Posted on 09/20/2011 4:22:11 PM PDT by Kaslin
Postal Politics: If the U.S. Postal Service were a regular business, it would be filing for bankruptcy protection about now. So why not let it do just that? You'll have to ask the unions for an answer to that one.
Article I of the Constitution says Congress shall have the power to "establish post offices and post roads." There's nothing here about a jobs program, but that's roughly what the modern-day postal service has become.
Yes, it still carries out an essential task, as it did in the Founders' era. But it could do that work with about two-thirds of its current workforce. That's the opinion of the Postal Service management, which is trying to run USPS like a business and not put new burdens on the taxpayers. The USPS unions, enjoying no-layoff contracts and rich benefits,think otherwise.
This long-running conflict may soon come to a head.
The USPS is, by the usual business standards, broke. It continues to lose money on shrinking mail volume — down at least 20% since 2007 — and knows it cannot keep raising rates to raise revenue. When the price of stamps goes up, people just use the mail less.
Now it says it cannot make a $5.5 billion retiree health payment due at the end of this month. In other words, it's on the verge of default.
A typical company in this situation would file for protection under bankruptcy law. In return for being forced to operate under a judge's supervision, it would be able to hold creditors at bay and renegotiate contracts — including those with unions. This process worked for General Motors. Why not USPS?
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
Well, seems that you are a bit of an IDIOT:
http://heritageaction.com/2011/05/hidden-in-obama%E2%80%99s-2012-budget-usps-bailout/
What did the USPS do with the money that was freed up last year? Why are they still bleeding after getting what they asked for a year ago?
The OPM has also been OVERCHARGING USPS and its employees for their federal retirement program ~ for years!
The overcharge is now up to $78 billion.
The $5 billion has nothing to do with pensions ~ that's the Medical Insurance Payment for FUTURE RETIREES, not for people already retired, or even people who will be retired in the next few years, but people who may retire from USPS many years from now!
What did you imagine it was about?
BTW, you should also beware of almost anything written for Heritage when it comes to USPS. A former postal headquarters employee works there who used to provide a piece of information every month about whether or not mail volumes would go up or down the next month. He predicted mail volume.
I was able to prove he'd never been right even one time over the many years he'd made that prediction. He had the amounts wrong, and whether it was going up or down.
Total Fail!
He kind of edits this nonsense that Heritage publishes. In this case, it's another Epic Fail.
BTW, as far as any money being freed up last year, that didn’t happen. Remember, you read it in Heritage. They’re up to their eyeballs in fiction.
At the moment you are so wrong it isn't really worth trying to set you straight.
Hope you don’t lose your cushy Post Office job in the inevitable upcoming bloodlettings.
That wouldn't have prevented the current fiscal problem (which is a relative thing, not absolute) but USPS would be smaller!
“The source of funding for USPS employees and the agency is called POSTAGE. Taxpayers are stuck with nothing.”
Who do you think funds the USPS deficit?
Where did you imagine they got the funds?
“The USPS borrows to fund the deficit.”
and who do they borrow from?
“Taxpayers are stuck with nothing.”
while you are looking for what bank funds the USPS deficit, I’ll help you out. The Bank of the US Taxpayer funds the deficits of the USPS.
It’s the Federal Financing Bank, which is a part of the US Treasury.
http://www.treasury.gov/ffb/press_releases/2011/08-2011.shtml
So, the US Taxpayer is stuck funding the USPS deficits.
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