Posted on 01/24/2011 12:28:06 PM PST by Justaham
The U.S. Postal Service plays two roles in America: an agency that keeps rural areas linked to the rest of the nation, and one that loses a lot of money.
Now, with the red ink showing no sign of stopping, the postal service is hoping to ramp up a cost-cutting program that is already eliciting yelps of pain around the country. Beginning in March, the agency will start the process of closing as many as 2,000 post offices, on top of the 491 it said it would close starting at the end of last year. In addition, it is reviewing another 16,000half of the nation's existing post officesthat are operating at a deficit, and lobbying Congress to allow it to change the law so it can close the most unprofitable among them. The law currently allows the postal service to close post offices only for maintenance problems, lease expirations or other reasons that don't include profitability.
The news is crushing in many remote communities where the post office is often the heart of the town and the closest link to the rest of the country. Shuttering them, critics say, also puts an enormous burden on people, particularly on the elderly, who find it difficult to travel out of town.
The postal service argues that its network of some 32,000 brick-and-mortar post offices, many built in the horse-and-buggy days, is outmoded in an era when people are more mobile, often pay bills online and text or email rather than put pen to paper. It also wants post offices to be profitable to help it overcome record $8.5 billion in losses in fiscal year 2010.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Broken vending machine for years until they finally took it out... touch screen machine... maybe it works... multiple teller windows but only one person working behind the counter and she doesn't speak very good English.
I've told them a couple times they should remove the American flag outside since that office is a disgrace to the United States.
Internet out here is dialup unless you have $75 or $80 a month to spend on broadband-which most of us do not have in these hard times-rural areas in this part of Texas that depend on commuters and snowbird winter tourism have been hard hit by Obama’s insane job killing policies.
The PO out here isn’t even in a “community”-it is at the intersection of a farm road and the nearest state highway, in an area where there are maybe 20 residences and 8 business within two miles-what a shining example of convenience and wise federal spending.
Yep; you said it. My uncle couldn’t read or write. The postmaster made out his checks for him and mailed them to pay his bills. I don’t know what he would have done without her help; she even fed him a lot of his meals as he got older and unable to manage. I hated it; but he lived on the other end of the state from me. - He was like a pesky kid that like to have drove her ‘round the bend at times.
“multiple teller windows but only one person working behind the counter”
You have aptly described the nearest PO 15 miles away at the FM intersection, except that clerk doesn’t appear to understand English at all...
Please see my earlier post (#22) in this thread.
What would it take to completely shutter the USPS? Would an amendment be necessary because of what's widely known as the "Postal Clause"? Or is there some form of a "Sunset Provision" that could be applied retroactively?
Failing that, what measures could be taken to reduce the role of the USPS to that only minimally satisfying the letter of the Constitution?
I agree with you.
How can you know what programs are really running on your PC? Just look at all those processes in your task manager and tell me you know what all of them are doing and that for sure none of them are malicious. Facebook should better be known as infesto-rama for malware. And the same thing probably now goes for your smart phone.
I don’t do my banking on-line and if I want to buy something with my credit card I will boot an instance of Linux from a live CD image in a virtual PC.
I recognize it, but a diner or general store or even barbershop can serve the same purpose and actually make money at the same time.
The nearest post office to my home is about 4 mi. away. I went to that one thinking it was the one the letter was at... turned out it was at McKinney's other post office (the one classified as the "main" office)... about 10-12 miles from my home. I had to take an hour off work at day's end so I could get there before they closed. One "main" post office for 100,000+ residents? Great.
That's what I get for making the mistake of entering a contest where I ended up being a minor prize winner.
It would take an amendment as the Constitution clearly states:
The Congress shall have power...
To establish post offices and post roads
Without an amendment, that power is part of Congress.
Mine is the employer of arrogant foreigners who don't speak understandable English, don't have a clue about correct postal categories or rates and couldn't care less. There's not an American in the bunch, and from the looks of the expensive cars in the employee parking lot, they are VERY well paid.
And this is what was waiting for you at the post office, right? :-)
That is ridiculous-did you complain? It is crap like that is part of the reason the postal service has been drowning in red ink for years. Certified letters out here probably never get picked up-I don’t know anyone who will drive a 30 mile round trip for any letter-and most of us get stuff we order that is too big for the mailbox shipped UPS-it isn’t much more money and it comes right to your front gate...
If you keep thinking you’re fired!
It seems to me that the post office could make a consolidation deal with both federal agencies, to have multi-purpose federal facilities, and private package agencies.
The key to the latter would be that the post office agree to surrender its monopoly on first class letters, while retaining official government posts only, so that it would become in character much like the package delivery companies.
As such, it could share facilities and have rural route agreements with other services.
actually, a gift card for fuel.
The APC does 99% of what I need the post office for.
Post Office??? Sounds like something from the 20th century.
I have one CC that has a 5K limit on it. That’s the one I use for online purchases.
>>from the looks of the expensive cars in the employee parking lot<<
They are probably all one step down from the title of “Prince” just working for the medical care and retirement benefits.
No zoning for any of those
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.