USPS - Modernize or perish

[Grand58742]

We get our mail at a little place called Roy, New Mexico - look it up. Quite the metropolis of 200 + folks in a County of 600 people. For us it's a 20 mile one-way drive to pickup the mail there since no delivery is done out here. For UPS or FedEx, all of our stuff is held at the centers in Las Vegas, New Mexico, which is @ 70 miles one-way.

Nobody out here bitches and moans about having to go so far to get the mail. If the mail piles up for one rancher, the local postmaster asks someone from the area to check on that Vaquero - he may have departed to the afterlife and left no forwarding instructions.

Beautiful area out in that location though.

You are right, it's pretty desolate out in the NE portion of NM. I've driven that stretch of 87 many times before and there is little between Clayton and Raton.

[Todd.K]

USPS is in a shit situation like they have for years because they are the only "federal" entity that is REQUIRED by law to pre-fund their pension obligations to the tune of like 5 billion a year... If you look at what they are constantly "short" its like 5 billion...every year...

Ummm. NO

The idea that a Gov or quasi-Gov agency will offer more realistic health and pension benefits if only they can make the next guy pay for it, a la social security, is an untenable position.

Unfunded health and pension plans are an enormous socialist wealth distribution plan, to take from the next generation.

[chuckman]

I think they were ahead of the curve with customer-oriented features for a while (i.e., ship-from-home priority mail), but like any slow, cumbersome, bureaucratic organization, private competition has left it in the dust for most shipping. There's a need, but it needs to be blown up and started from scratch.

[26 Inf]

Unfunded health and pension plans are an enormous socialist wealth distribution plan, to take from the next generation.

Do you feel that way about the armed services retirement and medical plans?

The US Postal retirement is at least partially funded:

Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)

Postal workers who began before 1984 are eligible for the Civil Service Retirement System. Under CSRS, employees share in the cost of their future annuities, contributing 7 to 8 percent of their regular pay to the retirement system. However, they do not pay any Social Security retirement, as they are not eligible for Social Security benefits under CSRS.

Federal Employment Retirement System (FERS)

Any postal worker hired after 1984 takes USPS retirement under the Federal Employment Retirement System (FERS). FERS pays less than CSRS, but postal workers are eligible for Social Security and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) payments. Postal workers pay into FERS and Social Security each pay period. Tax-deferred contributions to TSP are made by the USPS and the employee.

https://work.chron.com/much-postal-w...ire-22117.html

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

With the amount of online shopping being done these days (even without the COVID-19 issues) there is no reason any delivery services, USPS especially, should be tanking in the market.

I mean, if Fedex, DHL and UPS are carrying on in good form, why isn't USPS?

I was thinking the same thing. But my wife has noticed is that the amount of regular mail is way down. I don’t know if people just aren’t advertising and doing the usual stuff through mail? We got two pieces of mail yesterday, my economist magazine and a bank statement. Usually we get 8 to 10 pieces of mail. Granted most of it just gets thrown out, so I don’t know how much of a loss this is in the big major scheme of things.

I don’t know what the answer is. But it kind of reminds me of how the Yellow Pages totally screwed up the transition to the Internet, they should have been the Google of the 21st-century. Anytime anybody wanted to know anything about any business they started in the Yellow Pages. They even had coupons in the back, so they’re already was a revenue model kind of built-in. They were even the original Wikipedia and that there was all kinds of standard basic information at least about the local area, in the white and yellow pages. Now for some reason it’s almost impossible to look up someone’s phone number on the Internet.

[Life's a Hillary]

I was thinking the same thing. But my wife has noticed is that the amount of regular mail is way down. I don’t know if people just aren’t advertising and doing the usual stuff through mail? We got two pieces of mail yesterday, my economist magazine and a bank statement. Usually we get 8 to 10 pieces of mail. Granted most of it just gets thrown out, so I don’t know how much of a loss this is in the big major scheme of things.

I don’t know what the answer is. But it kind of reminds me of how the Yellow Pages totally screwed up the transition to the Internet, they should have been the Google of the 21st-century. Anytime anybody wanted to know anything about any business they started in the Yellow Pages. They even had coupons in the back, so they’re already was a revenue model kind of built-in. They were even the original Wikipedia and that there was all kinds of standard basic information at least about the local area, in the white and yellow pages. Now for some reason it’s almost impossible to look up someone’s phone number on the Internet.

The amount of mail I’m getting right now is WAY less than normal. Sure most of what I used to get was junk but those companies had to pay the postal service to deliver said junk.

The postal service is a utility in my mind and while we should try to make it more efficient and have it bring in more revenue vs costs it would be foolish to do away with it.

[medicman816]

I have said for years that the Postal Service needs to switch to a 3 day delivery schedule for residences, 5 day schedule for businesses, with certain areas taken on a case by case basis using logic (which is the first clue as to why it isn't likely to happen.) They would still work 6 days/wk; just alternating even/odd addresses, different neighborhoods (helpful for rural route delivery), or different buildings, depending on the area. A gradual transition over several years will allow positions to be eliminated through attrition rather than layoffs. This would likely reduce staffing by 1/2 to 1/3 as well as nearly halve the miles driven accounting for fuel savings as well as reduced vehicle expenses. Seasonal loads could be handled with temporary workers. Of course, one could argue that with a fixed volume of mail, it would simply take twice as long to deliver the mail every other day, but, looking at how mail carriers seem to operate, at least around here, the bulk of their day seems to be driving and walking. Carrying 2 letters or 4 doesn't seem to make much difference.

I would also do away with most bulk mail rates, at least for "junk" mail.

[Todd.K]

Do you feel that way about the armed services retirement and medical plans?

Absolutely. Don't offer benefits you can't pay for up front.

And let's not forget the post office employees wanted to become more separate so they could give themselves more pay and benefits, rather than have to ask Congress.

[rjacobs]

Ummm. NO

The idea that a Gov or quasi-Gov agency will offer more realistic health and pension benefits if only they can make the next guy pay for it, a la social security, is an untenable position.

Unfunded health and pension plans are an enormous socialist wealth distribution plan, to take from the next generation.

I think you are putting words in my mouth...

I dont believe I say anywhere that I agree or disagree with the hand they are dealt, simply explaining it. I dont believe there is a single other government entity that is required to do what the USPS is required to do, by law, as far as pre-funding their pension liabilities. In fact I am 100% on board with them being required to do it... I am not 100% on board with the fact that they are the only(as far as I know) government entity that is required to do it. I think they all should have to pre-fund their pension liabilities.

[The_War_Wagon]

Looks like the USPS is going to need a bailout.

I think they should have diversified or closed long ago. All I get in the mail is coupons and direct solicitation pieces.

But gummint run health care will be MUCH better!