[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Millions of people who don't have internet service. Thousands of people who don't have electricity (and therefore no method of powering their devices or even charging them).

Maybe a visit to the Ocala Forest would do you some good. You'll learn something new.

Or rural American and many small towns less than 500.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

The people who have previously worked for the post office pretty much all say that it is inefficiently managed and way behind the times technologically speaking.

If the govt expects it to stand on its own too feet they should get rid of the 75 year funding pension nonsense and probably allow people to get 401's and let it figure out what it needs to do its job in an efficient manner.

I observed most government agencies has 5 or more managers and bean counters for every employee that actually does the work. Mismanagement and over management. Funny how the people that do the actual work get paid less than ones setting behind desk. The business model for any government agency is out dated and broken.

[soonerforever]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

I observed most government agencies has 5 or more managers and bean counters for every employee that actually does the work. Mismanagement and over management. Funny how the people that do the actual work get paid less than ones setting behind desk. The business model for any government agency is out dated and broken.

More like the Dilbert Principle

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

I observed most government agencies has 5 or more managers and bean counters for every employee that actually does the work. Mismanagement and over management. Funny how the people that do the actual work get paid less than ones setting behind desk. The business model for any government agency is out dated and broken.

That's the way the Government works. If you are a manager, you make more money. It won't change because there is no profit motive or incentive to be efficient. Just spend as much taxpayer money as you can.

[Stu from NYC]

Sad part is someday our kids or grandkids will have to start repaying the debt our govt has managed to create.

[Tom2172]

Unfortunately 95% of what the post office handles is junk mail!
Junk mail that goes straight to the landfill.
If PO charged more for junk mail it would cut down on all the junk mail
And 1/3 of postal staff could be cut
We have electronic mail we don’t need the post office it’s a relic

[roscoguy]

Originally Posted by soonerforever

Claims that Americans rely on the United States Postal Service for Social Security benefits are invalid because the Social Security Administration stopped mailing paper checks in 2013.

source APNEWS

"Hundreds of thousands of Social Security checks still go out by mail
By ALI SWENSON August 18, 2020"

source APNEWS Hundreds of thousands of Social Security checks still go out by mail

[Bay Kid]

The PO doesn't need any money this year, or most of next year. They are financially ok for them. This is just another distraction full of half truths.

[soonerforever]

Originally Posted by Tom2172

Unfortunately 95% of what the post office handles is junk mail!
Junk mail that goes straight to the landfill.
If PO charged more for junk mail it would cut down on all the junk mail
And 1/3 of postal staff could be cut
We have electronic mail we don’t need the post office it’s a relic

Just so you know- "junk mail" or bulk business mail is the biggest money producer USPS has and has been for some time...first class mail has dropped significantly over the past 25 years with the internet and computerized bill pay.
Revenue sources have also shrunk because of their vision....USPS had FedEx, UPS, DHL, and others on the ropes in package delivery but allowed them to take over to the point that most all of them now have surpassed USPS and use them for local delivery (the biggest cost of delivery and least profitable) while garnering the big profits of shipping point to point.
The system has been broken for many years with the management of the post office and the hiring practices they have. So many of the employees feel entitled and put in little to no effort in their work and it shows. I was once told by one of my supervisors that "pride had no place at the post office." This affected me greatly and if hadn't already been so far along in my career there, I would have changed careers. I sought out people that had the same work ethic and vision to survive my time there.
USPS has become through their hiring and promotion of incompetent people from supervisors to management "the worlds largest welfare organization."

[soonerforever]

Originally Posted by roscoguy

"Hundreds of thousands of Social Security checks still go out by mail
By ALI SWENSON August 18, 2020"

source APNEWS Hundreds of thousands of Social Security checks still go out by mail

I stand corrected ...the link I tried to share (new poster rules) was proven wrong.

As the body of that January 2013 CNN article made clear, people who didn't adopt direct deposit by March 2013 were not forced to do so, merely urged to do so with more aggressive government communication efforts. More than seven years later, the Social Security Administration website currently says: "If you still receive checks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will contact you about complying with the requirement."
And the new rule still allows Social Security recipients to apply for hardship waivers to get checks for certain reasons -- if they were born before May 2, 1921, if they live in a remote area without the financial infrastructure to allow for electronic transactions, or if they have a "mental impairment" that leaves them unable to manage a bank account or a debit card account.
When I started receiving my benefits there was absolutely no option other than direct deposit or their " cash atm" card.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by soonerforever

Just so you know- "junk mail" or bulk business mail is the biggest money producer USPS has and has been for some time...first class mail has dropped significantly over the past 25 years with the internet and computerized bill pay.
Revenue sources have also shrunk because of their vision....USPS had FedEx, UPS, DHL, and others on the ropes in package delivery but allowed them to take over to the point that most all of them now have surpassed USPS and use them for local delivery (the biggest cost of delivery and least profitable) while garnering the big profits of shipping point to point.
The system has been broken for many years with the management of the post office and the hiring practices they have. So many of the employees feel entitled and put in little to no effort in their work and it shows. I was once told by one of my supervisors that "pride had no place at the post office." This affected me greatly and if hadn't already been so far along in my career there, I would have changed careers. I sought out people that had the same work ethic and vision to survive my time there.
USPS has become through their hiring and promotion of incompetent people from supervisors to management "the worlds largest welfare organization."

What is the source of your information that junk mail "produces money"? If that were true, the Post Office should be "rolling in dough" because it accounts for about 95 percent of what they do. And, if it produces money, why don't UPS and FedEx offer junk mail delivery to compete with the USPS? Does anyone like getting junk ads in their mail? I wish they would put the postage cost on the junk ads, so the taxpayer can see how much the advertiser paid to deliver your trash before you throw it away.

[Villages Kahuna]

USPS cannot be privatized with it’s current cost structure. If postage rates were increased to assure at least breakeven, mailing letters or packages would be unaffordable.

The element of the USPS cost structure that needs to be fixed in order that USPS be run like a business are their pension fund obligations. The postal unions would never approve such a thing. Maybe the only solution is a bankruptcy filing. The pension obligations would then be equal in seniority with those of all the other unsecured USPS creditors. Everyone would “get a haircut” of what they are owed, including the USPS retirees. The pension benefits offered current employees would also probably be cut by the bankruptcy creditor’s committee and the court.

[soonerforever]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

What is the source of your information that junk mail "produces money"? If that were true, the Post Office should be "rolling in dough" because it accounts for about 95 percent of what they do. And, if it produces money, why don't UPS and FedEx offer junk mail delivery to compete with the USPS? Does anyone like getting junk ads in their mail? I wish they would put the postage cost on the junk ads, so the taxpayer can see how much the advertiser paid to deliver your trash before you throw it away.

I am a 30 year retiree from USPS and this was drilled in often along with educating people in not referring to it as "junk mail." As I have stated in my other posts, first class mail is going going gone and the revenue generated by bulk business mail is decent but not enough to continue with the same business model.
New hires are brought in at a different pay scale but this isn't enough to keep it afloat. The main culprits of its impending demise is the postal unions, bloated uneducated and overstaffed management and supervisors and an entitled workforce.
What used to be a program for veterans returning to the workforce now has become a "welfare program" for those that are unemployable anywhere else.
FYI the reason no one else can deliver bulk business mail is because no one other that USPS can legally access a persons mailbox besides its owner.

[soonerforever]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

USPS cannot be privatized with it’s current cost structure. If postage rates were increased to assure at least breakeven, mailing letters or packages would be unaffordable.

The element of the USPS cost structure that needs to be fixed in order that USPS be run like a business are their pension fund obligations. The postal unions would never approve such a thing. Maybe the only solution is a bankruptcy filing. The pension obligations would then be equal in seniority with those of all the other unsecured USPS creditors. Everyone would “get a haircut” of what they are owed, including the USPS retirees. The pension benefits offered current employees would also probably be cut by the bankruptcy creditor’s committee and the court.

The problem I have with cutting benefits of retirees is that there is no way that you would expect the same from say that of a retiree and their pension from social security.
There are two programs with USPS as well as any other government agency. CSRS or civil service and FERS federal retirement system in which people still pay social security on their wages while those in CSRS can only receive social security on wages they have received (at least 40 quarters) and even that is limited. All employees hired after the mid-eighties fall into the FERS program.

[EviesGP]

USPS, like many govt agencies, needs to improve efficiencies, by consolidating, reducing, and pricing. As a former federal govt and military member, I witnessed much of that. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to execute that with our congress. The military has been trying to modernize, while trying to consolidate/reduce where it's not needed, but they're continually blocked. They have been trying to execute another BRAC(Base Realignment and Closure), along with eliminating equipment/airframes/operations(etc), for years! But, the Senate/Congress have prevented that, as they don't want those reductions in THEIR BACKYARD(s)! So, I'm sure this will be/has been an issue in USPS operations. So, guess where the problem lies?!