stepchild. IMO if passenger rail were economically viable in the U.S., it would have a sustainable level of private investment by now. The government doesn't have much incentive to subsidize rail any more than it already is. Doesn't mean I think they shouldn't, though.

Also, the rail lobby can kiss my ass.

[vwtool]

It's not, not even close. They are terrible compared to UPS and FEDEX. I've shipped around 30 packages a day for 8 years now.

That's your experience.

Burn it to the ****ing ground.

You actually deserve to live in Somalia.

[joe97]

I look at USPS a lot like I look at Amtrak.

Basically.

[under the radar]

the USPS, like the military, is meant to benefit the citizens, not make a profit.

[turbinepowered]

the USPS, like the military, is meant to benefit the citizens, not make a profit.

I wonder how much the US military could make as a mercenary force...

[XiaoNio]

Modern rail is largely the modern day bastion of purely capitalist industry while passenger is the subsidized redheaded stepchild. IMO if passenger rail were economically viable in the U.S., it would have a sustainable level of private investment by now. The government doesn't have much incentive to subsidize rail any more than it already is. Doesn't mean I think they shouldn't, though.

Not to derail this topic any further but... I always thought a big driver behind why Amtrak sucks so hard is because it doesn't have any of its own dedicated track, so it's at the mercy of the commercial trains. Also it's been a few years but I'm pretty sure compared to air transit, the government barely supports rail. That's why between DC and New York there's half a dozen air ports but barely any improvement in rail infrastructure. Plus, just like the postal service, there's the mandate that we continue to run lines out to the middle of nowhere.

But I digress.

[pentaxshooter]

You actually deserve to live in Somalia.

The originality, it kills me.

[vwtool]

The dysentery, it kills me.

That's life in libertarian Somalia!

[pentaxshooter]

That's life in libertarian Somalia!

Is there a MisesU in Mogadishu or something? I must have missed that memo!

[compy222]

they need to make some changes that a private sector company would make...including but not limited to:

eliminating or renegotiating their relationship with public sector unions
reducing service days from 6 to 5 per week
eliminating some locations that serve only small numbers of individuals...perhaps sub-letting services to other corporate locations, like UPS stores and Fedex stores to make up slack
refocus on delivering stamped and metered mail
better marketing of their ready post and flat rate box services
cutting the overall number of employees (doubly possible with cutting back on union relationships and reducing days of service)
streamline rules and regs so average people can more accurately know what postage costs and not have stand in line waiting for one employee to solve 10 peoples problems

[joe97]

they need to make some changes that a private sector company would make...including but not limited to:

eliminating or renegotiating their relationship with public sector unions
reducing service days from 6 to 5 per week
eliminating some locations that serve only small numbers of individuals...perhaps sub-letting services to other corporate locations, like UPS stores and Fedex stores to make up slack
refocus on delivering stamped and metered mail
better marketing of their ready post and flat rate box services
cutting the overall number of employees (doubly possible with cutting back on union relationships and reducing days of service)
streamline rules and regs so average people can more accurately know what postage costs and not have stand in line waiting for one employee to solve 10 peoples problems

I am on board with all of that

Maybe then the USPS won't have to constantly raising prices of postage...

[vwtool]

they need to make some changes that a private sector company would make...including but not limited to:

eliminating or renegotiating their relationship with public sector unions
reducing service days from 6 to 5 per week
eliminating some locations that serve only small numbers of individuals...perhaps sub-letting services to other corporate locations, like UPS stores and Fedex stores to make up slack
refocus on delivering stamped and metered mail
better marketing of their ready post and flat rate box services
cutting the overall number of employees (doubly possible with cutting back on union relationships and reducing days of service)
streamline rules and regs so average people can more accurately know what postage costs and not have stand in line waiting for one employee to solve 10 peoples problems

Thanks for openly admitting what your real agenda is: Union busting.
The rest of your suggestions demonstrate that you don't really know what the P.O. is about, and doesn't take into account THE single most important factor, that the USPS was sabotaged to fail by the GOP.

[joe97]

Thanks for openly admitting what your real agenda is: Union busting.
The rest of your suggestions demonstrate that you don't really know what the P.O. is about, and doesn't take into account THE single most important factor, that the USPS was sabotaged to fail by the GOP.

This is an open thread about how to fix the USPS. Take your politics drivel elsewhere please

[PolskiHetzen]

Thanks for openly admitting what your real agenda is: Union busting.
The rest of your suggestions demonstrate that you don't really know what the P.O. is about, and doesn't take into account THE single most important factor, that the USPS was sabotaged to fail by the GOP.

Please, keep telling us what we REALLY think because you know best and see a conspiracy/other motives in everything.

You're the type of person that slows everything way down and isn't open to other ideas. Mention one thing and EVERYTHING else is stupid to you.

[compy222]

Thanks for openly admitting what your real agenda is: Union busting.
The rest of your suggestions demonstrate that you don't really know what the P.O. is about, and doesn't take into account THE single most important factor, that the USPS was sabotaged to fail by the GOP.

troll, troll, troll your boat, gently down the stream...

seriously dude, if suggesting reexamination of the biggest expense to a failing company or business is "union busting," you're just ignoring reality. if you can't even look at the contracts, how many employees you have, what your effectiveness is, what those employees are doing, what they are getting paid, how is the union relations effecting the ability to do their job, etc. then the post office is doomed to survive as long as congress will fund their deficits.

and please, when was the USPS sabotaged to fail by the republican party? you do realize that the post office is a constitutionally mandated organization (of which the president is in charge of)?

what do big companies do when they are about to go bankrupt...they renegotiate their contractual relationship with employees. reduce benefits, reduce salaries, reduce staff, to make sure the majority keep their jobs and the doors stay open. since the post office is union staffed, then the relationship between employee (union) and the usps needs to be what is looked at. that isn't union busting...its a fact of negotiating within a union contract.

[robr2]

I thought Saturday deliveries only apply to residential addresses, and not business locations. I work in a large company, from time to time, I'd work on weekends, and there are no Saturday mail deliveries.

Most likely your company goes to the post office to pick up the mail. That's what my company did even though a postman walked by everyday - it's too much mail for a letter carrier.

[roadtripper]

THE single most important factor, that the USPS was sabotaged to fail

just like network news and public schools and voting laws. can't pull that there wool over their eyes with such humorous ease if they're informed.

[joe97]

Most likely your company goes to the post office to pick up the mail. That's what my company did even though a postman walked by everyday - it's too much mail for a letter carrier.

Not sure. Perhaps.

My previous employer, a very small company situated in a large building, has no Saturday mail delivery. I know for certain about that one, as mail person actually would come up to each businesses (suite) within the building.

[vwtool]

This is an open thread about how to fix the USPS. Take your politics drivel elsewhere please

Tell the guy who said this:

...eliminating or renegotiating their relationship with public sector unions...

Please, keep telling us what we REALLY think because you know best and see a conspiracy/other motives in everything...

The GOP and their supporters are no supporters of Unions, correct? It's a secret hiding in plain sight.

troll, troll, troll your boat, gently down the stream...

seriously dude, if suggesting reexamination of the biggest expense to a failing company or business is "union busting," you're just ignoring reality. ...

The "biggest expense" facing the USPS is the Congressionally mandated, 75-year pre-funding of their pension plan. A mandate crafted by GOP legislators who (gasp!) have an antipathy to unions and saw an opportunity to break a big one.

Eliminate the mandate, and the Post Office is profitable.

Nice trick, though, to break something on purpose, then gain political points with the gullible by pointing out it's broken.

[Diamond Dave]

The USPS once again is going to default on 5.6 billion dollars. Bringing the total miss payments for the year to 11.1 billion dollars.

3rd time is the charm?



Seriously though, this is a relative example of the problem this country faces. This government agency is failing. Low in customer satisfaction and probably the last of your choices when you HAVE to have something delivered on time. Yet, they can't manage to cut enough of their costs to control their debt. And to top it off, when they manage to put a proposal forward that might stave off the bleeding (like no more Saturday delivery) everyone throws a sh!t fit "Oh, how will we survive? I need my mail that *might* be delivered on the weekend".

[vwtool]

Seriously though, this is a relative example of the problem this country faces.

Yes, but it's not the problem you imagine. Try "uninformed electorate."

This government agency is failing.

By design. What other employer funds their pension plan 75 years into the future?