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The U.S. Postal Service Nears Collapse
Businessweek ^ | May 26, 2011 | Devin Leonard

Posted on 05/28/2011 6:47:53 PM PDT by 4buttons

He is struck by how many USPS executives started out as letter carriers or clerks. He finds them so consumed with delivering mail that they have been slow to grasp how swiftly the service's financial condition is deteriorating. "We said, 'What's your 10-year plan?' " Herr recalls. "They didn't have one."

(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government
KEYWORDS: biggov; freelazamataz; government; postal; postoffice; usps; veterans; waste
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To: Gaffer

The post said “full retirement” and that was 40 years!


141 posted on 05/29/2011 9:12:48 AM PDT by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah

Maybe so, but it shouldn’t be. Doesn’t encourage any savings or planning. Just hanging on and living off others for the sake of it.


142 posted on 05/29/2011 9:55:09 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Gaffer
Whatever you want to think ~ but the Thrift Savings Plan is part of the retirement picture for Postal employees.

Employees also make contributions to the regular retirement plan ~ I made enough contributions that just accounting for interest and no matching assumptions I'd have to live to almost 200 years of age to draw down on the whole thing.

In short, I paid for my retirement ~ you didn't!

143 posted on 05/29/2011 10:01:42 AM PDT by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah

You have no idea what I paid for or not, you only know about your good deal.....regardless, you led everyone here to believe you get full retirement at 40 years; for many good-deal concerns this is generally a defined benefit plan that has very little to do with how minimally you contribute. Next time close the damned door on my mailbox if you’re so damned smart.


144 posted on 05/29/2011 10:29:16 AM PDT by Gaffer
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To: Gaffer
I never touched your mailbox in my life. BTW, mail recipients don't pay for the mail. That's done by the mailers.

And yes, I do know where postal income comes from, and they paid me, and I made contributions, and the actuaries worked out what I should get out of it.

You don't know beans buddy.

145 posted on 05/29/2011 10:36:17 AM PDT by muawiyah
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To: driftless2
Fed Ex delivers everywhere in the U.S. I assume UPS does too. If you have information to the contrary please provide it.

A constitutional amendment would NOT be needed since the the Constitution merely authoritizes, but does not require, the Post Office. The Constitution DOES NOT authorize the current postal monopoly. IMHO, this monopoly is unconstituional.

BTW, if you want more on the sordid origins of that monopoly read up on Lysander Spooner who was so successfully at competing with the postal service (including lower prices and his own Sunday delivery!) that the government shut him down. For more on Spooner, see here.

146 posted on 05/29/2011 11:36:46 AM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: Captain Kirk
I never said they didn't. What I did say, please read carefully, if UPS or FedEx were given the contract to deliver letters and other first class mail, they'd run into the same problems as the USPS. Now as they are private companies, without a stipulation from the gov. that they have to deliver letters everywhere, they'd run into cost problems like the USPS. As private companies without the obligation, they can stop delivery of unprofitable mail i.e. letters. As they, like the USPS have union workers, they can go strike as UPS did in 1997. Without the USPS as a backup, billions of pieces of mail would have gone undelivered. The military, another government agency, would have had to deploy people to deliver the mail.

Now if you can come up to a solution to make sure the mail always gets delivered using private business with the possibility of strikes, decisions to cancel delivery of unprofitable mail, or the company simply ceasing operations period, (and after you've passed that amendment getting rid of the USPS), I'm all ears.

147 posted on 05/29/2011 5:18:20 PM PDT by driftless2
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To: gogogodzilla

Providing mail service does not mean we have to support an ineeficient bureacracy without an expiration date. I am sure that a constiutional alternative that’s superior to the current fiasco cold be devised.


148 posted on 05/30/2011 4:22:26 AM PDT by SC_Pete
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To: muawiyah

I’m a WSJ subscriber,Barron’s, Observer of ZeroHedge and Seekng Alpha sites,,,, Dvr FastMoney daily. If you can post a link citing the near collapse of FEDEX or UPS in 2008 or them wanting a bailout I’d be happy to eat crow.


149 posted on 05/30/2011 3:26:33 PM PDT by joelt
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To: joelt

http://www.martindale.com/advertising-marketing/article_Manatt-Phelps-Phillips-LLP_751364.htm ~ one article among many.


150 posted on 05/30/2011 3:46:05 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: SC_Pete
Inefficient?

We increased postal productivity at 700% from 1970 to 2004 ~ and your productivity improvement in that period?

151 posted on 05/30/2011 3:48:19 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: driftdiver

Let’s hear what your definition of a “full ride pension” is. Else we’ll just write that off as just more UPS propaganda.


152 posted on 05/30/2011 3:52:03 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: pnh102
Can't lay off workers ~ so much BS ~ so little time. I went through a good 20 REORGANIZATIONS in 40 years ~ and people were laid off.

You should study up on this stuff first.

153 posted on 05/30/2011 3:53:18 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah

UPS Propaganda!! LOL I hate those folks, they are even worse than USPS and that takes some work.


154 posted on 05/30/2011 4:16:26 PM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: muawiyah

And yet you’re still losing money hand over fist


155 posted on 05/30/2011 4:18:52 PM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Gene Eric

“USPS is self-funding through postal fees as far as I know.”

You’re right, and Congress robs the profits.


156 posted on 05/30/2011 4:20:36 PM PDT by Heart of Georgia
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To: muawiyah
You should study up on this stuff first.

According to the linked article the USPS union contracts state that no workers can be laid off for economic reasons.

157 posted on 05/30/2011 4:25:01 PM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: Heart of Georgia

What can I say, I like USPS. I’ve encountered a few lazy, nasty postal workers, but most of the time, the employees are pleasant and helpful. The key provision in my mind is the understanding that no tax dollars go to supporting USPS.


158 posted on 05/30/2011 5:14:49 PM PDT by Gene Eric (*** Jesus ***)
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To: pnh102
That depends on how you interpret "economic reasons". The law also says you can't shut down a post office for not making a profit.

What you can do is transfer work to another area and lay off the surplus people. You can wait on lightning to set fire to the post office and close it anyway. You can offer early retirement and simply dispose of the incumbent's previous job. You can also HOLD A RIF ~ a reduction in force.

It's just a matter of will.

159 posted on 05/30/2011 5:35:29 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: Heart of Georgia

Congress robs the employee retirement funds first ~ and that’s up to over $78 billion in overpayments by USPS to the government.


160 posted on 05/30/2011 5:37:05 PM PDT by muawiyah
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