Save our post office
 

Did you know that the USPS delivers over 472 million pieces of mail daily. Yes, that's no mistake. More than 472 million pieces of mail are delivered every day.
Did you also know that some of our elected officials (specifically one ) have withheld funding from the USPS because they believe it can be run more efficiently run if it were privatized?
Why not privatize our armed forces? Wasn't it the reserves and national guard who were first called up during the last several wars because our armed forces had not yet been fully trained or supplied to effectively respond?
Please consider calling your elected official and voice your opinion that the USPS must be saved and properly funded.

Why? If other people get mail like I do, then about 467 million of the 472 million pieces are junk mail that go right into the trash.

In my opinion, funding the Post Office is a waste of money, fuel, and labor.

Who gets bills, statements in the Post anymore.

Junk mail, free keys to cars, and political Junk is what’s left. What little Snail mail one gets Is just inadequate. Case in point have 3 meds that come USPO. Been floating around for a week at local post office, still MIA. Time for a change

Get rid of the requirement they have to fund retirement plans 75 years into the future and than lets talk about the economics of the post office.

But, the Post Office will tell you that they shouldn't have to include retirement expenses in their budget, because those are not "operating expenses". When an employee retires, the hundreds of thousands of dollars they collect in retirement and health care should be paid from someone else's budget, and not counted against the Post Office.

Here is some food for thought in defense of the USPS, which does need reform, instead of being abolished.

My elderly dad, along with 20% of Americans, gets maintenance medication delivered by the USPS. In 2019, the USPS delivered 1.2 billion prescriptions, including almost 100% of the prescriptions delivered by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.

The USPS is mandated to deliver to all addresses in the U.S. Fed Ex and UPS do not have this mandate; if it is not profitable for Fed Ex and UPS to deliver to a rural area, they are not required to. So how will Americans living in remote areas get their packages and mail? How will veterans living in remote areas get their maintenance medication shipped to them if the USPS is abolished?

One requirement that needs reform regarding the USPS is the requirement that USPS is required to pre-pay health benefits for retirees 75 years into the future. This requirement has been a major factor in the USPS' operating losses since 2006.

Please note: the statistics are from CNBC and The American Prospect.

I still get some bills and statements in the mail, and I have no issue with online banking and using the internet. There are still people (like my elderly father) who do not use the internet and still get all their statements and bills in the mail. What solution would you propose for these people?

I would propose that people should have the option to cancel their Post Office account and remove their mailbox, but your father could keep his account. If a letter or junk mail is sent to someone who has cancelled their account, the mail would be returned, and the sender would need to use UPS, FedEx, or another private delivery service. But, the current system requires every person to have a USPS account, and if the IRS, a bank, or a lawyer sends you a letter, the courts will rule that you have received the letter. Also, you cannot stop junk mail from being deposited into you mailbox until it overflows.

Of course retirement and health benefit costs are a major factor in the Post Office losing money. But, who else should pay those costs? The Post Office hired the employees and promised them the benefits. If they don't want to fund the benefits, then hire more contract employees, who don't get the same generous benefits. But, I believe that another factor in the Post Office losing money is that they don't charge enough to deliver junk mail. If junk mail is profitable, why don't UPS and FedEx deliver any of it? More than 95 percent of my mail is trash, and the Post Office expects someone else to dispose of it.

I will agree that much of my mail also ends up in the recycling container. USPS should charge more to deliver junk mail. As far as paying for health care benefits, is it necessary for the USPS to prepay 75 years in the future...how about USPS prepaying 20 to 30 years in the future as a compromise?

The post office delivers millions of pieces of junk mail that end up in land fills. That doesn’t take into consideration the trees that are cut down to provide paper for junk people don’t want/need. Those sending them pay a very small percentage of what you and I would need to spend to send that same piece of trash. Sounds like a make-work scheme to keep people on the payroll and union roster.

The help we are giving Amazon is another issue. I ordered a rug for my grandson that included free shipping. By mistake, I had it sent to me. The post office charged $40 to mail it to Virginia. That was outrageous! Why are we subsidizing such a huge corporation? I know some have claimed the taxpayer isn’t underwriting this. I haven been convinced. Other companies such as Kohl’s claim they are sending via UPS, but the final delivery comes from USPS.

Should we discuss the Christmas card I received in February or my granddaughter’s birthday party invitation that arrived after her thank you note did? Inefficient and overpriced. Privatizing would certainly provide some healthy competition.

But would a private entity deliver to remote locations in say Alaska, some of the other Western states or rural America which would not be profitable? Or don't those Americans deserve to get their mail and packages delivered to them.? Thinking of my sister and her husband who live about 5 miles outside of a town with a population of 2,480 in rural Wisconsin.

I don't know the actual cost figures, but I believe the 75 year rule has been modified. But, a compromise would be for the Post Office to fund an amount that is based on the real projected cost for the benefits they promise to their employees. A postal employee who starts working at age 25 can retire at age 55, and then receive retirement and health benefits for the next 30 years or longer while producing no work for the Post Office. That is a real cost to the taxpayers that will typically amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars per employee.

Post office hired these people and employed them and should be responsible for their pensions if that is the agreement. 75 years into the future though is nuts.

Also they must be losing a fortune delivering for Amazon. They should charge enough to cover their costs and do not believe they are doing so now.

The problem With USPS as other federal agencies they have more mangers, supervisors, and directors than they do employees actually doing the work. Bloated and ineffective. Private companies don’t have this problem, I’d they do there not in business very long.

But, why single out Amazon? Why shouldn't they charge all customers enough to pay their costs? I think their biggest cost is for the junk mail that most people don't want. If they can't compete, then they should shut down and let the private companies deliver everything.

Amazon was just one example. They should charge enough to cover their costs for all of their customers or drop the customer.

USPS,....THE PONY EXPRESS NOW.

get rid of it..privatize now

I would not be in favor of privatizing the post office but would love bulk mail prices to be the same as first class. That might negatively affect those who enjoy getting mail offers/coupons and don't have access to online resources, but companies could still reach those folks if they're willing to pay a fair price.

I've stopped catalogs, credit card offers, Val Pak ads, and every other consumer opt-out provision I can find. The Villages magazine and AARP, however, are relentless!

the USPS totally blew it when they didn't see the uptick in shipping and allowed UPS and FedEx to take that money maker
away from them....then after the fact they've tried too little to late be competitive with those shipping companies

then electronic mail arrived which further eroded their business volume...and no one sends out Christmas cards like they did
in the 50's early '60's....another volume loss that they never saw coming

poor management on the part of USPS...they've had their head in the sand for decades....they never thought that they could be
challenged

guess what...some one moved your cheese and ate your lunch...you are toast and eventually will be replaced by a non government company that will make a profit

I agree with the bulk mail pricing. But, if you don't want to privitize the Post Office, I think what you are suggesting would effectively put them out of business anyway. Companies that send junk mail are not going to pay first class prices.

good points they blew it when they could not compete with others in the parcel business.

I have a small business and the usps is the fastest, cheapest reliable way to get purchases to consumers. To me their services are invaluable.

Comparable ground services by the 2 major Delivery co’s are slow and far more money.

It costs 2.86 to 3.09 to get an item to the buyer, affords some sellers to offer free shipping.

It’s one of the best deals going. Presuming many of you are purchasing online nowadays you can get your items delivered cheaper and preserves your disposable income.

I would prefer they fix it and not eliminate.

I agree. Save the post office

Why??

even the usps realizes their services lack customer satisfaction especially when they have fedex drop boxes on the property,,, personally i wish the behind-the-counter personnel were more customer-friendly rather than their '-i'm-doing-you-a-favor' attitude so prevalent among those who, w/o a soft overpaid job, would probably be collecting public$ benefits,,, have noticed that customers often display/adopt a kiss-their-*** demeanor both in the post office & dmv's,,, we're timid when expressing 'you work for us !'
ah, sweet diversity - letting those who can't decently spell sort mail

Spoken like a true business men. If you work for me for 40 years why should I owe you a pension. You should work till you die. Now you know why I buy everything online and don’t support local business men.

The only smart reply so far .

Wher3 do you go? I have found the lake DMV very nice! The fruitlands park post office.. great people .

right!

Why should it cost the same as first class? It is bulk mail after all. It’s not a bunch of individual letters going from one random location to another random location that have to be carefully sorted. It’s a bulk quantity all coming from the same location to a bunch of sequential locations. No sorting is required. The USPS makes money on bulk mail. That and Amazon are what keep them afloat.

I really hate junk mail, but if getting it is the price I have to pay to get my prescriptions delivered, it’s worth it.

Could the problem be with the PO be that it is government run?

Having worked in management at both UPS and FedEx, I can speak from experience. The USPS is bidding against these companies and delivering packages at a loss. Why not bid actual cost? Why are they are delivering my stupid Amazon packages on Sunday? They need to run the USPS more efficiently. I agree with you but they need a good cleaning out. They need to stop paying to advertise on TV and go back to what the USPS was supposed to be doing.

Someone is misinformed. You can't withhold funds when no funds are being provided in the first place. The USPS is entirely self-funded by products and services.

The following text is from a URL I can't post. It looks something like:
hxxps://facts [dot] usps [dot] com/top-facts/

Notice the last one at the bottom.

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From facilitating the nation’s largest one day food drive, to working with customers to prevent dog bites, to educating customers on consumer protection, to delivering holiday cheer to those in need, the Postal Service supports communities nationwide.

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Veterans. The Postal Service employs more than 97,000 military veterans and is one of the largest employers of veterans in the country. Learn more

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All heart. The Postal Service is at the core of the $1.6 trillion U.S. mailing industry that employs more than 7.3 million people. Learn more

10
Heroes. Postal employees regularly go beyond the call of duty to protect the lives of customers they serve, including older and disabled customers through the Carrier Alert Program. In fiscal year 2019, the Postal Service recognized 232 heroic employees.

9
Greener than you think. Free Priority Mail boxes meet Sustainable Forestry initiative and Forest Stewardship Council certification standards. This means the paper for those boxes comes from well-managed forests. In addition, the boxes include at least 30-percent recycled content.

8
Retail giant. The Postal Service has the nation's largest retail network — bigger than McDonald’s, Starbucks and Walmart combined, domestically.

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Global business. The Postal Service processes and delivers 48 percent of the world's mail and is constantly innovating to make customer experiences better.

6
Vehicles. The Postal Service has more than 228,000 vehicles, one of the largest civilian fleets in the world. New next-generation vehicles will have improved ergonomics, safety features, fuel efficiency and design flexibility.

5
Competition and collaboration. The Postal Service both competes and collaborates with the private sector. UPS and FedEx pay the Postal Service to deliver hundreds of millions of their ground packages, and USPS pays UPS and FedEx for air transportation.

4
Affordability. For 55 cents, anyone can send a letter, regardless of geographic location, to anywhere in the United States.

3
Dependable. The Postal Service is the only organization in the country that has the resources, network infrastructure and logistical capability to regularly deliver to every residential and business address in the nation.

2
Security. U.S. Mail is protected by more than 200 federal laws enforced by the Postal Inspection Service, one of the nation's oldest law enforcement agencies.

And most importantly...

1
Zero tax dollars used. The Postal Service receives NO tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

472 million pieces of mail Of which
470 million junk mail

Charge more for junk mail
Post office will make more money, less land fill paper and less mail to deliver

P.O.
 

Amazing all these, expert, succinct critiques and analyses of the Postal Service. Basic is this country could not get along without it, just considering all the rural, remote addresses it must connect to. For years, it had always been the 'least' expensive of all the Postal Services in the world while it certainly is the largest.
Some legislators are trying to modify the "75 years' into the future requirement which was passed in 2006 by Baby Bush's regime and Susan Collins of Maine.
Does anyone really know where the money was funneled to? (Begins with an I )!

Not true, Retired Guy 123, My parents both worked for USPS; took the USPS retirement in Lieu of Social Security and PAID for their health insurance outside of Medicare.

To those who say that the Post Office uses zero tax dollars, why did Congress recently pass a new stimulus bill that would have provided $25 million in additional Post Office funding? The bill was killed in the Senate.

And, if the Post Office makes money on bulk mail, why doesn't UPS and FedEx ever deliver any bulk mail? I thought they were in business to make money.

I thought postage paid that. Also, quit delivering on Saturdays. I can wait an extra day for junk mail.

Fed Ex, UPS and other services operate a profit while USPS continues to leak money every year and demand more money and higher rates.

Privatizing would be a great idea.

A comparison to the military is absurd.