The difference is currently $4.5 billion (annualized)
At the same time The PMG just slashed costs by $2.0 billion and got a reward for doing so.
Having "watched" this particular problem very closely most of my working life, I'd suggest the USPS is presently running short more than 10% ~ which means that mail volumes are probably down about 15% ~ mostly in the periodicals category as well as the standard mail category where you find all the direct mail advertising.
That's a really big drop ~ last time that happened was back in the 1950s and the cause was a drought of major proportions. Later droughts tended to affect primarily agricultural areas, but this situation is affecting all postal sectors.
Let's put it this way ~ we may have a large, looming nationwide drought underway but we just don't know it yet.
So, what would be the signs? First, farmers know these things months before everyone else. So, they retrench to avoid wasting capital planting crops that will fail. Secondly, they seek new water resources, or seek to secure those they have. Wonder how many new farm ponds have been carved out since January? Since farmers also stop paying bills (and bankers stop sending them) in the face of a severe drought, the mail volume should reflect this.
Potter (the PMG) sees that he was able to cut some costs, but not enough to balance the revenue loss. That means that the biggest part of the revenue loss involves his largest single sector of fixed costs ~ and that's the various farm belts and agricultural zones in the USA ~ just like the early l950s and in 1987.
We also see the weather gals now telling us about coming water cutoffs in agricultural regions of California INCLUDING Northern California. The SE is having a resurgence of the drought that has nagged at them off and on for the last decade.
It's large enough this time that it extends up into Virginia nearly to DC. Texas has a large drought region.
If Obama imagines that there's sufficient income in the country to pay for his wasteful spending this week, he's got a surprise coming. This drought is one of those old time FAMINE type droughts. You'll see what at $25 a bushel, and corn lucky to find at all. With a 50% or higher loss expected in California fruits and vegetables this year, you'd best put out your own garden this year and make sure to drain your "gray water" into cisterms to use to raise veggies.