Posted on 09/05/2011 3:39:39 AM PDT by tobyhill
The United States Postal Service has long lived on the financial edge, but it has never been as close to the precipice as it is today: the agency is so low on cash that it will not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment due this month and may have to shut down entirely this winter unless Congress takes emergency action to stabilize its finances.
“Our situation is extremely serious,” the postmaster general, Patrick R. Donahoe, said in an interview. “If Congress doesn’t act, we will default.”
In recent weeks, Mr. Donahoe has been pushing a series of painful cost-cutting measures to erase the agency’s deficit, which will reach $9.2 billion this fiscal year. They include eliminating Saturday mail delivery, closing up to 3,700 postal locations and laying off 120,000 workers — nearly one-fifth of the agency’s work force — despite a no-layoffs clause in the unions’ contracts.
The post office’s problems stem from one hard reality: it is being squeezed on both revenue and costs.
As any computer user knows, the Internet revolution has led to people and businesses sending far less conventional mail.
At the same time, decades of contractual promises made to unionized workers, including no-layoff clauses, are increasing the post office’s costs. Labor represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors. Postal workers also receive more generous health benefits than most other federal employees.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the agency’s predicament on Tuesday. So far, feuding Democrats and Republicans in Congress, still smarting from the brawl over the federal debt ceiling, have failed to agree on any solutions.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You do not deserve to live in America. Go back where you came from.
The point is that despite constitutional authority it is not mandatory.
The ‘post roads’ authority was used for pre-interstate highway fed funding. Ike used ‘common defense’ authority for the Interstates, too big a deal for ‘post roads’.
I think you are hearing from the UPS guys ~ they hate small businesses.
Let's take your nearest 6,000 neighbors and have them stop by the closest postal station just after they get off work every day.
How big a parking lot do you need?
The "national defense" excuse had to do with justifying the entire program but the specific clause used for the tax and subsequent legislative funding will be "post roads".
They build bridges and airports under that clause.
When it comes to "roads" not all roads are "post roads" ~ unless the state/local government declares it to be one and there's no federal funding.
Muawiyah....seems like you are getting very upset about the prospect of getting separated from the USPS retirement mammary...can’t blame you for that. Now let me tell you how I feel about the folks at the USPS...and their customer service.. I can drive by a major metropolitan post office and have a “Mad On”...because I know that the union pukes taken over by the los negroes in management have dictated that if there is more than 5 people in line it’s mandatory to take a break....and peek around the corner while applying finger nail polish with a grin....”wait on me “sucker”... My friend that is not your fault....I live in a small community after leaving a major metropolitan community and the folks at the PO couldn’t be nicer.... Bottom line is that the USPS taken over by union pigs thought the mammary would never dry up... Looks like they were wrong... unfortunately for many retiree’s...if it’s any comfort..you will not be alone!
Since I have, at last count, 5 different retirement plans to draw on, none of which are sponsored by or operated by the Postal Service, I have no idea what you are talking about.
Our city carriers walk. Our shortest walking route is over 8 miles of walking per day. Our longest walking route is 17 miles of walking. Snow days included.
We did shut the post office down ONE DAY following the 18” of snow Feb 1st. No mail trucks could get to our PO so we had no mail to deliver anyway.
Nope. They could start charging people for a daily delivery service. Well... if Congress allowed them to, that is.
Naw. You’d get your mail like military personnel do overseas. IE: you’d be issued a postal box, where you’d get your mail.
If you’re worried about a current lack of enough PO boxes; well, the changes don’t have to occur overnight...
Or you could have what other posters have advocated with a shutdown of the USPS... no mail at all.
True enough, but it also prohibits anyone else from filling the gap, which is why you don’t see private postal roads.
That is the “last mile” delivery program. It seems to be catching on nationwide. It’s a good arrangement. Fedex and UPS save time and fuel, and USPS makes a little money delivering it to a place that they drive by anyway.
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