Posted on 06/29/2014 5:41:01 AM PDT by Kaslin
Darrell Issa has been waging an under-the-radar campaign to save the Postal Service for years now. The most recent iteration of his plan, the Postal Reform Act, would save $17 billion over the next ten years for the USPS. The major changes would be giving the USPS the ability to eliminate Saturday delivery and encouraging curbside rather than doorstep drop-offs.
Additionally, it would eliminate what the postal workers' union has claimed is the major deficit on the USPS budget: a requirement that the USPS pre-fund retirement benefits to the tune of over $6 billion per year.
In both eliminating the pre-funding requirement and giving the USPS the ability to be more flexible with their mandates, Darrell Issa's reform should hit all the right buttons. And the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget wrote up the CBO score for Issa's bill favorably:
The bulk of the savings would come from two changes in mail delivery. The first would authorize the Postal Service to eliminate Saturday mail delivery, which CBO expects it would do, saving $11 billion over ten years. The second would require the USPS to increase the use of curbside and centralized delivery, rather than delivering directly to people's doors. This change would save $8 billion. In addition, the bill would save smaller amounts from eliminating annual appropriations to reimburse USPS for free and reduced-rate mail ($800 million) and from increasing rates on bypass mail delivered to Alaska ($170 million).
The Postal Reform Act represents a responsible approach to fixing the Postal Service's finances. Congress should not hesitate to act, especially given the trouble the USPS is having in meeting its contribution obligations for future health benefits.
I've written more about the Post Office and the prospects for reform here.
They Charge you to pick up your mail at their facility! They deliver it to your house for free!
This is absurd!
They try to charge money for what costs them nothing, and give away for free, what costs them plenty.
Having a central box doesn’t work everywhere.
When it’s 110 degrees in Las Vegas, you won’t find it easy to walk two blocks to check to see if the mail has arrived; and
whatever is put into those metal boxes is going to be roasting at 150 degrees or more.
Centralized delivery is one rack of mailboxes for an apartment complex or neighborhood
Real reform is
1) letting private businesses (like an office supply store) handle routine over-the-counter transactions. That means their employees, not USPS employees, do the work (reducing the number of USPS employees).
Let most junk mail be sent by email (you can print out the coupons you want). The USPS can charge a fee for the emailing—almost all profit to the USPS, for very little expense.
Mail men should only deliver express $$$ mail.
There shouldn't be very many carriers.
The best idea for the USPS is sell it.
Pre-funding retirement benefits is not a bad idea.
We have that in our subdivision. Can’t complain.
While the US must retain the USPS by international postal treaty, a treaty that would be impossible to create today, the USPS could be limited to just a few things.
1) International mail transfer.
2) Official government document transfer.
3) Registered, Certified, Bonded and Insured transfer.
4) Miscellaneous others.
At the same time, postal rates have been steadily rising from three cents to 49 cents for one-ounce first-class mail. I can't speak for other mailing rates. I can speak to the insane increase of junk mail -- the signal-to-noise ratio in my current tiny mailbox box (smaller than a shoebox!) is so bad that I check mail twice a month. And get yelled at by the postman, when he sees me, because of my packed-full box. The junk mail doesn't make it out of the mailroom, because I don't want to carry all that stuff back to my abode to throw it into paper recycling.
"But what about bills and such?" I find that all utilities provide phone or web payment options. Indeed, I can see my bills on-line, which means I don't have to deal with the post office delivery delays. I haven't mailed a check in more than three years. Stamps? Don't use 'em; for the few things I do mail, I stop at a post office and pay cash. Partly because the rates keep changing (yes, I know about "forever" stamps) but also because my mailings tend to be bulky and require extra postage anyway.
If the post office would dry up and blow away, it would have very little impact on me.
Are they going to defend the sniper team?
If you really need six day a week delivery, then rent a post office box.
***
Excellent idea.
I am guessing that most residential postal customers could do with just weekly mail delivery. At our house alone, I would estimate that 2/3 of the items received are junk mail, which goes right into the recycling bin.
I do frequently call catalog senders and tell them to take me off their mailing lists.
What I did was set up a specific email account just for bills. I told the mailman that anything that looks like a mailer to toss. He said he couldn’t do that. 100 bucks last Christmas changed his attitude.
Places that do send me bills in the mail, I set up pay to accounts with my bank and every month have a notify date when I need to pay the bill. Then I send it from my bank account that is set up only for bills. Maybe I have 1-2 a month that I write a physical check for.
I applaud Issa....but has he ever actually accomplished anything?
I noticed that rather than respond to the comment, you hurl attacks. Nice.
My mail is basically three categories: buy me, give me and pay me. All but the third category (and the occasional nice letter or friendly greeting from friends and family) could wait weekly.
“Everyone must empty their mailbox EVERYDAY! If there is ANY mail in your box when the next delivery is made - ALL MAIL WILL BE RETURNED!”
The notice wasn’t signed but it was, get this, laminated.
The next day I saw my next door neighbor coming out as I was coming in and the mail “person” had just left right in front of him. He looked at me and then at the mail “person” and said in his Irish brogue, “Well isn’t she a real fine piece of work”. Evidently he saw her and asked her to take a Netflix DVD and she said something like “I don’t pick up mail, I just deliver it” and not in a very nice tone, in fact he said she was very rude.
I just shook my head and told him this is why I do my bill paying on line and pretty much the only mail I get is junk mail so it wouldn’t bother me if she took it back as it would save me the trouble of putting it in the recycling bin. In fact it wouldn’t bother me at all if the USPS closed up tomorrow. Then asked him if she was the one who put up the notice and he said, “Yes, it would seem so”.
When I came home from work in Friday that sign was gone replace by another notice from the management. It said:
“We received many complaints regarding the previous notice and we want residents to know that we did not put up the previous notice and are working to remove them from all foyers. While it is true that if you mail box is too full, the postal carrier may not be able to deliver additional mail, we have however contacted and confirmed with the local USPS office that there is no requirement that your mailbox must be emptied on a daily basis nor will any mail already in your box be removed. We appreciate your concerns and we apologize for any inconvenience.”
It sounds like the management complained but I don’t expect that will have any effect. She’ll probably complain about the complaint to her union rep and we’ll be lucky to get our mail without it being torn and mangled, which a lot of it was already.
Curbside? Seriously? What is that supposed to mean? Easier access for criminals and identity thieves? I’d rather the post office were abolished.
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