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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: tonymctones on March 02, 2011, 08:15:27 PM
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41875688/ns/business-consumer_news/?GT1=43001
"Unless things change, the post office will run out of money by the end of the fiscal year in October, Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe told the House Oversight subcommittee on the postal service.
Donahoe said that as of Sept. 30 his agency will owe the federal government a payment of $5.5 billion to fund medical costs, in advance, for future retirees, and in November it will need to make a $1.3 billion payment for worker's compensation.
"The Postal Service will not have the cash available to make both of these payments."
If it does come down to crunch time, said Donahoe: "We will deliver the mail." Employees will be paid, as will suppliers, he said. "The thing we will not do is pay the federal government."
Without some important changes to the law the post office "cannot survive as a self-financing entity,"
The requirement was imposed in 2006, and since then the post office has paid $21 billion into the fund and, during the same period, has had a net loss of $20 billion, explained Ruth Goldway, head of the independent Postal Regulatory Commission."
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USPS warns of default on retiree benefits
May 18, 2011 - 5:41am
Comments: 0 Comment Policy >>
PrintEmail By Jared Serbu
Reporter
Federal News Radio
The Postal Service will begin to default on its financial obligations just over four months from now unless Congress takes action to relieve it of its obligation to pre-fund retiree health care accounts, its leader told lawmakers Tuesday.
USPS expects to post a net loss of $8.3 billion for this fiscal year, nearly as much as it lost last year. And with its $15 billion debt limit due to be reached this year, more borrowing is not an option, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe said in testimony before a subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee.
Despite our aggressive cost cutting and revenue generating efforts, we are in serious financial predicaments today," he said. "As things stand, we do not have the cash to make the $5.5 billion prepayment for future retiree health benefits due on September 30. And we may be forced to default on other payments. This could extend to operational expenses."
USPS contends the prepayment for future retirees is a financial obligation that none of its competitors, nor any government agency, has to live with. The requirement came along with a 2006 postal reform bill that was passed when mail volume was at its peak.
Officials say the payments were also based on what was then a much larger employee base. USPS has cut its workforce by 113,000 since then. Donahoe said in written testimony to the subcommittee on federal financial management that not only can USPS not afford the future retiree health bill this year, but that without Congressional action, it's inevitable that the organization will eventually default on payments to employees and suppliers as well.
After the hearing, he told reporters that was a last resort, and skipping the retiree health payment this year would provide at least some breathing room.
"The last thing we would do would be to negatively disrupt the delivery of mail, because it's tremendously disruptive to American commerce," he said. "There's trillions of dollars that go through the mail. 52 percent of Americans still pay their bills through the mail versus online."
The postal service also wants Congress to refund up to $75 billion it says it has overpaid into the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), and another $7 billion in overpayments into the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). It would use that money to finish off its retiree health benefit prepayments and pay down its accumulated debt.
But Donahoe said those were short term fixes. Longer term health for the postal service, he said, means more management flexibility, including the option to go from six-day to five-day delivery.
He said USPS is also working to cut more costs by removing excess capacity from the postal system, including the politically-sensitive subject of closing post offices themselves.
"In some small offices, we're looking at consolidation because what we're finding is that many of these offices don't even have an hour's worth of work in a day," he said. "If it's close to another office, a mile or so, we can consolidate. In other cases, many towns have three businesses: a general store, a gas station and a post office. What we're looking for is to talk to the general store or the gas station to take a contract to provide postal services. There are many options, and we want to hear from people, but we have to move on these things."
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), the chairman of the subcommittee, has introduced legislation that would give the postal service what says it needs. It would allow USPS access to the excess FERS and CSRS funds it has paid so it can pay off its retiree health benefits once and for all.
Carper said it would also let USPS management run the organization with less Congressional interference.
"No business, facing the kind of challenges the postal service faces today, would survive very long if they were told how many retail outlets they should have or where they should be located, or if they were prevented from making operational changes or taking advantage of the resources they have at their disposal," Carper said. "Yet that's what Congress does to the postal service."
Carper believes USPS needs to think of new ways to generate revenue, and his legislation would let it sell or provide non-postal products and services, as long as they're in the public interest.
His legislation also would let USPS ship alcoholic beverages for the first time.
"We think it's an excellent idea," Donahoe said."What the Postal Service brings is convenience in that whole industry. We've seen other posts—Australia Post for an example has done that—and that's one of their biggest growth products."
He said carriers would not deliver alcohol directly to a home, but would require an adult to pick the package up at a post office.
Several lawmakers expressed concerns about the five-day delivery idea, particularly members representing Hawaii and Alaska, where delivery times are longer, and residents, particularly in remote areas, are heavily reliant on mail.
And Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said USPS might be surrendering its biggest competitive advantage.
"If you were looking at this through the very cold lens of just a pure business model, you're giving away the major advantage you have when you give away that sixth day," she said. "What keeps us from going to four? If we go to five, aren't we really talking about the beginning of a death spiral here?"
Donahoe doesn't believe so.
He said Saturdays are easily the postal service's lowest volume day, because commercial advertising customers don't want their mailings to arrive on Saturday, when people are busy doing other things. Nonetheless, he said he was not particularly excited about eliminating Saturday delivery.
"We do not want to go to five day delivery," he said. "Financially, we're in a situation where we've got to take that as an option. It is tied directly to the loss of first class mail volume. America's changing. People are paying bills online. Every time a bill's paid online, that's 18 cents (of profit) we can't use to cover six-day delivery and a number of these small post offices."
On the subject of small post office closures, lawmakers heard some pushback from labor organizations. Mark Strong, president of the National League of Postmasters, said USPS spends less than one percent of its overall budget on the smallest one-third of its post offices. He said the organization should find new ways to use its physical locations, rather than shutting them down and contracting out their services.
"Post offices are where the American flag flies in every community in this country," Strong said. "To take those flags down and replace them with grocery stores or gas stations should be the last alternative. We should be putting more government services into those postal facilities."
In addition to Carper's bill, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has introduced a separate postal reform proposal that would order the Office of Personnel Management to recalculate USPS's contributions to federal pension accounts to prevent future overpayments.
Donahoe said USPS supported that bill, but without the extra management flexibility the Postal Service is asking for, he said leaders will be back before Congress next year, facing another looming payment default.
(Copyright 2011 by FederalNewsRadio.com. All Rights Reserved.)
Tags: Congress, pay and benefits, management, USPS, FERS, CSRS, Tom Carper, Pat Donahoe, Susan Collins, Mark Strong, National League of Postmasters, Jared Serbu
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Ahem. Did anyone claim that the post office was doing fine? ;D
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Ahem. Did anyone claim that the post office was doing fine? ;D
Bum has my exact quote saved so hopefully he'll post it
you'll see it's not exactly what you have paraphrased
in the meantime let's remember that the USPS is not allowed to make a profit and in the article above they are talking about having to prepay healthcare costs which none of their private competitors are required to do
USPS warns of default on retiree benefits
May 18, 2011 - 5:41am
Comments: 0 Comment Policy >>
PrintEmail By Jared Serbu
Reporter
Federal News Radio
The Postal Service will begin to default on its financial obligations just over four months from now unless Congress takes action to relieve it of its obligation to pre-fund retiree health care accounts, its leader told lawmakers Tuesday.
USPS expects to post a net loss of $8.3 billion for this fiscal year, nearly as much as it lost last year. And with its $15 billion debt limit due to be reached this year, more borrowing is not an option, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe said in testimony before a subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee.
Despite our aggressive cost cutting and revenue generating efforts, we are in serious financial predicaments today," he said. "As things stand, we do not have the cash to make the $5.5 billion prepayment for future retiree health benefits due on September 30. And we may be forced to default on other payments. This could extend to operational expenses."
USPS contends the prepayment for future retirees is a financial obligation that none of its competitors, nor any government agency, has to live with. The requirement came along with a 2006 postal reform bill that was passed when mail volume was at its peak.
(Copyright 2011 by FederalNewsRadio.com. All Rights Reserved.)
Tags: Congress, pay and benefits, management, USPS, FERS, CSRS, Tom Carper, Pat Donahoe, Susan Collins, Mark Strong, National League of Postmasters, Jared Serbu
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you'll see it's not exactly what you have paraphrased
Post exactly what you stated.
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Post exactly what you stated.
do a search and you can probably find it
I don't care enough to make the effort
I'm sure Bum will do it eventually
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Straw,
So then paraphrase what you said.
to the best of your recollection....
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Post exactly what you stated.
YOU started a thread on January 24th which contains my quote
it took about 3 seconds to find it
do your own work next time
http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=363885.0
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YOU started a thread on January 24th which contains my quote
it took about 3 seconds to find it
do your own work next time
http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=363885.0
HEHEHEHEEH!!! Damn, boy. Why are you such a sensitive assmuncher?
Thanks for doing what you originally said you wouldn't do. Now I know for a fact that you are a left wing democrat nut job.
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HEHEHEHEEH!!! Damn, boy. Why are you such a sensitive assmuncher?
Thanks for doing what you originally said you wouldn't do. Now I know for a fact that you are a left wing democrat nut job.
Thanks for being too lazy to find your own thread which included my quote and I'm guessing too lazy to have actually read it too
it took about 3 seconds but maybe it's beyond your attention span
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Thanks for being too lazy to find your own thread which included my quote and I'm guessing too lazy to have actually read it too
it took about 3 seconds but maybe it's beyond your attention span
You are one funny left wing idiot.
I just asked the question. You took it upon yourself to research it. I didn't ask you to research it. I stated "post exactly what you stated". Is your Alzheimers' that bad that you can't recollect what you originally said? Or are you afraid of contradicting yourself?
Meh, bottom line is you were wrong. Move on.
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You are one funny left wing idiot.
I just asked the question. You took it upon yourself to research it. I didn't ask you to research it. I stated "post exactly what you stated". Is your Alzheimers' that bad that you can't recollect what you originally said? Or are you afraid of contradicting yourself?
Meh, bottom line is you were wrong. Move on.
move on?
you're the one who started the thread 5 months ago and then couldn't be bothered to remember it, find it or apparently even read it
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You are one funny left wing idiot.
I just asked the question. You took it upon yourself to research it. I didn't ask you to research it. I stated "post exactly what you stated". Is your Alzheimers' that bad that you can't recollect what you originally said? Or are you afraid of contradicting yourself?
Meh, bottom line is you were wrong. Move on.
If you really want a belly laugh - check out straws post on the debt limit matter.
According to Straw - if only we have spent 300 billion of the stim bill on more ball washing programs for africans, as opposed to a piddly tax cut, we would be in great shape now.
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If you really want a belly laugh - check out straws post on the debt limit matter.
According to Straw - if only we have spent 300 billion of the stim bill on more ball washing programs for africans, as opposed to a piddly tax cut, we would be in great shape now.
bullshit
show me that quote
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If you really want a belly laugh - check out straws post on the debt limit matter.
According to Straw - if only we have spent 300 billion of the stim bill on more ball washing programs for africans, as opposed to a piddly tax cut, we would be in great shape now.
I read that he also stated that George Washington or some other founding father was as liberal as him. Did he state that?
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I read that he also stated that George Washington or some other founding father was as liberal as him. Did he state that?
you read that huh?
it must be one of my famous "frases"
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LOL!
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Postal Service Facing Default, Shutdown Without Congressional Intervention
Published September 05, 2011
FoxNews.com
The head of the U.S. Postal Service said in an interview that the organization will default -- perhaps as early as this winter -- unless Congress intervenes.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's comments reflect a well-known reality that the Postal Service is in dire financial straits. The rise of email and online bill-paying has steadily eroded its profits over the years while labor costs soar. Donahoe is calling for a host of changes, including the elimination of Saturday delivery, to close a deficit projected to top $9 billion this year.
But he said Congress needs to step in to help keep the service alive.
"Our situation is extremely serious," he told The New York Times. "If Congress doesn't act, we will default."
According to The New York Times, the service will be unable to make a $5.5 billion retiree health care payment later this month and is expected to run out of money to pay workers and other expenses early next year. This could force a shutdown in delivery.
Averting that outcome doesn't necessarily mean a bailout. One thing the service wants from Congress is a law to effectively nullify a contract prohibition on layoffs -- part of Donahoe's plan involves laying off 120,000 workers, but he needs Congress' help.
Some in Congress are also looking at letting the organization recover billions in supposedly overpaid pension payments.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/05/postal-service-facing-default-shut-down-without-congressional-intervention/
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Here's an idea
let them raise the first class postage rate rather than having a below market rate as compared to any other country
Another idea, don't require them prepay into a defined benefit pension plan that they've already overpaid by into by an estimated 6.9 billion**.
Even better, get rid of the defined benefit pension and switch completely to defined contribution plan
Finally, get rid of the rule the the USPS has to be revenue neutral. This makes no sense. Why shouldn't they be allowed to make a profit so they will have a surplus when times are good.
There are lot's of things they can do to fix the problems
**
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-22/u-s-postal-service-will-suspend-contributions-into-employee-pension-fund.html
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Postal Service Facing Default, Shutdown Without Congressional Intervention
Published September 05, 2011
FoxNews.com
The head of the U.S. Postal Service said in an interview that the organization will default -- perhaps as early as this winter -- unless Congress intervenes.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's comments reflect a well-known reality that the Postal Service is in dire financial straits. The rise of email and online bill-paying has steadily eroded its profits over the years while labor costs soar. Donahoe is calling for a host of changes, including the elimination of Saturday delivery, to close a deficit projected to top $9 billion this year.
But he said Congress needs to step in to help keep the service alive.
"Our situation is extremely serious," he told The New York Times. "If Congress doesn't act, we will default."
According to The New York Times, the service will be unable to make a $5.5 billion retiree health care payment later this month and is expected to run out of money to pay workers and other expenses early next year. This could force a shutdown in delivery.
Averting that outcome doesn't necessarily mean a bailout. One thing the service wants from Congress is a law to effectively nullify a contract prohibition on layoffs -- part of Donahoe's plan involves laying off 120,000 workers, but he needs Congress' help.
Some in Congress are also looking at letting the organization recover billions in supposedly overpaid pension payments.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/05/postal-service-facing-default-shut-down-without-congressional-intervention/
Hahaha. I wonder if Straw Man has any stocks he thinks we should pick? Enron, maybe? Worldcom? Sino Forest? ::)
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I work for Netflix and this has me a tad worried.
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Hahaha. I wonder if Straw Man has any stocks he thinks we should pick? Enron, maybe? Worldcom? Sino Forest? ::)
If USPS was a public company do you think they would get a govt bailout?
do you think they wouldn't be allowed to make a profit
would they be required to offer their services below the market rate
would they be able to recoup overpayment to their pension
etc...
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/05/postal.default/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Postal Service does not have the money to meet an obligation to a retiree health care trust fund coming due at the end of the month, but if there's a default, officials promise no interruption in the mail, the payroll or payments to suppliers.
Commenting in response to a New York Times article Monday suggesting that the Postal Service may have to shut down within months, spokeswoman Yvonne Yoerger said there's "nothing actually new in the Postal Service's position."
"We are required to make this $5.5 billion payment into the future retiree health benefits fund and probably won't be able to make it when it comes due September 30th."
The fund was mandated by a 2006 postal reform act that postal officials today believe does not match the reality of declining revenues and a smaller work force. Tuesday, congressional lawmakers will address the matter in a hearing on postal operations.
Yoerger said at that hearing, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe will insist that the fund be re-scaled from the days when there were 900,000 people on the payroll. The mandated funding level has not changed in the years since then, although the Postal Service has trimmed 250,000 jobs.She said "the fact is, no other government agency and few corporations in the private sector are required to fund retiree health benefits 75 years out."
The newspaper quoted U.S. Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Delaware, as saying the financial problems are so dire the Postal Service may close this year.
Yoerger agrees that her agency does not have a sustainable business model but stopped short of saying a shutdown is possible. One answer is to adjust those mandated payments.
"We want to have the pre-funding mandate eliminated and have the money already paid into it used for those purposes" of covering health care benefits for future retirees. She said, "We've overpaid into our retirement funds, and we'd like some of those overpayments refunded and used for future funding."
She acknowledged the basis for the advance payments were mandated in 2006 because lawmakers wanted assurances that the Postal Service could cover benefits for its future pensioners.
In addition to relief from the future retiree payment mandate, Yoerger said the proposed business plan of the Postal Service would include a combination of closing post offices, expanding joint ventures with private industry and changes in how often you get the mail.
"Right now we are required to deliver six days a week," she said, "if it can go to five days a week, as proposed, we could better match the declining volume of mail."
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I work for Netflix and this has me a tad worried.
I wouldn't worry. It's "too big to fail." Plus, if it did fail, someone else would quickly fill the void (Fed-Ex, UPS, etc.).
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I wouldn't worry. It's "too big to fail." Plus, if it did fail, someone else would quickly fill the void (Fed-Ex, UPS, etc.).
UPS or FedEx would in no way be able to fill the void of the USP, at least not at anywhere near the same "below market" postal rates that we currently enjoy
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Funny how there's not alot of public criticism for the workers being overly paid and crazy benefits/payouts over the years like there is over other civil servants.
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Hey
Nostradamus Straw Man, got any investment advice? I figure I could make a killing by doing the exact opposite of anything you suggest.
Up is down and left is right in your world.
"The post office is doing fine". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA .
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Lmao! To the delusional left - bankruptcy and unsustainability are perfectly acceptable business models.
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Hey Nostradamus Straw Man, got any investment advice? I figure I could make a killing by doing the exact opposite of anything you suggest.
Up is down and left is right in your world.
"The post office is doing fine". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA .
if you're going to quote me then don't be a liar and make up quotes
my actual quote is on the first page of this thread
I assumed you ignored that along with all the other salient info I've posted on this thread regarding USPS problems and how they could be addressed
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USPS running out of cash; may default on pensions
KGO ^ | 9/5/11 | KGO
The postal service says it's running out of cash and may not be able to make a $5.5 billion pension payment this month.
In fact, the postmaster general says things are so tight, the postal service may have to shut down this winter unless congress takes emergency action to stabilize its finances.
(Excerpt) Read more at abclocal.go.com ...
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if you're going to quote me then don't be a liar and make up quotes
my actual quote is on the first page of this thread
I assumed you ignored that along with all the other salient info I've posted on this thread regarding USPS problems and how they could be addressed
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333 - good job not reading
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/09/05/postal.default/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Postal Service does not have the money to meet an obligation to a retiree health care trust fund coming due at the end of the month, but if there's a default, officials promise no interruption in the mail, the payroll or payments to suppliers.
Commenting in response to a New York Times article Monday suggesting that the Postal Service may have to shut down within months, spokeswoman Yvonne Yoerger said there's "nothing actually new in the Postal Service's position."
"We are required to make this $5.5 billion payment into the future retiree health benefits fund and probably won't be able to make it when it comes due September 30th."
The fund was mandated by a 2006 postal reform act that postal officials today believe does not match the reality of declining revenues and a smaller work force. Tuesday, congressional lawmakers will address the matter in a hearing on postal operations.
Yoerger said at that hearing, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe will insist that the fund be re-scaled from the days when there were 900,000 people on the payroll. The mandated funding level has not changed in the years since then, although the Postal Service has trimmed 250,000 jobs.She said "the fact is, no other government agency and few corporations in the private sector are required to fund retiree health benefits 75 years out."
The newspaper quoted U.S. Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Delaware, as saying the financial problems are so dire the Postal Service may close this year.
Yoerger agrees that her agency does not have a sustainable business model but stopped short of saying a shutdown is possible. One answer is to adjust those mandated payments.
"We want to have the pre-funding mandate eliminated and have the money already paid into it used for those purposes" of covering health care benefits for future retirees. She said, "We've overpaid into our retirement funds, and we'd like some of those overpayments refunded and used for future funding."
She acknowledged the basis for the advance payments were mandated in 2006 because lawmakers wanted assurances that the Postal Service could cover benefits for its future pensioners.
In addition to relief from the future retiree payment mandate, Yoerger said the proposed business plan of the Postal Service would include a combination of closing post offices, expanding joint ventures with private industry and changes in how often you get the mail.
"Right now we are required to deliver six days a week," she said, "if it can go to five days a week, as proposed, we could better match the declining volume of mail."
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White House to Propose Plan to Help Postal Service (Unions stick to no-layoff clause)
ny times ^ | 9/7/2011 | steven greenhouse
The Obama administration said on Tuesday that it would seek to save the deficit-plagued Postal Service from an embarrassing default by proposing to give it an extra three months to make a $5.5 billion payment due on Sept. 30 to finance retirees’ future health coverage.
Speaking at a Senate hearing, John Berry, director of the federal Office of Personnel Management, also said the administration would soon put forward a plan to stabilize the postal service, which faces a deficit of nearly $10 billion this fiscal year and had warned that it could run out of money entirely this winter.
“We must act quickly to prevent a Postal Service collapse,” said Senator Joseph Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, who is chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which held the Tuesday hearing on the Postal Service’s financial crisis.
Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe testified that even with a three-month reprieve on the $5.5 billion payment, the post office was likely to run out of cash and face a shutdown next July or August unless Congress passed legislation that provided a long-term solution for the ailing agency.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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U.S. POSTAL SERVICE MAY BE FORCED TO CLOSE FOR THE WINTER
the Blaze ^ | September 5, 2011 | Becket Adams
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is going to have to find a way to make up for hemorrhaging financial losses (which has already rendered them incapable of making a $5.5 billion payment to its employee healthcare plan by the Sept. 30 due date) or face the possibility of closing shop for the winter.
Their unique situation raises two questions: first, how did it come to this? Second, how should it be addressed?
(Excerpt) Read more at theblaze.com ...
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if you're going to quote me then don't be a liar and make up quotes
my actual quote is on the first page of this thread
I assumed you ignored that along with all the other salient info I've posted on this thread regarding USPS problems and how they could be addressed
Are you literate?
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Are you literate?
are you?
Here's a simple reading comprehension test for you
Here's an idea
let them raise the first class postage rate rather than having a below market rate as compared to any other country
Another idea, don't require them prepay into a defined benefit pension plan that they've already overpaid by into by an estimated 6.9 billion**.
Even better, get rid of the defined benefit pension and switch completely to defined contribution plan
Finally, get rid of the rule the the USPS has to be revenue neutral. This makes no sense. Why shouldn't they be allowed to make a profit so they will have a surplus when times are good.
There are lot's of things they can do to fix the problems
**
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-22/u-s-postal-service-will-suspend-contributions-into-employee-pension-fund.html
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are you?
Here's a simple reading comprehension test for you
A simple no would have been sufficient.
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A simple no would have been sufficient.
translation = you're are not literate or simply can't understand the words you are reading
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translation = you're are not literate or simply can't understand the words you are reading
How can you state you are literate? Look at your post. Horrendous.
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Postal Service reports massive $5 billion loss
cnn ^ | 11/15/11 | J O'Toole
The U.S. Postal Service released its annual financial results on Tuesday, and they're nothing to write home about.
The agency reported an annual loss of $5.1 billion, as declining mail volumes and mounting benefit costs take their toll. The Postal Service said its losses would have been roughly $10.6 billion if not for the passage of legislation postponing a $5.5 billion payment required to fund retiree health benefits.
PrintCommentRevenues from First-Class Mail, the Postal Service's largest and most profitable product, declined 6% from the previous fiscal year to $32 billion. Total mail volume declined by 3 billion pieces, or 1.7%.
"The continuing and inevitable electronic migration of First-Class Mail, which provides approximately 49 percent of our revenue, underscores the need to streamline our infrastructure and make changes to our business model," Postal Service CFO Joe Corbett said in a statement accompanying the figures.
Postmaster General and CEO Patrick Donahoe said in the statement that the Postal Service must reduce its annual costs by $20 billion by the end of 2015 to return to profitability.
Last year's losses hit $8.5 billion, despite deep cuts in expenses and staffing. Mail volume is down more than 20% over the past four years.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
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USPS wants to limit next-day guarantee
By Jennifer Liberto @CNNMoney December 2, 2011
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- The U.S. Postal Service on Monday will announce a cost-savings proposal that would no longer guarantee next-day delivery of first-class mail.
The financially troubled agency will present to its overseers a proposal to change its national standard for first-class mail to two-to-five days from one-to-three, according to interviews with several mail industry officials who received a presentation by the agency this week.
"This isn't a change we're happy about," said Art Sackler, executive director of the National Postal Policy Council, a trade group for large mailers. "But if they don't cut somewhere and substantially, they're going to run out of cash next summer. It's one of the lesser evils."
Right now, customers on average receive mail the day after it was mailed, according the postal service. That may still happen, but a lot less frequently under the proposed rules, say the insiders who were briefed on the proposal.
The proposed rules are not a surprise. The postal service asked for public comment in September on "eliminating the expectation of overnight service" for first class mail. But it could have a major impact on customers, especially those who still use the mail to pay their bills.
It wasn't immediately clear when the plan could take effect.
"These changes are being proposed, because they will allow for significant consolidation of the entire postal network in terms of facilities, processing equipment, vehicles and employee workforce," said U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Brennan.
The Postal Service is on the brink of insolvency. It's facing another 20% drop in mail volume on top of the 20% volume drop it has already weathered. It has racked up $5.1 billion in debt this year and faces a deadline to make another $5.5 billion payment to its health care retirement fund on Dec. 18.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate are working on different bills to save the postal service.
Some areas of the country may still get next-day delivery, depending on whether their local mailing processing plant survives the next set of potential closures now under review. The Postal Service wants to bring the number of mail processing facilities down to under 200 from 463 that exist today, according to its 2011 annual report.
The paperwork announcing "service standard" changes will be filed with Postal Regulatory Commission on Monday, when more details will be released.
Attendees of a meeting this week of the Mailers' Technical Advisory Committee said postal officials discussed the proposed changes. Cutting back on guaranteed next-day delivery of first-class mail would help make the mail processing system more efficient, postal officials said.
Right now, the Postal Service runs mail processing equipment about six hours a day, on average, said Jessica Lowrance, executive vice president of the Association for Postal Commerce. The goal is to run the equipment 20 hours a day, said Lowrance, who attended the meeting.
But the move could be quite controversial, especially among unions that oppose any moves that degrade the quality of mail service and cost mail customers.
Union groups want Congress to solve the agency's cash crunch by relieving it from the burden of having to make multi-billion dollar payments to a fund for future health care retiree benefits.
The agency is linking the service changes to its effort to close mail processing facilities, which often employ hundreds of workers. For example, a possible plant closing in Tulsa, Oklahoma, could affect nearly 600 employees.
These employees can't be laid off, per union contracts. But they can be forced to take a job that could be hundreds of miles away.
Consider the Oct. 1. closure of a mail processing plant in Sioux City, Iowa, which hit 95 employees. A half dozen employees retired early and 13 took jobs in Sioux Falls -- 82 miles away. Another 34 workers found employment within the postal service in Sioux City. The fate of another 22 employees is still unclear, according to the president of the postal union there.
"We have people who are 55 years old and spent their careers processing mail indoors and are now forced to carry mail in the elements in the Midwest," said Scott Tott, local president of the union local in Sioux City. "Yes, it disrupts lives."
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/02/news/economy/postal_service_next_day/index.htm
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Time to privatize the post office 8)
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Time to privatize the post office 8)
or we can just rescind the 2006 postal legislation which requires them, among other things, to prepay pension costs 75 years in advance on employees that don't exist (something that no public agencies or company has to do). We can also let them raise the cost of first class postage and also allow them to actually make a profit.
All those things would happen if it were privatized so there is no argument against doing them now
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Sure... or we can just privatize the Post Office. ;D
It would help deal with the problems associated with a government-run "business."
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Sure... or we can just privatize the Post Office. ;D
It would help deal with the problems associated with a government-run "business."
why
so a small group of people can make a huge profit?
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why
so a small group of people can make a huge profit?
Versus the taxpayers having to bail them out? LMFAO!!!!
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Versus the taxpayers having to bail them out? LMFAO!!!!
due to the 2006 legislation the USPS has paid the government more than their current deficit
if were bailiing them out it's with money they already gave us
their "loss" is virtually identical to the bogus pension payments
I've given a few simple solution in this thread and others: rescind the 2006 legislation, let them make a profit (something they are not allowed to do by law), let them raise the cost of first class postage (we have the lowest of any country in spite fo the fact that we have the largest geographic delivery area) and, my personal preference for all government agencies.....get rid of the defined benefit pension plan and go to a defined contribution
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I agree with you on the pension situation. In NYS we have a situation like you cant believe.
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why
so a small group of people can make a huge profit?
What's wrong with profit? Profit is the economic reward for taking resources which are less valuable and turning them into a product which is more valuable.
Privatizing the Post Office would remove it from this arena of political bickering that is keeping it down by your own admission. It would also remove it from being affected by other forms of government failure, e.g. rent seeking by public unions.
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Raise the price of stamps to $2.50 each.
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What's wrong with profit? Profit is the economic reward for taking resources which are less valuable and turning them into a product which is more valuable.
Privatizing the Post Office would remove it from this arena of political bickering that is keeping it down by your own admission. It would also remove it from being affected by other forms of government failure, e.g. rent seeking by public unions.
nothing
didn't I say we should let the USPS make a profit (something that are not allowed to do now)?
I don't see any benefit to the country or it's citizens by allowing a small group of people to make a profit at our expense and the downside of privatization is a disaster
I know that many people believe that private industry can always do everything better and cheaper than the government (not saying that is your belief) but I don't agree and there is ample evidence that this premise is not valid
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nothing
didn't I say we should let the USPS make a profit (something that are not allowed to do now)?
I don't see any benefit to the country or it's citizens by allowing a small group of people to make a profit at our expense and the downside of privatization is a disaster
I know that many people believe that private industry can always do everything better and cheaper than the government (not saying that is your belief) but I don't agree and there is ample evidence that this premise is not valid
You implied that profit is bad.
Profit is a very important mechanism. More profit is a reward for taking resources worth less and turning them into a product valued more. Private industry must necessarily live by profit and loss. However, government does not. That is why there are all sorts of public choice problems associated with government that do not exist in the free market. That is also why the Post Office should be privatized - if it were, then it would focus on best serving its customers, not political interests.
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You implied that profit is bad.
Profit is a very important mechanism. More profit is a reward for taking resources worth less and turning them into a product valued more. Private industry must necessarily live by profit and loss. However, government does not. That is why there are all sorts of public choice problems associated with government that do not exist in the free market. That is also why the Post Office should be privatized - if it were, then it would focus on best serving its customers, not political interests.
I don't recall doing so
can you tell me which quote of mine you're referring to?
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This seems like you're equating "profit" with "bad:"
why
so a small group of people can make a huge profit?
Might not be what you were trying to convey, but that's how it came off.
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This seems like you're equating "profit" with "bad:"
Might not be what you were trying to convey, but that's how it came off.
I was talking specifically about the privatization of the post office
why should we hand that over to a group of private individuals
how would that benefit us
I also mentioned letting them make a profit on page 1 of this thread (no worries if you didn't read it - I don't read all pages of every thread that I post on either)
Here's an idea
let them raise the first class postage rate rather than having a below market rate as compared to any other country
Another idea, don't require them prepay into a defined benefit pension plan that they've already overpaid by into by an estimated 6.9 billion**.
Even better, get rid of the defined benefit pension and switch completely to defined contribution plan
Finally, get rid of the rule the the USPS has to be revenue neutral. This makes no sense. Why shouldn't they be allowed to make a profit so they will have a surplus when times are good.
There are lot's of things they can do to fix the problems
**
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-22/u-s-postal-service-will-suspend-contributions-into-employee-pension-fund.html
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I was talking specifically about the privatization of the post office
why should we hand that over to a group of private individuals
how would that benefit us
I also mentioned letting them make a profit on page 1 of this thread (no worries if you didn't read it - I don't read all pages of every thread that I post on either)
Well then, I think you know why profit would be beneficial ;D
Profit would be the incentive to provide as high a quality product as possible.
And when it comes to private vs. government ownership, isn't this answer obvious as well? Look, you're complaining about restrictions that the government has placed on the USPS that is bankrupting it. A government-run business doesn't care about serving the customers - it cares about serving political interests. THAT is what's ruining the USPS, any way you look at it. And then there's the rather obvious problem of government not caring about profit one way or the other - it always has tax revenues and inflation to fall back on.
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Well then, I think you know why profit would be beneficial ;D
Profit would be the incentive to provide as high a quality product as possible.
And when it comes to private vs. government ownership, isn't this answer obvious as well? Look, you're complaining about restrictions that the government has placed on the USPS that is bankrupting it. A government-run business doesn't care about serving the customers - it cares about serving political interests. THAT is what's ruining the USPS, any way you look at it. And then there's the rather obvious problem of government not caring about profit one way or the other - it always has tax revenues and inflation to fall back on.
I don't believe privatization would make things better and could potentially make things much worse
there is no need to privatize it to relieve ourselves of the problems we created
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I don't believe privatization would make things better and could potentially make things much worse
there is no need to privatize it to relieve ourselves of the problems we created
How would privatization make things "much worse?"
And don't you see that these problems are endemic to government? These weren't mere freak accidents.
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Now they're getting rid of guaranteed next-day delivery. I work for Netflix, and I posted a thread in the Religion forum asking fellow believers to pray for my job. :-\
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Postal employees stole millions in federal checks
Washington Guardian ^ | December19, 2012 | PHILLIP SWARTS
Posted on Wednesday, December 19, 2012 12:48:20 PM by
And the Georgia workers aren't alone. Between April and September of this year, 171 Postal Service employees were arrested for theft, willful delay or destruction of mail, according to a new report by the USPS inspector general. The Service has about 546,000 employees.
"We have taken two corrupt postal workers, including a supervisor, off the streets who were responsible for stealing thousands of checks worth over $3 million," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates in Atlanta said. "We will continue to target these theft rings, both those on the inside and their network of check cashers, to address this serious problem.”
Gerald Eason, 47, pled guilty to stealing more than 1,300 checks while working at the postal facility. His accomplice, mail handler Deborah Fambro-Echols, 49, has also pled guilty. The two employees pled guilty to conspiracy and theft of government money. Eason pleaded guilty to several other charges including possession of stolen Treasury checks. There's a wide range of jail time they could be serving, though. Each charge carries anywhere from five to 30 years in prison.
Investigators became aware there was a problem in December 2010, USPS Office of Inspector General spokeswoman Agapi Doulaveris said. Federal agents watched and investigated Eason and his accomplices before they were arrested in early March, Doulaveris said.
"Eason and Fambro-Echols reflect just a very small percentage of employees who failed to uphold the trust and integrity placed in them," said Paul Bowman, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General's special agent in charge. "The majority of Postal Service employees are honest, hardworking, and committed to providing the timely and reliable service that customers expect and deserve."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonguardian.com ...