U.S. Postmaster General: Postal Service Could ‘Collapse’ in Wake of Coronavirus Outbreak

Breitbart ^ | April 12,2020 | PENNY STARR

[Hojczyk]

U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform late last week in a video that unless the U.S. Postal Service gets a federal bailout it will run out of money by the end of September.

Mail volume has fallen steeply in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and the federal agency is expecting the same downward turn in revenues.

At a time when America needs the Postal Service more than ever, the reason we are so needed is having a devastating effect on our business,” Brennan said in the statement. “The Postal Service relies on the sale of postal products and services to fund our operations, and these sales are plummeting as a result of the pandemic. The sudden drop in mail volumes, our most profitable revenue stream, is steep and may never fully recover.”

“The USPS said the pandemic will increase its net operating loss by more than $22 billion over the next 18 months and by over $54 billion over the coming years,” Huffington Post reported.

[al baby]

So except for those once a week mailers id never notice

[al baby]

Back in the 60s we use to get mail twice a day sometimes

[TrumpisRight]

Maybe they should try working for awhile. My postman and post office sucks. They think we are lucky to have them. Prices are just to high for what they offer. Thank goodness for stamp collectors otherwise they would have been out of business tears ago.

[ConservativeInPA]

If mail volume has fallen so much, then how many lazy ass postal employees have been laid off? How about cutting the dead weight and force the remaining to increase their productivity by actually working hard. It’s time to privatize the postal service. The constitution only requires the federal government to establish post offices and postal roads. They’ve been established, now government needs to step aside and let real Americans run things and make a profit.

[xp38]

Because the mail never stops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL6ubXD9ZjY

[Captain7seas]

“The sudden drop in mail volumes, our most profitable revenue stream, is steep...”

Dang I thought they made killer money off their ties.

[Captain7seas]

Our post man delivered a small package today, Easter. Wonder what his hourly rate was for working on Easter Sunday?

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Well then, put the postal workers on 401(k)’s, so that you won’t need to take $5B/yr from them for the pension fund.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Good idea, even though you would have to change federal law to allow them to deliver first class mail.

[MachIV]

The USPS has lost 3 outgoing checks since September that I have tried to mail.

Chunk it already.

[upchuck]

I direct all FReepers to this link:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3834002/posts

which is a very similar article posted two days ago.

Many FReeper comments (124) including mine so I won’t repeat it here.

[Sequoyah101]

Need to make some adjustments.

Delivery three days a week. Cut the carriers in half. It is a good start.

If they can’t make it that way.. Well, Bye.

Bloated, over paid, over obligated for pensions and so on and so forth.

[LeonardFMason]

TFB. Mismanagement and poor leadership have made USPS a money loser for YEARS.

[albie]

Good! Let the private sector handle it. Then they won’t lose a billion a year

[gunnut]

I would say 3 days a week. One group gets mail Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The other group gets mail Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

You could do the same work with half the delivery people.

[Svartalfiar]

There are lots of things that the USPS could do to streamline its costs. Maybe it is time to close all the tiny post offices that were opened at every train station in the age of railroads. I wonder if each of them that is still open has its own Postmaster.

Perhaps home delivery could be 3 or 4 days a week instead of 6.

Maybe USPS rates for shipping from China could lose their special status and pay the same as it costs to ship to the USA from any other country at the same distance.

Place neighborhood mailboxen the same way apartments or business parks do it - a big PO Box-like unit, one or two per neighborhood. That'll cut down massively on labor costs, fuel costs, vehicle maintenance. And through that, all these crazy pensions will start to dwindle down as well.

If they do that, they can always charge extra for home-delivery, same as they currently do for signature-required packages, and same as they already have extra charges for bigger boxen that don't fit in your mailbox (those can be house-delivered).

Stop giving bulk discounts under cost to more than just China - charge more for all the spam mail coming from everywhere.

I'm sure there's more, but between your list and mine, it's good enough for being past bedtime!

[shanover]

It seems like the USPS needs a haircut.

[bgill]

Get rid of all the junk mail and maybe we all wouldn’t get catch CV as much.

Mail has fallen? Seems it should have a huge increase what will all the online shopping.

When have they ever said they were doing a booming business and cut the price of a stamp? Never. If the postal service were in such a bad shape, they’d turn it back over to the government. They haven’t so they’ve been lying about profits for decades and decades.

[hal ogen]

Good. Sell all the property . ..and give me a refund ,

[Songcraft]

"The name alone will bring in a billion new customers."

At least!