Posted on 05/18/2012 4:58:17 AM PDT by SoFloFreeper
The nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service is moving forward with a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting plan that will close nearly 250 mail processing centers, saying on Thursday it can no longer wait as Congress remains deadlocked over how to help.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
I think his unscripted line was "Everybody loves the post office... "
He looked stupid....
Axelrod and Rahm quickly pulled the plug on their man-child's free wheeling "selling" sessions with the general public.
cUT THEIR DAMN PAYCHECKS AND THEIR PENSIONS.
There ~ that's a good $15 billion to the good.
Now, regarding how USPS is set up ~ the design is to operate the system on a break-even basis. There's not supposed to be any profit to it, nor any loss. That means that Congress set it up to be nearly bankrupt at any particular moment!
USPS also fully funds 100% of the retirement burden generated by USPS workers ~ unlike the rest of the government where the agencies DO NOT FULLY FUND 100% of that burden out of current budget.
The funds for USPS to operate come from postage ~ not taxes. The retirements are paid from postage ~ not taxes. The salaries paid to postal workers are paid from postage ~ not taxes.
You, as a taxpayer, would get NOTHING by cutting pensions or salaries. Instead large mailers would reap the benefits (since the law requires postage rates be set in accordance with expected current expenses of the agency).
BTW, USPS has been subsidizing your own low tax rate with a $5 billion per year payment to the government ~ out of those postage payments ~ so "they" can balance the federal government's budget.
Obviously that didn't work.
Do you have any more really smart ideas?
Go to a 3 day a week residential delivery schedule which will reduce the labor pool. MWF for some zip codes and TTS for the others. After all there isn’t a need for daily junk mail, imo.
250 ???
Out of thousands?
Should we be weeping?
Actually, once a week delivery would be more than enough for me. I would hate to see my letter carrier out of a job though. A super nice guy and he doesn’t leave my packages out in the rain as UPS does
“hmm ~ how about this, cut off your antiquated “to the door delivery’ ~ and that little bitty post office down the street? Close it now.”
***
That’s fine if you drive. Not so good for the elderly and disabled.
I remember reading a while back how the Post Office was fine
Until Congress enacted some legislation that affected the pensions of the postal employees and the Post office has had problems ever since. My memory is
A little foggy on this you forgot to mention that in your response
In reality carrier routes aren't just randomly thrown together. They are DESIGNED.
Not only are they designed, they are designed to optimize efficiency given the number of expected stops (places where mail is delivered) and the expected mail volume (since all routes aren't equal when it comes to volume).
Additional consideration is given to whether or not the route is delivered on foot, or by motor vehicle, and how far the carrier needs to travel.
Then, there's employee availability. The current standard is 6 day a week residential delivery (and 5 day a week business delivery). The number of work hours required to do that job is obtained from employees who are available 4.5 days per week (due to vacation time, sick leave, accidents).
At least once a year each and every carrier route is evaluated and then changed to accommodate growth, or reduction, in mail volume, distance traveled and number of stops.
The proposal for MWF/TTS delivery doesn't solve the problem posed by having 6 days of delivery. At the same time it Doubles the mail volume delivered on any given day on any particular route. Obviously if they have to handle that mail, that takes time, so you don't really get to double the mail volume, nor cut much time out of the business of preparing that volume for delivery, or, best of all, eliminating a Level 6 carrier technician and replacing her with a Level 5 letter carrier.
Let me say this about the whole thing ~ it's a very complex formula. Remodeling the entire carrier delivery system can possibly whack a half day out of that 6 day workweek for residential carriers, and probably nothing out of the 5 day workweek for business carriers ~ unless you buy bigger delivery vehicles.
The most potential for savings lie in eliminating door delivery ~ so that the carriers deliver to curbside boxes, or to cluster box units in neighborhoods. The second biggest savings would come from eliminating multi-man routes ~ those are used in dangerous communities with inadequate police presence ~ one guy stays with the vehicle, two guys go into the buildings/projects to deliver with one of them watching the others back while he stuffs mail in maibox units.
Shifting that burden from USPS to the local cops would provide USPS with serious savings!
If you want major manpower savings you have to eliminate the little post offices that don't do anything but sit there. There are 28,000 of them, and they have about 45,000 employees ~ postmasters, clerks and relief clerks.
Those folks are earning about $50,000 per year. That's a $2.25 billion chop ~ but the US Senate said they don't want that to happen!
Then, there are the special operations where they cancel local mail with the local postmark ~ then send the mail on to a fully equipped semi-automated Mail Processing Center for working. The local postmark deal actually slows down the mail and increases costs. Time to eliminate it. The 250 facilities cited in this news article are in that category.
From the standpoint of the mailers, there is, of course, no such thing as 'junk mail' ~ and every bit of it is time-sensitive. Scheduled delivery is very important to merchants with sales planned. You may not agree but unless you're paying the postage no one cares.
I think they are bluffing. Don’t get me wrong. I hope they do.
But I think what is going on (and I base this on their reason given for action) is that they are telling congress that “if you don’t do something pronto, we have no choice”. They can’t operate by just kicking the can further down the road, though congress thinks that works for everything.
The road, for them, has reached its end. It is going to be reaching its end for a LOT of government and government supported agencies in the next year or three.
Yep there many facets but every little saving can help towards a larger savings. But there is no real justification for 6 day a week residential delivery, imo. Your flavor may vary as is your right.
Have a good day.
At the same time USPS has been overcharged anywhere from $28 to $78 billion more than was actually due for employee pensions ~ with a lot of that money being paid by the employees!
Not sure why I should mention that every time but Congress has tried to turn USPS and its employees into a cash cow for more money that can be wasted on risky schemes and personal boondoggles like Solyndra!
I have no pity for the elderly or the disabled ~ you must have realized that by now. Besides, almost all of them already have to walk to the curbline to get their mail.
I have no pity for the elderly or the disabled ~ you must have realized that by now. Besides, almost all of them already have to walk to the curbline to get their mail.
***
Probably depends on where you live. Out in the suburbs and rural areas, sure. Inner city and old neighborhoods no.
Are you saying there should be no delivery at all? Well, you try walking with a cane through ice and snow. Just be grateful you are young and healthy and can get around in all weather conditions. There are a lot of people who can’t.
Personally, I think privatization is the way to go. Government can’t run anything at a profit.
The cities also remove the show from the sidewalks ~ which is something they don't do in the suburbs.
The highest percentage of disabled, elderly and handicapped people in America are like everyone else ~ they live in the suburbs!
Regarding privatization, I've done an extensive study of that matter and to make it work those 28,000 small post offices will be closed and delivery service provided by rural route carriers.
To the door delivery will be eliminated and USPS will drop out of the parcel delivery service except on contract downstream with UPS and/or FedEx.
Else, they, not USPS, will have to 'splain to everyone why there's no delivery to rural areas and bad parts of town.
One of my first actions would be to do a leveraged buyout of UPS!
Around here, UPS and FedEx deliver to the post office anyway because they don’t want to screw with door to door delivery.
I would eliminate the main sorting centers in the states and eliminate the redundant post offices in the big cities while allowing UPS to handle all but the local deliveries.
In Jackson Michigan (the big town in this county) there are 5 city post offices plus door to door delivery to every home. Where I live there is one post office with rural home delivery and no home delivery here in town. We have 1 full time employee and 1 unneeded part timer who works a few hours on Saturday. We also share a rural mail carrier with 3 other post offices from surrounding towns.
Just the other day I was talking to a friend who lives in Jackson. He told me that in the 20 years he’s lived in town, he’s never been to any of the 5 post offices. I go to my little rural post office every single day.
Just a quick search shows me 5 offices in Jackson Mi, 5 in Lansing Mi, 5 in east Lansing, and 5 in Ann Arbor and all are in cities with home delivery.
Here’s a clue From The Article: “.......saying on Thursday it can no longer wait as Congress remains deadlocked over how to help.”
As everything is politics in this Leftist World we live in today the above gives me a clue as to the politics of this action by USPS. This strikes me as a “we can’t wait” Obamunist initiated slap at Congress’s face. Adding to the Obama program of dumping on Congress. Trying to make Congress irrelevant. Trying to make the Congress that is the voice of the people irrelevant.
It’s the Obama way. That’s what I see here. Leftist Politics at play.
You do realize you'd probably need to hire more than a million people to do that work.
duh ~ think that one through. If USPS can cut costs that’s always a good idea. You really can’t denounce improved productivity as a risky socialist scheme!
You’re focused on the wrong track me thinks. This is the Obama Administration. The same Administration that has been working to make Congress irrelevant. Think Executive Orders, and the like for the purpose as defined by the Obama Administration of by-passing Congress.
All too often we see things that seem on the surface one way, but in actuality are designed to create a different result. A most oft used tactic of the Left.
I see this action of the USPS as influenced by the current perspectives in leadership of our government.
I stick with my analysis until proven otherwise.
It is independently budgeted and financed. No executive orders or federal laws impact it unless it is specifically named in those orders or laws!
Obama has no authority over USPS. He can appoint members of the Board of Governors and the Postal Rate Commission, but he has no direct operating authority. Besides, seriously, it's a complex business and outsiders like Obama have so little knowledge of how it's operated I doubt he could put together an understandable order that meant anything relevant.
USPS has always had the authority to open and close postal facilities, hire people (independently of federal civil service laws), spend money, etc.
You are misinterpreting what is going on here. It's not a threat by USPS to close facilities unless Congress acts ~ rather USPS has to close facilities NOW, not later, because Congress promised to act on financial relief BUT DID NOT DO SO.
It is not likely the House of Representatives is going to vote to give USPS money ~ nor is it likely the Senate is going to vote to quit taxing USPS.
Most of the Kabuki in Congress is about covering the "Deficit". USPS isn't playing Kabuki.
You say “no authority”. I said “influence”. If Obama appoints, or has any ability to stick his nose under the edge of the USPS tent he’s got “influence”.
You have convinced me you are of narrow focus.
He's not.
They don't. And, they are out of money. That means that if Congress doesn't give them more money they have to cut costs.
I know that's a hard thing for the Congress critters to understand, but you're a Freeper and you should know that when there is no more money, then there's no more money.
Doesn't take an ideologically based conspiracy to come up with a cost cutting solution.
Don’t you get the feeling that these no-nothings such as
Sacasaweau are just a teeny-weeny jealous that they don’t have good pensions?
Err, that would be “know-nothings.” I really know better.
Some of that is due to the cost of living escalator ~ which tends to keep your federal pension increasing in numbers if not purchasing power.
Until quite recently, as pension rules go, federal employees could not also start an IRA account ~ after all, they had a pension plan so they were written out of that law.
Later with the reforms of the mid 1980s federal employees could have an IRA and also an equivalent of the 401(K) plans the private sector got earlier. Initially the savings levels were kept way down so there was little value to these plans until the late 1990s.
Federal employees were also prohibited from joining Social Security.
Their sole familiarity with mail sortation systems is...................
Let me give you an analogy. The US and Germany fielded armored tanks in WWII in substantial numbers. The US built all of its tanks on a frame and chassis that could be assembled in existing automotive plants. Germany built all of its tanks on a frame and chassis that could be assembled in existing train locomotive plants.
Our tanks were smaller but there were just an awful lot of them! The German tanks were larger, and they were fewer in number.
At the same time our tanks were far more fuel efficient than the German tanks. We had plenty of gasoline. They ran out.
USPS and the express parcel businesses are fundamentally different in nature and scope.
As I understand it, the defined benefits pension plans for federal workers ended in 1986 and after that, those who were covered in the old plan were offered something equivalent to a 401k plan, as you pointed out. They could keep what they had or go with the new plan. Those hired after a certain date in that year (I’m not sure but I think it was 1986) had no choice, they got the 401k plan and their personal savings and that was that.
But, heck, that doesn’t stop people who are ignorant of matters from fuming and fussing that government employment is nothing but one huge bed of roses.
250 ???
Out of thousands?
Should we be weeping?”””
This is about Processing/Sorting centers.
Not individual post office locations.
When I lived in So Calif, my mail was delivered to the box hanging on my house. NOT to the curbline.
That’s exactly the sort of thing I would eliminate. No more “he crossed my lawn” complaints for one, and it’s less costly.
Most folks don’t know the difference. They imagine the main MPC having rows and rows of counterlines with clerks standing behind them fiddling with meter machines!
“BTW, your other mistake ~ almost forgot this one ~ how stupid of me ~ is thinking USPS has access to unlimited funds.”
I never made such an assumption, and I don’t find it in what I’ve written in our back, and forth communications here today. I therefore am convinced you have imagined words I’ve not written, or thoughts I’ve not had for the sake of your argument.
Get back on your meds. Don’t bother me anymore with your wild imagination.
The fact you close places down that you don't need is not a sign of an ideological conspiracy at work. The post office is out of money and must close down hundreds of places to keep the others open.
“Your inner city people living in high rise buildings get delivery in the lobby. The cities also remove the show from the sidewalks ~ which is something they don’t do in the suburbs.
The highest percentage of disabled, elderly and handicapped people in America are like everyone else ~ they live in the suburbs!”
***
Well, I don’t know about where you live, but in my city, we only have a handful of high rises. Elderly and disabled live in their own homes and no one gets their sidewalks shoveled by the city. In fact, it’s a misdemeanor if your walk is not shoveled within 24 hours of a snowfall.
When I was but a young chil' I had to walk to school twice a day, uphill, and through ice.
You would not believe.
I think everybody can live with a curbside box.
You would not believe.”
***
Yes, I would. For the first several years of my public school education, I came home for lunch. Except for elementary school, I too had to walk hills even in winter. We didn't have school buses till I was in tenth grade. Even so, I found out I could walk to and from school faster than taking the bus.
But all that doesn't matter. Disability makes walking hills impossible, at least in winter.
About the curb boxes — my house, like most in my neighborhood, is designed so I wouldn't be able to install a curb box even if I wanted to. The house has a narrow walk and driveway. No place for a curb box. I wish I could send you a pic so you would know what I'm talking about.
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