[LoisR]

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.

[retiredguy123]

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.

[asianthree]

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

[Stu from NYC]

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.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

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.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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.

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.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by asianthree

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. Time for a change

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?

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger

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.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger

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.

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.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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?

[Buckeyephan]

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.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by Buckeyephan

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.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger

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?

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.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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.

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.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by LoisR

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.

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.