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Misusing chauffered vehicles still doesn't add up to $1,400,000,000!

I think the article you copied is referring to a presumption by the Postal OIG that it was possible to obtain greater efficiencies by changing various postal operations - not that there was that much waste, fraud and abuse going on.

Leastwise the OIG has admitted as much and the folks who prepared the studies claim they never used those words anyway.

Here's a choice for you - it's always been there - would you rather have reliable postal service, the fastest possible postal service, or the cheapest possible postal service?

The Postal Service OIG assumes that you want the cheapest possible postal service. "Fast" and "reliable" are words which are not in their lexicon! But if USPS listens to the OIG and starts "saving" that $1.4 billion, you are going to see your First-Class mail taken off of airplanes and put on trucks.

Monuments to Waste

Postal service managers have also received unusually large relocation packages in some cases.

When Richard Porras, the former chief financial officer of the Postal Service, moved from Fairfax, Va., to Vienna, Va. — a distance of 15 miles — he was given $142,000. On top of that he received $25,000 for miscellaneous expenses.

Porras has since retired, but he told ABCNEWS by telephone that the expenses were approved.

The inspector general's report reveals managers at the Postal Service have also squandered millions of dollars on buildings and equipment.

In Charlottesville, Va., the Postal Service leased a building for $4.2 million for 20 years. Then it left that building empty for two years before subleasing it to a tractor supply company.

In Chicago, the construction of the main post office ended up costing $128 million more than the original budget.

In Seattle, postal officials bought a building without getting a detailed inspection. Later they discovered the building needed $23 million in repairs.

"It's outrageous," says Edward Hudgins of the Cato Institute. "If it did happen in the private sector, heads would roll, the people who wasted $23 million would be out looking for a job."

The Postal Service has also been criticized for spending $158 million in advertising for their overnight delivery services. Critics argue that the post office is a monopoly, and there is no need to advertise. The government agency even sponsors Lance Armstrong and the United States Cycling Team.

Despite criticism and big losses, postal officials have said that they will not cut their advertising budget.

"No business our size would operate without advertising to make people aware of the products they produce," Willhite said.

On June 30th, the Postal Service will raise the price of a First-Class stamp from $0.34 to $0.37. The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) confirms that, despite recent annual rate increases, the Postal Service is headed for its third consecutive annual deficit since fiscal year 2000. In addition, it is nearly $13 billion in debt with more than $80 billion in additional liabilities looming, and it has no debt reduction plan in place. Due to this bleak financial outlook, GAO placed the Postal Service on its "high-risk" list.

To back its call for greater accountability, CAGW released a new Wirthlin Worldwide survey confirming that 85 percent of the public wants independent auditors to investigate the Postal Service's finances and make the results public, before the Postal Service is allowed to raise rates again. Paige added, "If Enron had to open its financial books to the world, doesn't the public have the right to demand the same of our debt-ridden and hopelessly mismanaged Postal Service?"

To highlight the need for Postal officials to act more responsibly, CAGW unveiled a series of "commemorative stamps" depicting egregious examples of recent Postal waste and mismanagement. CAGW and other groups are making the stamps available online to their members and the public at www.cagw.org. CAGW is launching a national protest to encourage supporters to download the "stamps" from the Internet, and - after affixing the proper postage - affix them elsewhere on letters to federal officials demanding a Postal Service audit. [Note: these stamps are clearly labeled as having "no cash value."]

The six "commemorative stamps" visually depict the following:

"Where's Our Money Going?" - represents the fact that the GAO confirms the Postal Service is billions of dollars in debt, despite annual rate increases, and has no debt reduction plan in place.

"Postal Execs Gone Fishin'" - represents the fact that the very day after consumers are forced to pay higher Postal rates, top Postal officials are set to jet away on a junket to a luxury resort hotel in Anchorage, Alaska.

"Priority Mail Not a Priority" - represents the fact that the Postal Rate Commission's Office of Consumer Advocate recently revealed that Priority Mail is no faster, and sometimes slower, than First-Class Mail - and the Postal Service continues to mislead consumers about this service.

"Fat Cat Executive Bonuses" - represents the fact that the Postal Service's own Inspector General confirms that the managers responsible for allowing the Postal Service to amass billions of dollars of debt, paid themselves $805 million in "performance" bonuses between 1998 and 2000. Still others used Postal funds to help pay their personal home mortgages.

"Postal Execs Limo Lawbreakers" - represents the fact that top Postal managers were caught breaking federal law - over 500 times - by using chauffeured-driven limousines to shop and travel between home and office.

"Postal Service High Risk" - represents the fact that, due to its deteriorated financial situation, the Postal Service was placed on GAO's "High Risk" list.