USPS still hermoragging money, $2.2B last quarter

[LegendKiller]

Not really. We use UPS, USPS, and FedEx, and depending on the size weight and dimensions pricing is pretty similar. Somethings are cheaper by UPS, some are cheaper by USPS, some by FedEx. When you also consider that FedEx, and UPS offer actual tracking, and MUCH better customer service there's nothing special about the PO's pricing.

A first-class letter is still far cheaper. Bulk mail is cheap too.

 

[LegendKiller]

More than that.

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-s...eople-work-for-uncle-sam-2010-6#10-nebraska-1

I would be interested to see the breakdown, there may be some interesting things in there.

 

[xj0hnx]

A first-class letter is still far cheaper. Bulk mail is cheap too.

Yea, but nobody sends letters via UPS, or FedEx except important stuff, so it's not really below market since they are pretty much the ones doing it, packages are back and forth.

 

[JMapleton]

My company used to us USPS long ago but we stopped because the amount of lost packages we had for expensive items ended up costing us more. We save money by going FedEx and the service is better, quicker, and it can be tracked better easier.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

man, this shit is so depressing.

 

[Acanthus]

More than that.

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-s...eople-work-for-uncle-sam-2010-6#10-nebraska-1

How does a rundown of the 10 worst states show a national average?

 

[Acanthus]

I'm only including people that make their money off the US Government.

Not people that make or sell any services, mind you.

Just people that make money by dealing with the Government.

-John

I would have to see direct cited evidence to believe a figure that large. You can set the goal posts pretty much anywhere with a vague argument like that. Pretty much everyone can be considered to be making money by dealing with the government by proxy.

 

[dmcowen674]

man, this shit is so depressing.

Why?

How does it affect you personally?

Are you a retired Postal employee?

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally Posted by dmcowen674
How many in here are a Postal employee or personally profiting from what everyone is complaining about?

Are you really going to go down that road of poor Government employee?

We do it all for you?

No

Somewhere in here I posted back last January that UPS is going to get the USPS operations.

It has all been pre-planned.

 

[Vette73]

How does a rundown of the 10 worst states show a national average?

That and funny how most of the states on that list are hard "red" states.
Damm LIBERALS!!!

 

[Vette73]

Funny no one has called the OP and other nutters out of their BS. This is not a pension issue. In fact the CSRS pension ended about 30 years ago for ALL FED Employees. The biggest part of retirement now is the TSP (401k for Gov workers) and health care option.

The reason for the cash shortage is listed in teh OPs article. Gas has gone up and they drive to every house 6 days a week, people are sending less letters, business can't afford to send out ad mail, and a 2006 law requiring the service to pay between $5.4 and $5.8 billion into its prepaid retiree health benefits each year.

So cut days of hauling down to 3-5 (save employee cost and GAS) and fix health care in the US.

 

[Double Trouble]

those pesky unsustainable pensions again. when will we learn?

I've no doubt postal workers like all government workers have excessive health benefits and are inefficient and all that, but I don't see anything in the article posted that points to the pensions as being the primary driver of their financial difficulties.

Operating income is getting squeezed by e-everything, expenses continue to rise as fuel costs rise, then throw in excessive health / pensions benefits burdens and you have a deadly mix.

Cutting the number of delivery days can help stop the bleeding for a little bit, but it's not going to resolve anything, and the USPS will be back in the red -- the fact is that "snail mail" is simply not as attractive as other means of communications anymore, at any price.

 

[Doppel]

Because it is not 5 days, or 4 days, or 3 days...

It's a ridiculously expensive Government program, that gives its employees ridiculously expensive Government pensions.

3 - 2 - 1 days, doesn't change anything.

-John

But in OP it says that the savings are maybe 3.1B or maybe only 1.7B but still a decent bit of cash.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

I've no doubt postal workers like all government workers have excessive health benefits and are inefficient and all that, but I don't see anything in the article posted that points to the pensions as being the primary driver of their financial difficulties.

Operating income is getting squeezed by e-everything, expenses continue to rise as fuel costs rise, then throw in excessive health / pensions benefits burdens and you have a deadly mix.

Cutting the number of delivery days can help stop the bleeding for a little bit, but it's not going to resolve anything, and the USPS will be back in the red -- the fact is that "snail mail" is simply not as attractive as other means of communications anymore, at any price.

At issue is a 2006 law requiring the service to pay between $5.4 and $5.8 billion into its prepaid retiree health benefits each year.

i don't know what their annual operating expenses are but $5B isn't chump change and i'm sure it accounts for a large portion of it.

 

[rudder]

A first-class letter is still far cheaper. Bulk mail is cheap too.

E-mail is even cheaper. Hence the problem with the postal service's business model.

 

[a777pilot]

Isn't postal service one of the many "industries" one strange thinking member wants the government to continue to perform, among so many others? Here's a great example of what would be in store from all those other essential industries if government was in charge.

 

[Axon]

I've no doubt postal workers like all government workers have excessive health benefits and are inefficient and all that, but I don't see anything in the article posted that points to the pensions as being the primary driver of their financial difficulties.

Operating income is getting squeezed by e-everything, expenses continue to rise as fuel costs rise, then throw in excessive health / pensions benefits burdens and you have a deadly mix.

Cutting the number of delivery days can help stop the bleeding for a little bit, but it's not going to resolve anything, and the USPS will be back in the red -- the fact is that "snail mail" is simply not as attractive as other means of communications anymore, at any price.

That's my feeling as well. Operating expenses, inefficiency, a change to the landscape of communication, and then finally excessive (or at least unsustainable) pension benefits. I mean, if you retire at the classic age 65 these days, you'll likely live another 20 years. That's a long time to be paying a lot of people 50% of their salary.

 

[Vette73]

That's my feeling as well. Operating expenses, inefficiency, a change to the landscape of communication, and then finally excessive (or at least unsustainable) pension benefits. I mean, if you retire at the classic age 65 these days, you'll likely live another 20 years. That's a long time to be paying a lot of people 50% of their salary.

Really tell me about these "excessive pension benefits" that Postal/Fed employees are getting.

hint: Look up CSRS and FERS. CSRS ended about 30 years ago.

<-- Fed HR

 

[Axon]

Really tell me about these "excessive pension benefits" that Postal/Fed employees are getting.

hint: Look up CSRS and FERS. CSRS ended about 30 years ago.

<-- Fed HR

Other than feeling any and all pensions are excessive (I see no reason why employees in any area should receive salaries for no work after retirement, isn't that what personal savings is about? EDIT: yes I realize there are funded pensions), I've heard wind of this for some time: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02170.pdf see page 2.

I can understand that pulling the rug out from a 50 year old worker at this point would be horrifically prejudicial, but I think the line needs to be drawn somewhere. Yes, I'm no longer a union worker or pension receiver, blah blah bias, I've heard it all before. I just feel if it's no longer fiscally viable, it's time to entirely cut the practice off.

 

[Brainonska511]

Other than feeling any and all pensions are excessive (I see no reason why employees in any area should receive salaries for no work after retirement, isn't that what personal savings is about? EDIT: yes I realize there are funded pensions), I've heard wind of this for some time: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02170.pdf see page 2.

I can understand that pulling the rug out from a 50 year old worker at this point would be horrifically prejudicial, but I think the line needs to be drawn somewhere. Yes, I'm no longer a union worker or pension receiver, blah blah bias, I've heard it all before. I just feel if it's no longer fiscally viable, it's time to entirely cut the practice off.

Pensions are part of the benefit package that workers and employers agree to. It was a way for employers to get away with paying employees less in the present with the promise of future payment.

 

[Vette73]

Other than feeling any and all pensions are excessive (I see no reason why employees in any area should receive salaries for no work after retirement, isn't that what personal savings is about? EDIT: yes I realize there are funded pensions), I've heard wind of this for some time: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02170.pdf see page 2.

I can understand that pulling the rug out from a 50 year old worker at this point would be horrifically prejudicial, but I think the line needs to be drawn somewhere. Yes, I'm no longer a union worker or pension receiver, blah blah bias, I've heard it all before. I just feel if it's no longer fiscally viable, it's time to entirely cut the practice off.

AGAIN since you missed it, Look up CSRS and FERS. CSRS ended about 30 years ago. CSRS = Big pension

The days of living off a good pension ended about 30 years ago for Fed employees. The biggest benifit I and other current FERS employees can get is our TSP (Fed 401k version) and take our health care into retirment.

 

[ShawnD1]

I can understand that pulling the rug out from a 50 year old worker at this point would be horrifically prejudicial, but I think the line needs to be drawn somewhere. Yes, I'm no longer a union worker or pension receiver, blah blah bias, I've heard it all before. I just feel if it's no longer fiscally viable, it's time to entirely cut the practice off.

Simply put, the pension was part of their work contract and people who have any soul at all will not break the contract. We can't just refuse to pay what was stated in the contract.

People who signed up with a defined benefits (salary) pension should keep the pension.
New employees should be covered by a defined contribution (savings) pension.

Nobody gets fucked out of their contract, the problem doesn't perpetuate, we learn from the past. Problem solved.

 

[thraashman]

Simply put, the pension was part of their work contract and people who have any soul at all will not break the contract. We can't just refuse to pay what was stated in the contract.

People who signed up with a defined benefits (salary) pension should keep the pension.
New employees should be covered by a defined contribution (savings) pension.

Nobody gets fucked out of their contract, the problem doesn't perpetuate, we learn from the past. Problem solved.

Trying to explain stuff like that to Republicans though it impossible. These are the same people that think that it's ok to change laws to not allow teachers to get what's guaranteed in their contracts, but that when the government had to bail out financial institutions that they shouldn't be allowed to set limits to the millions in executive compensation given out to the people who caused the collapse and received bailouts.

Thing is, I'm not joking, the EXACT same Fox News personalities said both thing about the execs and teachers that I stated.

 

[freegeeks]

we have a govt owned postal service in Belgium and it's profitable. Mail is delivered 5 times a week.

 

[Vette73]

we have a govt owned postal service in Belgium and it's profitable. Mail is delivered 5 times a week.

Belgium has a socialized health care system though.

The 2 biggest cost for the USPS right now is gas/hauling mail 6 days a week over ALL of the US and Health care cost.
If the USPS did not have to haul mail to EVERYBODY in the US and no health care cost like Belgium it would also make a profit.