Could we please stop bailing out the USPS already? Let the Postal Service either reform itself, or die. Just because a post office is a Constitutionally authorized function of government doesn’t mean it’s a Constitutionally MANDATED function of government!
Dinodino, USPS is still self-financing. The fear is that with the Postal Rate Commission refusing appropriate rate changes, and Congress continuing to suck a $5.8 billion tribute out of the revenues every year it will end up unable to open the doors.
The law requires them to "break even", but if neither the PRC nor Congress agree with that concept any more, they won't "break even" and YOU will have to pay taxes to bail them out.
You are either for service changes to avoid a bail out, or you are against service changes, which will necessarily lead to a bail out.
Now, regarding Constitutionally mandated function of government, with the Constitution giving the federal government the exclusive authority, that's the way it turns out. Compound that with treaties with the rest of the world (including the Postal Union of the Americas and Spain) and you end up with a FEDERAL obligation to provide postal service of some kind ~ and the current system is the way it's done.
The Post Office never will be profitable, and was never designed to be. How can you be profitable with a mandate of daily delivery of mail to EVERY PERSON IN THE NATION? Its just not feasible.
On the same token though, the USPS has been mismanaged and congress certainly hasn’t helped its cause over the years at times either.
There is little doubt that EMAIl and Electronic Bill Pay has eroded the mail load, but I personally don’t think making sure every person in the country can get mail is a bad thing, and it is a function of government that is viable and useful, and if tax dollars are going to pay for services, this is one I don’t mind paying for.
Of all the crapola the government burns money on, I don’t think MAIL is the problem.
What has USPS in trouble is that like purely private companies it’s being forced to fund future health care costs (and perhaps pensions, I’m not sure?) as it goes. All government entities are permitted to cheat and not do that. But the USPS unions want to continue to splurge like their purely government brethren. The proper fix is to apply the real world rules to them as well and declare liberalism and its government unions all to be bankrupt.
What has USPS in trouble is that like purely private companies it’s being forced to fund future health care costs (and perhaps pensions, I’m not sure?) as it goes. All government entities are permitted to cheat and not do that. But the USPS unions want to continue to splurge like their purely government brethren. The proper fix is to apply the real world rules to them as well and declare liberalism and its government unions all to be bankrupt.