Posted on 07/26/2011 8:15:04 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The problem with bloated central planning is that when austerity hits, the bloat goes away, and millions of government employees suddenly find themselves trying to enter the private sector, realizing they have absolutely no real competitive and marketable skills (more or less like investment bankers and hedge fund managers). And while America has yet to even remotely sniff austerity, the unemployment rate is already set to spike, after the USPS just announced it was preparing to close 3,653 out of its 32,000 total post office sites.
Per UPI: "The U.S. Postal Service is expected to announce a plan to close 3,653 post offices, mostly in small communities, in a cost-cutting measure, officials said. A USPS spokeswoman said the post offices were chosen because they get the "least amount of foot traffic and retail sales," The Wall Street Journal reported Monday." Trust the bureaucrats to try spinning this bad news as good: "They also were selected because there may be local businesses that could provide some postal services to the community, spokeswoman Sue Brennan said."
Well by that logic there are private businesses that cover every aspect of the government's "job" much better, and much more efficiently, up to and including that of the Fed (sorry, that already is private). Does that mean we should outsource every aspect of the bloated centrally planned economy that America has become? Of course the answer is yes, but that just does not jive with the current iteration of kleptofascist socialism.
More:
The list of the closures, amounting to about 11 percent of the USPS' post offices nationwide, will be made public Tuesday by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe,
The Postal Regulatory Commission would have to approve the widespread closings, as the USPS prepares to file a request for a "national change of service," Brennan said.
Donahoe also will announce "a replacement strategy" involving third-party retailers, she said.
"If you're a community and there is a local convenience store, for example, we might be reaching out to these organizations to see if they would be interested in providing limited postal service for the community that might be affected," Brennan said.
So between corporate and now public sector layoffs, expect the unemployment rate to resume climbing steadily to double digits, hitting it some time in Q4, at which point QE3 will be inevitable, as Goldman predicted yesterday.
Unfortunately, its in the constitution. It would be difficult to get rid of it. AND, there are real uses for the system during times of national crisis. I know it sounds silly, but the Kevin Costner movie was not that far off...
The pay is good for what they do but it's not as easy as a lot of people think. What has destroyed the PO is the union MENTALITY.
I'll never forget being in the PO on a day just before Christmas, with a line stretching out the door. There were three clerks, because it was lunchtime. The supervisor came out and was trying to help with small things, like fetching mail.
One of the clerks (the older guy union devotee type) was yelling at her that she wasn't allowed to help and he was going to make a complaint, and she had no business taking their job.
It was a lib Jewish area, and people were looking at him. wondered how many people on line were seeing it for what it was - leftist unionism raised to absurdity. It was a textbook example of why progressive politics in actually lead to stagnation and inefficiency.
No way any business that is successful can function like that.
My dad went from part time flexie to the manager of one of the bulk mail centers. Over 40 years he really got soured on the whole thing.
He would say that moving the mail was pretty simple, and while he had his run ins with the unions there WAS a pride in workmanship.
I worked there for the four summers I was in college. To be honest, in the past 30 years, I have yet to work with a better bunch of “professionals.” They were really dedicated to getting the mail to the right place. And this was not a small post office (about 200 delivery routes.) I wish that staffs over the year would be 80% as good as those guys.
But, as I left I could see the “college” kids and “efficiency” experts coming in to start the automation. That was the beginning of the end. Too many supervisors. Too much bean counting and not enough focus on getting stuff done. Its funny, the bean counters are pretty much the reason why its become inefficient.
The stuff I saw happening in the post office, I saw repeatedly over the next thirty years in company after company. Whenever someone tried to “reengineer” the system without input from the folks on the front end, they really screwed to pooch.
So, yeah, they could dump 50% of the middle management and the system would run a lot better.
I live within five miles of four post offices. One is a storefront—that should be closed. The other one service two decent sized towns. And the last one is the main one for the region.
Clerks get frustrated because they have to deal with a myriad of changing rules, customers who dont understand them, and training that was established by accountants.
Whenever you hear the phrase, “We cannot do that” without an explanation or alternative, you are dealing with training systems set up to protect the cash drawer, and not service the customers. Of course, there some things they cannot do because of safety issues (like sending lead acid batteries through the normal mail system.) But there should be an explanation and an alternative offered.
And, the hardest part is that people come in fixing for a fight because of the crappy service over the long haul.
how many of these are in rural areas?
how many closings would mean campaign communications would be hindered? (iow advantage to democrats?)
But you paid dearly for that service.
You would NEVER pay that much for service from the post office.
My local UPS store sucks. They are arrogant and they don’t listen. I will go across town to the other UPS store or Fed Ex store.
But, if the local UPS store had to deal with the volume of people they would be understaffed and they would be nasty.
I am not defending lousy service, but people walk into the post office fixing for a fight. They “expect” bad service, so when they see anything, their suspicion is confirmed.
I have seen crappy service in all delivery stores. I will tell you that the reason I use the USPS is because I can do it all online, and the guy comes to my door every day. I don’t have to call them, or email them or anything. The less human contact, the better the system.
I can tell you that I send out ten or twelve pieces of priority mail daily during my busy season. The delivery times, tracking, and accuracy is just as good as UPS or Fed EX for a lot less money.
They could get rid of ALL of their buildings for all I care.
Gee whiz, who’da thunk they’d be in trouble financially when they build post offices in towns with less than 200 people?!?
Those ATMs are already to blame for high unemployment. Don't believe me? Ax obummer.
Self ping for future reference.
don’t forget USPS mail is statutorily requred for certain legal notices.
for private service perhaps. but it is not as simple as mere email is enough.
It will be interesting to see how union-heavy these 3,700 post offices are. I’ll bet not very.
The Post Office’s biggest money sink hole is at 1400 L St NW in Washington DC. That place is comical, the layers of employees surly and incompetent.
I would hate to see how many small post offices will be sacrificed, just to keep those mouth-breathers on L Street in snack food.
Someone told me that there are There are 32,741 post offices in the United States. The U.S. Postal Service employs over 656,000 people.
This news translates into approx. 11% cut in the workforce.
I wonder how a lot of the junk mails are going to be delivered from now on ...
Many of these tiny POs don’t have a real postmaster, they have hourly employees who act as the PM/clerk. I think around here they pay about $10/hr.
That's exactly what is being proposed. In my area, the next town is 10 or so miles away, and they're proposing closing that post office, moving the route carriers to MY office, and leave the post master and the building there. The Post Master is eligible for two more years at his current pay scale, but he could just as well retire. His job goes away. The carriers remain, but are relocated.
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