Postal Service Reports $8.5 Billion Loss

[Hush]

The huge loss raises questions about the future of the post service. It could be bankrupt by the end of next year.

http://www.breitbart.tv/postal-service- ... lion-loss/

Lay off the IRS & BATFE and keep the PO and charge a buck a letter.

[doubloon]

"But the UPS and the FedEx are doing fine." - The Anointed One

[stevejobs]

Think how much they would be in the hole if there was no eBay.

[Selectedmarksman]

The Internet Czar should ban email to restore postage stamp revenue, naturally.

[jdj]

I'll say again what I said to an old lady who asked me where the post office was once:

It should be abolished.

[jreinke]

I know they're losing money every time I walk in the door. I've been selling lead ingots on ebay. I can fit 2 10-pound ingots in a small priority flat rate box which ships for $4.95. Last Thursday, I mailed one out to a guy in Anchorage, Alaska, the price $4.95. Now if I had just put the two lead ingots in any old box, but still shipped them priority mail, the cost would have been $44.60!

[kalikraven]

But our union says that two independednt audits conclude that the Post Office is not in the red... And to further complicate it they say that if we didn't have to prefund retiree health care that we would be in even better shape. I think that the real answer is somewhere in the middle.

The US also has the cheapest postal rates in the world according to the clerk union president.

http://apwu.org/news/webart/2010/10-107 ... 101013.htm

[silencertalk]

The problem is.....

Every time they want to raise postage by 1 cent, people complain. They should just raise it to what it needs to be. if they have to make it 60 cents a letter, so be it.

On the other hand, first Class postage in 1959 was 4 cents (that is 29 cents now). In 1963 it became 5 cents (35 cents now).

So I am not sure what the deal is.

They should stop mail delivery on Saturday.

[PTK]

If the post office goes away, I'll be rather pissed off. I don't see how it would work to just go "oops, sorry, we're closed now. Piss off."

And yes, agreed on the raising of the postal rate. Do it and quit being incremental. A buck a letter? Sure, fine, whatever. Just fucking do it and be done.


...plus I have loads of the forever stamps, so...

[stevejobs]

Gubment can't run anything properly.

[bakerjw]

I say that they be held to the same standards as regular businesses. Times have gotten tough so business make reductions in their workforce and expenses. Why don't we expect the government to do the same? I think that they should be expected to increase individual productivity like their public workforce counterparts.

I guess I'm just hardened by not ever seeing a government operation run efficiently.

[kalikraven]

Because everybody and thier brother will complain if 'thier' post office got closed down.

[DCloudy777]

I think the first thing they need to do is go to 3 day/week delivery. Your mail carrier comes Monday, Wednesday, Friday. If something needs to get delivered quick, use FedEx. I for one could wait an extra day or two to get my junk mail. This step should save a fortune.

DanO

[YugoRPK]

Yeah that would be awful if I couldnt get my junk mail. As far as I'm concerned they could privatize the whole thing and raise prices through the roof. Shitcan the union govt carriers and seniority system and pay the $15 an hour the job is worth. Ive put one stamp in the mail in the last 3 years.

[doubloon]

But they only plan to lose $6B-$7B next year so that's better right?

[kalikraven]

Subtract the retiree healthcare prefunding requirement mandated by congress and you get a whole new set of numbers. But like I said only congress can close down a Post Office and the local community would have a shitfest if thier PO got shut down. But I do think that it needs to be run more like a buisness. The first thing I would do is trim all the bullshit from the top down. Thier are too many people up in managment that do stupid s--t and have no idea how or why we do what we do. It's a micromangers dream. 5 years ago it wasnt nearly as bad.