Stamped ! USPS loses $ 15.9 BILLION this year. Uh Oh.

[Bill in NC]

We also heavily restrict what the USPS can sell.

Look at other countries - their postal services make money, but not so much on mail delivery.

I think the "prefund" thing is because Congress is terrified of having USPS pension obligations dumped on the PBGC (already badly underfunded)

[Speedy]

Bill in NC wrote: I think the "prefund" thing is because Congress is terrified of having USPS pension obligations dumped on the PBGC (already badly underfunded)

Nah, this was a kiss-off at the end of a particular party's control of both houses of Congress and the presidency.

[NewtonMP2100]

I'm going to Tweet this right away.....then take a picture of me doing it and post it on Instagram......

[NewtonMP2100]

Black wrote:
I'd be fine with eliminating a delivery day, but it shouldn't be Saturday.

agreed because usually the post office is open what 9am-4 or 5 pm.....??

most people are at work and can not get to one....I usually mail everything on Saturday......if they close one, it should be a weekday.....

[Grateful11]

Mike Johnson wrote:
They were given ten years to prefund 75 years of pension/medical benefits, based on projections of how many people they'll employ 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now. So to answer your question, they're prefunding pensions for future employees that haven't even been born yet, much less hired.

No other government agency, no private business is required to do this.

Of the $15.9 billion, you can't say it was all "lost." Some 11 billion of that is for these prefunding obligations. That's not losing money, that's having Congress starve you of operating expenses so that they can justify privatizing the post office and making two dozen white men very, very wealthy.

A good friend of mine was explaining this to me the other day, he's a mail carrier. All I could do was shake my head in bewilderment.

[freeradical]

Mike Johnson wrote:
They were given ten years to prefund 75 years of pension/medical benefits, based on projections of how many people they'll employ 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now. So to answer your question, they're prefunding pensions for future employees that haven't even been born yet, much less hired.

No other government agency, no private business is required to do this.

Of the $15.9 billion, you can't say it was all "lost." Some 11 billion of that is for these prefunding obligations. That's not losing money, that's having Congress starve you of operating expenses so that they can justify privatizing the post office and making two dozen white men very, very wealthy.

Thanks...

[Don C]

Just mailed a check today to the the young lady who cared for the cat while we were away for a week. So far as I know I cannot tweet a check nor post an image of a check on Facebook and have her accept the money.

(OTOH, the local Fifth/Third drive up bank machine no longer needs deposit slips or envelopes. Just insert a check or cash and it reads the check or counts the bills and credits the account I designated. Cool!)

[RAMd®d]

expect no saturday delivery soon.

Expect to be disappointed at your prognostication.


They were given ten years to prefund 75 years of pension/medical benefits, based on projections of how many people they'll employ 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now. So to answer your question, they're prefunding pensions for future employees that haven't even been born yet, much less hired.

No other government agency, no private business is required to do this.

Of the $15.9 billion, you can't say it was all "lost." Some 11 billion of that is for these prefunding obligations. That's not losing money, that's having Congress starve you of operating expenses so that they can justify privatizing the post office and making two dozen white men very, very wealthy.

This.

It's been repeated a lot, but detractors keep the "USPS loses $$$$" flowing and the uninformed suck it up, forget the above, and volunteer stupid solutions.

Pre-funding was mandated in 2006.


Yikes! How does UPS, FedEx, and any others I'm forgetting make ends meet?

On the back of the USPS.

They can raise and lower rates any time they want. The USPS can't. They don't have to deliver to any and every address in the US and its territories. They don't and can't. For that, they use the USPS, the Last Mile business model. They can operate for profit, the USPS can't.

Force UPS, FedEx, OnTrac, and Billy Bob's Parcel Delivery to pre-fund $5B a year and see how long they last.

What did we learn from Enron, a private enterprise? SOX. Pre-funding? Still not required. Unless you're the USPS.

Four of the top USPS executives just received deferred retirement benefits worth millions each, since their salary is capped by law.

If you think 45¢ to mail a letter or package is outrageous, you'll soil yourself at the price of letters and packages if private enterprise takes over.

Facts will be forgotten the next time a headline shrieks "USPS DEFAULTS ON PAYMENT, oh and sky is falling".

[Jimmypoo]

billb wrote:
everyone could help out by returning all those postage paid return envelopes .

Just be sure to attach them to bricks. minimal space, maximum weight. However, since the USPS also charges by trucking standards now, the biggest EMPTY box you can send with one of those attached would save gas, and be assumed to have a weight equal to XXX (however that algorithm works) and bring in extra cash for the P.O.

Of course, if they go under, I’m getting in line for one of those cool little trucks they use, so I can pick up the babes in Daytona!!

"I DELIVER TO YOUR BACK DOOR!” will be my decal - where you typically see “AMBULANCE"

[OWC Jamie]

You're gunna need a bigger bus.