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Author Topic: The post office isn't broke -- it's being robbed.  (Read 7143 times)

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Offline J.R.E.

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The post office isn't broke -- it's being robbed.
« on: February 06, 2013, 07:53:13 am »
http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2013/2/6/struggling_postal_se.html

I am reminded of  Newman on Seinfeld...  ::)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL6ubXD9ZjY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpUqLjjKk4Y




Post office to stop Saturday mail delivery...

WASHINGTON (AP) --

The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service says it plans to stop delivering mail on Saturdays, but continue delivering packages six days a week.

In an announcement scheduled for later today, the service is expected to say the cut, beginning in August, would mean a cost saving of about $2 billion annually.

The move accentuates one of the agency's strong points - package delivery has increased by 14 percent since 2010. The delivery of letters and other mail has declined with the increasing use of email and other Internet use.


Ray
« Last Edit: February 06, 2013, 08:23:45 am by J.R.E. »
Current Meds ; Viramune / Epzicom Eliquis, Diltiazem. Pravastatin 80mg, Ezetimibe. UPDATED 2/18/24
 Tested positive in 1985,.. In October of 2003, My t-cell count was 16, Viral load was over 500,000, Percentage at that time was 5%. I started on  HAART on October 24th, 2003.

 As of Oct 2nd, 2023, Viral load Undetectable.
CD 4 @676 /  CD4 % @ 18 %
Lymphocytes,absolute-3815 (within range)


72 YEARS YOUNG

Offline OneTampa

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2013, 10:21:50 am »
Ray,

Yes.  This was indeed anticipated.

A good friend of 20 years and a very lively and personable postal clerk retired January 31 this year.  She got out with excellent retirement benefits just in time.  We will all miss her at the post office.  She was a character.
"He is my oldest child. The shy and retiring one over there with the Haitian headdress serving pescaíto frito."

Offline WindySkies

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2013, 12:38:53 pm »
It's a system that has essentially been replaced by technology, or private companies who provide the same service more efficiently. 

I'm sure at one point in time people were upset about telegraph services being cut and shut down.  Yet the world went on!
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Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2013, 12:46:58 pm »
Where I live it seems every post office has cut back to only having one window open. I went to three different places on Monday to mail something to my father and each one had a 30 minute line.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline leatherman

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2013, 01:30:50 pm »
or private companies who provide the same service more efficiently.
untrue. it's a very efficient system that delivers mail much more cheaply (privatization almost always costs by involving a middle man making a profit) burdened by a congressional law that only has the intention to destroy one of the two main jobs the government was bound to do (protect the citizens and run the postal delivery system) by the constitution.

If the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 had not forced the Post office to pre-fund retirement plans for decades (and even for people not yet hired!) and hog-tie their pricing to be competitive, the Post Office would be one of the most efficient and cost-effective departments of the federal government. Instead this legislation will force about 150,000 to eventually lose their jobs and perhaps even destroy the Post Office.

here's an article that discusses this issue to some extent:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45018432/The_Truth_About_The_Post_Office039s_Financial_Mess
« Last Edit: February 06, 2013, 01:32:26 pm by leatherman »
leatherman (aka Michael)

We were standing all alone
You were leaning in to speak to me
Acting like a mover shaker
Dancing to Madonna then you kissed me
And I think about it all the time
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Offline thunter34

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #5 on: February 06, 2013, 02:09:25 pm »
untrue. it's a very efficient system that delivers mail much more cheaply (privatization almost always costs by involving a middle man making a profit) burdened by a congressional law that only has the intention to destroy one of the two main jobs the government was bound to do (protect the citizens and run the postal delivery system) by the constitution.

If the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 had not forced the Post office to pre-fund retirement plans for decades (and even for people not yet hired!) and hog-tie their pricing to be competitive, the Post Office would be one of the most efficient and cost-effective departments of the federal government. Instead this legislation will force about 150,000 to eventually lose their jobs and perhaps even destroy the Post Office.

here's an article that discusses this issue to some extent:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/45018432/The_Truth_About_The_Post_Office039s_Financial_Mess

QFT.

I was about to go on this very rant.  Glad someone saved me the time.  I am personally disgusted by what is being done to the postal system.  They're beating it down and then publicly smearing it.  It's completely loathesome.
AIDS isn't for sissies.

Offline denb45

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #6 on: February 06, 2013, 08:04:04 pm »
I don't think most will even notice, I haven't used my mail box @ my address for yrs.

we use a post office box ( a lot safer that way to combat ID Theft )

as we don't get anything of any real importance, and , if i could be frank, I don't trust my neighbors all that must must anyways, I guess that's the price we pay for living in Albuquerque-Metro  ::)

HUGS

DEN  :D
« Last Edit: February 06, 2013, 08:06:12 pm by denb45 »
"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Offline wolfter

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2013, 08:10:23 pm »
We don't have RFD and must use a post office to retrieve mail.  I only go a couple of times per week anyways unless I'm expecting something.  I guess if it saves as much as they indicate, then all is well.

Wolfie
Being honest is not wronging others, continuing the dishonesty is.

Offline leatherman

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #8 on: February 06, 2013, 08:17:33 pm »
The Ed Show, on MSNBC, started off the show today 2/6 about the Post Office having to supply 75 yrs of pensions, how they receive no tax dollars for operations, and how the Republicans are killing off the institution with a crazy law.


I don't think most will even notice, I haven't used my mail box @ my address for yrs.
I think most people will notice as most people have home delivery of mail. In a country of 308 million people there are only 21 million post office boxes, of which 14.4 million are occupied. If all 21 million boxes were in use, then 93% of the population would still be getting home delivery.
http://www.savethepostoffice.com/how-many-people-use-post-office-does-postal-service-even-know

On Ed's Show, Rep Connolly (D-VA) has been explaining that the Postmaster General probably doesn't have the Constitutional authority to suspend Saturday delivery and  an earlier Post Office report shows that cutting Saturday delivery will not save money but cost money for the packages (medications, checks, netflix, etc) not being delivered and for the employees who will need to be laid off.

It's definitely a lose-lose-lose situation for the PO right now.
leatherman (aka Michael)

We were standing all alone
You were leaning in to speak to me
Acting like a mover shaker
Dancing to Madonna then you kissed me
And I think about it all the time
- Darren Hayes, "Chained to You"

Offline tednlou2

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2013, 12:14:51 am »
The USPS is still the best way for businesses and organization to get a huge bang for their buck. 

I always roll my eyes, when people complain about stamp prices.  I can reach out my door and clip mom's bday card and the one bill I still pay by mail on my box.  The mailperson takes it, and leaves me mail.  I could be sending a card all the way to Hawaii.  This often happens in the extreme heat or cold.  And, all for 47 cents, or whatever it is now.  I've always thought it wasn't enough.  While a dollar per stamp would cut back my Christmas card list, I would not complain, if it went to a dollar.  I know it could hurt small businesses, but I know many get bulk mail rates.


Offline denb45

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2013, 10:31:11 am »
I do all my bill paying & banking on-line, haven't got a paper bill in about 6 yrs.

haven't used  paper checks in about 10 yrs. about the only thing I really get in the mail is JUNK MAIL, I haven't bought a stamp in yrs.

and maybe a few yr. end tax-forums and earnings, SSDI & Pension letters at my P.O. Box, but other than that ,that's about it.....

HUGS

DEN  :D
"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Offline Miss Philicia

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2013, 12:56:01 pm »
See how the price of a U.S. first-class stamp compares to the equivalent in other countries.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577348081675144936.html
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline thunter34

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #12 on: February 07, 2013, 02:22:40 pm »
The Ed Show, on MSNBC, started off the show today 2/6 about the Post Office having to supply 75 yrs of pensions, how they receive no tax dollars for operations, and how the Republicans are killing off the institution with a crazy law.

I think most people will notice as most people have home delivery of mail. In a country of 308 million people there are only 21 million post office boxes, of which 14.4 million are occupied. If all 21 million boxes were in use, then 93% of the population would still be getting home delivery.
http://www.savethepostoffice.com/how-many-people-use-post-office-does-postal-service-even-know

On Ed's Show, Rep Connolly (D-VA) has been explaining that the Postmaster General probably doesn't have the Constitutional authority to suspend Saturday delivery and  an earlier Post Office report shows that cutting Saturday delivery will not save money but cost money for the packages (medications, checks, netflix, etc) not being delivered and for the employees who will need to be laid off.

It's definitely a lose-lose-lose situation for the PO right now.

As I get older, I become more entrenched in the belief that there is nothing - NOTHING - that Republicans do right.  Ever. 

I've been watching this horror show unfold for years with the postal service.  I'm angry about it, but don't know quite what to do.  What makes me maddest is how there has been a fairly successful campaign to keep the public largely unaware of what has been perpetrated on the post as it has been painted as this bloated, inefficient entity that is unsustainable. 

AIDS isn't for sissies.

Offline Jeff G

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #13 on: February 07, 2013, 02:40:12 pm »
As I get older, I become more entrenched in the belief that there is nothing - NOTHING - that Republicans do right.  Ever. 

My parents are/were Republicans and they spawned me and I was born a Democrat and spouting the party line at an early age much to their horror . My daddy would have put me back but momma wouldn't let him , something about Democrats and yeast infections .     
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Offline Ann

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #14 on: February 07, 2013, 02:51:51 pm »
See how the price of a U.S. first-class stamp compares to the equivalent in other countries.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577348081675144936.html

At first I was amazed that the Isle of Man made it onto that list, but then I remembered that the Manx PO makes a big to-do about our stamps being very collectable and popular amongst philatelists. So that's probably why.
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HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline denb45

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #15 on: February 07, 2013, 02:52:48 pm »
Yeah me too Jeff,  My entire Family in Nor-Cal & Southern Cal are all asshole Republicans  ;D
however, I'm not, even tho some of it may have rubbed off on me, but I assure you, not very much of it at all did... it's the Gay & AIDS part they don't like about me  :D

HUGS

DEN  :D
"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Offline anniebc

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #16 on: February 07, 2013, 03:28:45 pm »
The postal service here in New Zealand is talking about delivering only 3 days a week, but as far as I know parcel service will continue regular services, they haven't delivered on a Sat since I moved here nearly 8 years ago, only at Christmas time will we get back our 7 day week post.

Aroha
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Offline red_Dragon888

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #17 on: February 10, 2013, 03:25:39 am »
It's freaking 1984 again and the Industry of Truth is spreading bullshit.  I did something and so should you. 

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/usps_sat_delivery/?rc=fb_share1&r_by=54523-5971989-u8uzSAx

The post office isn't broke -- it's being robbed.


The United States Postal Service has just announced that due to budget shortfalls, mail will no longer be delivered on Saturdays starting in August.

It's true the post office faces financial challenges. But the financial problems are in large part a direct result of an onerous and ill-considered 2006 law called the "Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act" (PAEA) that mandates pre-funding the postal service retiree health care and pension benefits for 75 years — something that no other government agency or private company is forced to do.

The vast majority — 85% — of the budget red ink comes from this pre-funding mandate despite the fact that, according to the post office Inspector General, the pension is over-funded and reserves for retiree health care are far higher than the federal government as a whole, the military and almost all Fortune 1000 companies.1

The PAEA was created by Republicans intent on goal: Killing a government service for the sake of proving that government can't work.

Tell Congress: Don't let Republicans kill the post office.

Even with the declining levels of "snail mail," the post office still manages to deliver to every household in America a total of 563 million pieces of mail for an incredibly low cost. It does it efficiently, and without a penny of taxpayer money.2

But it's that very self-sufficiency that drove Congressional Republicans to hatch a long-term plan to destroy the agency by starving it of the ability to maintain services. By forcing the USPS to save an outrageous and unneeded nest-egg, the agency has been increasingly removed from revenues which would help it keep pace with the innovation of FedEx and UPS.

As a result, the post office has closed branches in some of the most rural areas, where it was the only government-affiliated location for miles around.

Rural post offices in particular are important institutions. Closing them, especially in areas with little or no access to broadband internet service, could have a major impact on the communities they serve. And closing them won't save much money.

Tell Congress: Don't let Republicans kill the post office.

Undermining public services is exactly what Republicans have been doing since the Reagan-era, by cutting off normal, healthy revenues for any reason they can find — even if it requires doing something that in any other circumstance would be branded as total lunacy. FedEx and UPS would never be required to meet the same savings requirements as the USPS.

By making the public believe that government services are underfunded and poorly managed, Republicans can force more cuts, and eventually privatize services altogether, handing over public goods to private corporations that enrich a select few at the expense of many.

And if the USPS dies, FedEx and UPS will have been delivered an entire, centuries-old industry at wholesale cost.

But all of this can be avoided by making simple and popular reforms to the postal service like those proposed last year in a bill by Delaware Senator Thomas Carper. His bill would have allowed the USPS to stretch out payments for future retirees for the next 40 years, while recouping $11 billion the government has overcharged the postal service.3

If Congress can't get its act together and implement these necessary and simple reforms, the postal service will be forced to continue cutting staff and services. Legislators must act now to repeal the PAEA and put the post office back on equal footing.

Tell Congress: Don't let Republicans kill the post office.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I3ba3lnFHik

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Offline red_Dragon888

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Re: I think we all expected this to happen...
« Reply #18 on: February 11, 2013, 07:53:15 am »
I just feel that the Republican do what they get paid to do by the Fortune 500 Companies aka The American Public.  Once promises are made, money is given,  the right people are in the position of control, example The Post Master General, and the media push for their agenda, then after they run the USPS into the ground they can blame it on Big Government.  These politician are all about themselves and not about humane interest.  As long as these Fortune 500 A-Holes are willing to do whatever it takes to get the dirty people representatives on their side, be it by supporting their reelections or passing money under the table, it will be a long and hard battle for government to the right thing for the common people aka the lower and middle income public.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I3ba3lnFHik

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Offline red_Dragon888

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The post office isn't broke -- it's being robbed.
« Reply #19 on: February 26, 2013, 11:07:29 am »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I3ba3lnFHik

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Offline Ann

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Re: The post office isn't broke -- it's being robbed.
« Reply #20 on: February 26, 2013, 11:33:35 am »
Red, I merged your new thread about the US Postal Service into the already existing thread about the same subject.

Ann
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"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline red_Dragon888

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Re: The post office isn't broke -- it's being robbed.
« Reply #21 on: February 26, 2013, 12:01:04 pm »
Red, I merged your new thread about the US Postal Service into the already existing thread about the same subject.

Ann
Thank you Ms. Ann.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I3ba3lnFHik

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Offline mecch

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Re: The post office isn't broke -- it's being robbed.
« Reply #22 on: February 26, 2013, 02:17:27 pm »
The Swiss Post Office also operates as a savings bank, and a place anyone can pay bills.  Maybe the US Post Office should become a low fee credit union and give some of these awful banks a run for the money.
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