Ramifications of USPS going out of business

[Amazon 7]

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I'm, not moaning at all. I'm telling you how much someone makes and why I think it's unsustainable. I don't think you can overpay a group of people for decades and then borrow billions from the federal government to pay off these promises.

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Kind of like the bankers who made huge $(multi-million) bonuses while their banks were being bailed out by the Federal Govt.

Hey thats ok... Most of those guys are in that top 2% who deserve everthing that conservatives who worship them can give them.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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I have a difficult time understanding the problem. If you are operating a business and you are not even making enough money to cover your costs you have 2 choices, raise prices or go out of business.

If the USPS raised their prices to cover their present and likely ballooning $9.2 billion dollar deficit, they will lose even more business which will put them in an even bigger hole. I am pretty sure you know this. Just pointing out the obvious for those who majored in Liberal Arts and/or Social Studies instead of basic economics. The USPS can not afford to sustain the labour force that it has for the shrinking business it has now and faces in the future. It is too big, it is too inefficient. Unions will fight this tooth and nail to keep their entitlements to ensure that there will always be a mailman to be there day in day out in rain or shine, snow, sleet and hail. And what for? To deliver us mail than is rapidly becoming as extinct as the dinosaurs?

The Postal Service work force is too big and too entrenched in their culture of entitlements mindset.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[quade 3]

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I have a difficult time understanding the problem. If you are operating a business and you are not even making enough money to cover your costs you have 2 choices, raise prices or go out of business.

Because there is a Constitutional mandate to provide postal service. They can't just "go out of business" without an Amendment to the Constitution.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[weekender 0]

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I'm, not moaning at all. I'm telling you how much someone makes and why I think it's unsustainable. I don't think you can overpay a group of people for decades and then borrow billions from the federal government to pay off these promises.

.

Kind of like the bankers who made huge $(multi-million) bonuses while their banks were being bailed out by the Federal Govt.

The banks have mostly paid it back with interest. also, they are profitable again. everyone wins.

"The point is, I'm weird, but I never felt weird."
John Frusciante

[Trafficdiver 8]

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I have a difficult time understanding the problem. If you are operating a business and you are not even making enough money to cover your costs you have 2 choices, raise prices or go out of business.

Because there is a Constitutional mandate to provide postal service. They can't just "go out of business" without an Amendment to the Constitution.

Yes, but it doesn't mandate mail service 6 days a week. That can be changed with legislation.

I see no reason why Uncle Elmo living in east assfart needs to get mail service on Saturdays. Or Monday or Wednesday for that matter.

[CanuckInUSA 0]

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Yes, but it doesn't mandate mail service 6 days a week.

Mail could be delivered 1 day a week and it would not effect most people. It would result in a much smaller more sustainable worker force. Plus what is with this door to door deliver? Another inefficiency that could be eliminated. The vast majority of us do NOT need to have our mail delivered to us at our front doors everyday. But the unions will fight this tooth and nail. The unions could give a rats ass about being efficient. The unions only cares about their size. The more members they have the more power they yield.

I laugh whenever postal workers threaten us with strikes. Bring it on. It just means less junk mail fliers I need throw in my recycling bin which means less unionized recyclers need to be employed by the city to pick up my recyclables.

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

[kelpdiver 2]

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The post office is symbolic of whats wrong with the government as a whole. They charge more money every year and the basic service gets worse and worse. Frankly when I have a package to mail I use FEDEX or UPS....

I haven't seen service get worse and worse, and the increase in postage costs seems pretty reasonable compared to many prices over the past 20 years. I can't agree with this statement at all.

They are too big for what their new level of demand has become. But I'd rather see week days go before Saturday, since UPS and Fedex generally don't work that day. (Though I'd hate to be an employee with Sunday, Tue, Thur off)

[headoverheels 291]

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The post office is symbolic of whats wrong with the government as a whole. They charge more money every year and the basic service gets worse and worse. Frankly when I have a package to mail I use FEDEX or UPS....

I haven't seen service get worse and worse, and the increase in postage costs seems pretty reasonable compared to many prices over the past 20 years. I can't agree with this statement at all.

They are too big for what their new level of demand has become. But I'd rather see week days go before Saturday, since UPS and Fedex generally don't work that day. (Though I'd hate to be an employee with Sunday, Tue, Thur off)

I agree. The only thing I really dislike about USPS vs the other package carriers is that their tracking sucks.

[popsjumper 2]

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I have a difficult time understanding the problem. If you are operating a business and you are not even making enough money to cover your costs you have 2 choices, raise prices or go out of business.

Don't forget that cutting costs is a valid option.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[lawrocket 3]

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I have a difficult time understanding the problem. If you are operating a business and you are not even making enough money to cover your costs you have 2 choices, raise prices or go out of business.

Don't forget that cutting costs is a valid option.

90% of USPS operating costs are personnel and due to law and collective bargaining these cannot be reduced through anything other than hiring freeze and attrition.

The USPS is hosed in this regard.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[kelpdiver 2]

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I agree. The only thing I really dislike about USPS vs the other package carriers is that their tracking sucks.

yes, that pushes me towards UPS for many instances. But for delivering letters and magazines, they are doing as well as ever. And I've used their mailhold for many vacations now without concern - very convenient for me.

[masterblaster72 0]

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The post office is symbolic of whats wrong with the government as a whole. They charge more money every year and the basic service gets worse and worse. Frankly when I have a package to mail I use FEDEX or UPS....

I'll take that one step further and say that it's symbolic of what's wrong with business in America as a whole.

Example 1: Cable TV. We used to pay for it when it was first offered in the early 80s in large part because there were no commercials. Now we pay more than ever for cable, and there are more commercials than ever, with less quality programming than ever. I'm glad I don't subscribe to it.

Example 2: Appliances. When I was younger, appliances were made to last, and now they're made to get your $$$ and they break down faster than they ever did. All so the manufacturers can get your $$$ again and again. Got a problem? Call customer service. That's gone down the toilet too -- they keep finding more ways of making it more efficient for THEM and more aggravating for you.

Example 3: Airlines. Many of the items that used to be a part of the flight experience (food, headphones, pillows/blankets) are often items that you have to pay for now. Not to mention the bitchy attendants that serve you. Why's that? They're getting paid less than they used to, with less benefits. Pull down your tray when it's time to eat that slop and you have to see some bullshit advertisement that you know wasn't part of the deal. All to get your $$$.

Forget brand loyalty, forget client service -- it's all about getting your $$ anymore. Greed and corruption rule the day, while we docile bovine consumers/voters keep getting herded, taking it day in and day out.

And so long as the American populace continues to bend over and accept the status quo, that status quo will continue to sink, while the CEOs and politicians laugh their way to the bank.

Be humble, ask questions, listen, learn, follow the golden rule, talk when necessary, and know when to shut the fuck up.

[SkyDekker 1,121]

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I'll take that one step further and say that it's symbolic of what's wrong with business in America as a whole.

Example 1: Cable TV. We used to pay for it when it was first offered in the early 80s in large part because there were no commercials. Now we pay more than ever for cable, and there are more commercials than ever, with less quality programming than ever. I'm glad I don't subscribe to it.

Example 2: Appliances. When I was younger, appliances were made to last, and now they're made to get your $$$ and they break down faster than they ever did. All so the manufacturers can get your $$$ again and again. Got a problem? Call customer service. That's gone down the toilet too -- they keep finding more ways of making it more efficient for THEM and more aggravating for you.

Example 3: Airlines. Many of the items that used to be a part of the flight experience (food, headphones, pillows/blankets) are often items that you have to pay for now. Not to mention the bitchy attendants that serve you. Why's that? They're getting paid less than they used to, with less benefits. Pull down your tray when it's time to eat that slop and you have to see some bullshit advertisement that you know wasn't part of the deal. All to get your $$$.

Forget brand loyalty, forget client service -- it's all about getting your $$ anymore. Greed and corruption rule the day, while we docile bovine consumers/voters keep getting herded, taking it day in and day out.

And so long as the American populace continues to bend over and accept the status quo, that status quo will continue to sink, while the CEOs and politicians laugh their way to the bank.

If you look at it from the other side, you will find that alot of that is driven by consumer's demand for cheap value propositions.

[Fast 0]

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If you look at it from the other side, you will find that alot of that is driven by consumer's demand for cheap value propositions.

Which really is just another form of greed. Everyone wants everything for nothing.

The reality of the USPS is that in order to be successful they have to reposition themselves. They need to modernize their package shipping methods and tracking. They also need to have the ability to grow and shrink based on demand. Email and UPS/FEDEX have made the demand for the USPS much smaller. The service they provide is something that has to happen. There are a lot of things that depend on the postal service that many people take for granted. There are legal reasons (outside the constitution) that you have to have a certifiable mail delivery system that is essentially equated with the government. It serves specific purposes.

They need to be able to adjust on a yearly basis as needed the number of days a week that they are delivering mail.

They also need to honor the deal that was made with the current workers. They also need to reposition with new workers to something that is fair and reasonable. Don't take out past problems on new hires and don't continue to make the problem worse.

Everyone needs to be a lot less greedy if there is going to be any positive change in this world.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[regulator 0]

Malone, Washington (CNN) -- The post office in the tiny Washington town of Malone sells beer and cigarettes. Live worms for fishing, too. The boxes for fixed-rate shipping are wedged between racks of beef jerky and $6.99 sunglasses.

The Malone location is what the U.S. Postal Service has dubbed a "village" post office. It's inside Red's Hop N' Market, the town mini-mart where locals like to buy lottery tickets and a case of beer before the weekend.

It's the only village post office in the country, but soon a similar hybrid may be coming to a town near you.

As the Postal Service buckles under a $9 billion debt, the mail agency has looked for ways to slash operating costs.

"The primary thing we look at is how much revenue they (post offices) generate (and) has that revenue been going down," said Ernie Swanson, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Seattle.

"(At) a lot of these offices, there's a postmaster and no other employee. So do they have an hour or two of work a day, and we are paying them for eight hours?"

Some 3,700 post offices may soon face being turned into village post offices, according to the Postal Service. Last week, Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe testified at a Senate hearing that as many as 220,000 post office employees could lose their jobs in the restructuring.

Postmaster general's warning to Congress

For Malone -- the test ground for the first village post office -- having mail service quite literally put the town on the map.

Search for Malone on Google Maps, and the only landmark that comes up for the entire town is the original, now closed, post office.

Cheryl Kim and her husband, Johnny, own the Red's Hop N' Market, where the village post office is located.

When the couple received a letter last year from the Postal Service inquiring whether they would incorporate the post office into their store, Cheryl Kim said they were confused.

"We didn't know what to make of it," she said. "So we put it on the back burner."

Big, blue mailboxes a thing of the past

Kim said she was convinced after a visit in June by post office officials, who she said, mentioned the possibility that the town could lose its ZIP code if there were no post office.

"If we didn't do this, then the Malone ZIP code was going to disappear," Kim said. "Malone's identity was going to disappear. I didn't want that to happen."

The village post office opened in August in the Kims' store. The couple is paid $2,000 a year to let the post office sell stamps, shipping supplies and place mailboxes alongside the store that residents can access with a key.

According to Swanson, the Postal Service is saving $42,000 with the village post office in Malone.

Future village post offices could be located in malls, town halls or drugstores, according to a Postal Service statement.

Bringing in some of the post office's customers hasn't been bad for the Malone mini-mart's business either, Kim said.

"We've noticed a lot of new faces," she said. "They come into see what the village post office looked like and what we did in here and what kind of postal options they could get."

Those "postal options" are slim. If customers want to do anything more than to buy stamps, send a package with fixed rate shipping or pick up their mail, they have to drive about four miles away to the closest full service post office.

But Swanson said increasingly post office customers are seeking fewer services.

"Eighty-five percent of our retail sales involve the sale of just postage stamps," he said.

(At) a lot of these (post)offices, there's a postmaster and no other employee.

--Ernie Swanson, U.S. Postal Service spokesman

While some residents have grumbled about the lack of services, others were glad that they can still pick up their market from individual locked mailboxes that run along the side of the market, Kim said.

Some disabled people and town residents who don't own cars, she said, would have a hard time getting their mail otherwise.

Malone may have the distinction of being the first American town to have its post office downgraded to a "village" location, but few residents said they see any slight.

"I have been in some towns smaller than Malone; they still have post offices, but I guess you got to start somewhere," said Ron Johanson, a local auto mechanic.

So far, Johanson said, fellow residents don't seem to mind retrieving their mail from the outdoor boxes placed against the wall of the mini-mart during the summer.

It might be different story though, he said, once the drizzly weather returns to the notoriously rainy Pacific Northwest.

"Come back in March," Johanson said. "That will be the real test."
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/12/mini.mart.post.office/index.html?hpt=hp_c2