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That all has changed, of course, with mobile phones, tablets and laptop computers instantly passing around messages and pictures, and online bill paying taking care of much of the rest.
As the Senate debates the fate of the venerable U.S. Postal Service, many msnbc.com users on Facebook think they could do without “snail mail.” Others say it's become more a delivery mechanism for the advertising fliers, credit-card offerings and sweepstakes invitations that stuff their mailbox each day (and for which no software filter is available).
Weigh in on Facebook about the Postal Service’s fate
“If it wasn’t for crap junk mail, I wouldn’t get mail at all,” said Liza Roosa. “Everything I do is online.”
“All I get these days is junk mail,” lamented Peggy Brent Finnegan.
And Don Hodge suggested, “Yawn. Turn it over to private enterprise, have advertisers who still believe in direct mail subsidize the whole thing.”
Other see the winding down of the Postal Service as an inevitable evolution of technology.
Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake in the GOP assault on the post office. The Senate took up a bill to postpone the agony of cuts, but it's not a long-term solution. Ed Schultz thinks Democrats should take a page out of the Michele Bachmann playbook on this fight.
“Cassettes killed Records, CDs killed Cassettes, MP3 players killed CDs and the Internet (and email and online bill paying) killed the United States Postal Service!” said Jorma J. Takala.
Still, many point out that the postal delivery is a vital lifeline for poor people without Internet service, patients who receive medications through the mail and for those living in rural areas without broadband.
“There still are people who don't have internet,” Lisa McGee of Allentown, Pa., said on Facebook. “What of them?”
“I don't know but why would anybody want to get rid of the Postal Service. There are people out there still depend on the mail because of bills and checks that old people received because they don't have computers or they don't have access or don't know to use,” said Paul Thompson.
One thing is for certain. Many think Congress should be able to figure out a way to save a federal agency that reaches all Americans.
“The postal service is a vital part of the American economy and it should be kept,” said Annette Pratt Mansaray of Puyallup, Wash.
“We need our post offices,” said Christy Robin Golden, of Bassett, Va.
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Leave a Comment:
Like I said in the other thread, just double what they charge for delivering "junk" mail.
Problem solved.
#1- stop requiring them to pre-fund retirement for employees that may not even be born yet.
#2- relax the rules on basing cost increases on inflation (especially when inflation is stagnant and operating costs are rising). let them round up to the next nickel, I'm tired of all the pennies and trying to remember if a stamp costs .47 or .48.
Don't get rid of the USPS, but cut way back on the service. Deliver mail 3 or 4 days per week.
The problem with getting rid of them is they are the only reason the cost of mailing packages via FedEx and UPS remain in check. Get rid of the USPS and you will see FedEx and UPS double what they charge.
Love or hate junk mail, it subsidizes the post office a lot. We can't do without the P.O.
I, for one, still get some magazines, bills, etc. through the mail.
I think to just get rid of them is a bit lazy, honestly. People need an alternative way of making transactions-not just rely on internet based options. Plus, what skiing111 said is absolutely true. If the USPS is gone, every other parcel delivery service will raise prices-why shouldn't they?
The USPS has a much larger part in the economy than what one might initially realize.
They could save a bundle by going to alternate-day delivery. Deliver to half the houses in a zip code on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and to the other half on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. They could cover the same territory with far fewer people.
And close some post offices! I live in a rural area of CT, and yet there are 17 (!) post offices within 10 miles of my house. This is an area where everyone has a car - you certainly can't walk to any stores. So having to drive to the post office is no hardship.
skiing111 has a good point. Why not deliver Mon, Wed, and Fri? Really, since most of my mail is junk mail, I don't need mail delivery on every week day incl. Saturday. Although the lines at the nearest post office are shorter, as long as there are still lines, we should have a post office. I don't for a moment trust private enterprise to do the job for less once they're in charge. Look at the sub-contractors that work for the military. They do the same work for a lot more $$ than our soldiers and some people at the top have gotten very rich at the expense of the American people.
Postal service just raised my box rental from $70 per year to $86 per year. Don't care. I love the United States Postal Service. I trust the USPS.
Fairly simple solution. I agree on direct mail/ junk mail. Its an environmental disaster, and a nuisance to most. Double the rates for junk, deliver the mail 3 x per week and keep the postal service alive because if we don't FedEx and UPS will double what they charge without the check and balance of low postal rates.
Oh, and sell some of that real estate.
Best postal service in the WORLD, self sustaining - no wonder the GOTea want to ruin it.
And kill every small business in the country that requires timely mail service and/or delivery.
This is all the fault of Congress. They raped the coffers by demanding more prepaid pensions from them than anyone else, and added the money to their bottom line to hide the deficit! Congress needs to pull their collective rears out from between their ears and let the Postal Service, along with their union, decide what to do about the pensions, and stop giving the money to Congress!
The postal service can cut down in many ways..they are just stuck in their ways only.
The postal service runs like a clock and always did (24/7)..that's a mistake.
I worked for the postal service for three years only..was assigned to a out going dock..my job was to only load that trailer at the end of my conveyor belt until the expediter tags it at a special time to leave no matter full or not, I can't leave my conyeror belt no matter what else needs help..that truck and next time arrival truck replacement was my job for eight hours. This is wrong to operate this way, the promise of next day or even two days delivery cost to much to promise...better off just saying you get it when it arrives.
lmao @ ED as a spokesman for anything.
if he's for it, I'm against it, and vice versa.
The PO could go to but TWO days a week delivery, that'd suit me fine.
If **advertisers** want 5 or 6 day, THEY can pay for it !!!
Cameron Ford
And kill every small business in the country that requires timely mail service and/or delivery.
How would that happen? My family has 3 businesses. 2 or 3 day delivery would just mean, we'd get supplies from wholesalers in..oh, 2 or 3 days, instead of....uhmmm.. 2 or 3 days !
The Postal Service has always been a reliable courier service. UPS and FedEx have proven to be unreliable. I have spent weeks trying to find packages shipped through both UPS and FedEx. Both companies have lost packages I have sent and packages sent to me on many different occasions.
If I have a choice, I always choose Postal delivery because the item will be delivered, guaranteed. Maybe others have had a different experience - but - my experience is that the Postal Service provides far more reliable service than UPS or FedEx.
First off...the USPS is not self sustaining. If it was, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Second, the post office leadership failed to keep up with technology and demand as well as its primary private competitors UPS and FedEx.
Productivity standards at the USPS are measurably lower than UPS across the labor spectrum.
Bulk mail rates are obsolete. Advertisers need to pay up. It's all first class...what other choice do the junk mail advertisers have?
Mail should only be delivered Monday thru Friday period. If you want a package delivered on Saturday...charge the same rates as UPS and FedEx.
Finally, wage and benefits of any organization should only be at a level that can be sustained by the normal operations that the consumers are willing to support. I think outsourcing expansion may be a viable alternative, especially in rural areas.
How is allowing mailers to send junk mail at a lower price than cost subsidizing their operations? It's your first class postage stamp that's subsidizing theirs (including all the political junk you get).
And while they're at it, the USPS should revisit their pricing structure to Fedex for their Smartpost service which has the USPS delivering the package to your door for a fraction of the total revenue derived from the delivery charged by Fedex.
WOW... just looking at the responses here I can tell that nobody has read this report released last year... if you do, read the entire report, I have and I think somebody is lying or covering up something or going along with.... you decide.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d12146.pdf
P.S. I believe that if Postal were allowed to truly compete with UPS and FEDEX... then you'd hear everyone complaining about the government putting private companies out of business.
The
Postal Service is critical for people without the internet. Medications cannot
be sent by internet, not can personal letters of thank you , condolences, and
receiving personal mail from overseas and from the government. It makes sense
to have it 3 days per week: Monday Wednesday & Saturday. It should have
been reduced to those days 8 years ago and then they would be solvent for 50
years or more. Who is thinking out there? Certain not congress, all of them
don't seem to be able to complete almost anything. GOP is the biggest problem
because they don't make common sense decisions.
Right...and the GOP doesn't believe in investing in making broadband available to rural areas either. It's pretty simple, you are on your forkin own, no matter what the situation. If someone can't make a profit on it, we don't believe in it. It's that simple. Public roads and bridges, no way. Public education, see ya later. We don't even take care of our troops anymore...it just cost too much. It's sad what we have become.
Alright I dislike junk mail just like the rest of you- ohhh except for the Smog coupon- yeah got to get that done, but for all the rest- you can get rid of it. I agree if we get rid of the USPS, people like Fed Ex and UPS will step in. Not so bad right- well I guess those billing fees will increase- no biggee- so our water bills will go up, trash bills, etc. Just Fed Ex them to me- even those personal things that have my social security information in them- leave them on my door- nothing will happen right- no one would take it- or my identity.
Christmas cards - really you can all email right- you know I love going through email after I am home from work. You know those friends and family who cut down on expenses by cutting off those non crucial bills- they had to keep the electricity on for what ever reason and opted out of having the Internet- I can send them their cards to their work email, I am sure that employers will not mind.
Will we have to bailout Hallmark when we do this?? Just add that to my taxes-
Oh yeah grandma's card- she has arthritis and finds typing really hard- so she sends me a gift card for birthdays and Christmas. I guess that I won't get so much as she will have to pay the shipping- for the giftcard that she sent to my doorstep- ugg that usually gets taken. Man I wish my boss would let me early for when we are expecting a gift.
So few we no longer have to pay for the USPS- man that was expensive, but wow private industry delivery is doing great. I pay a little more for those bills- what's the choice, but I don't have to deal with junk mail anymore. Now I just go to the Internet and use my paper and ink to print those coupons- Smog- got to get that done. I had to purchase Identity theft insurance- I have only had to use once so far and yeah my rates went up but how else are you keeping that stuff delivered to your door safe- email- yeah that's a thought. Christmas cards, birthday cards, personal contact like that- Email it's so much more quick and so more personal- I ad emoticons to mine- you buy those now from Hallmark.
Mail who neeeds it, that's so third world.
I can see both sides of this dilema. Yes, much snail mail is obsolete and the volume has gone way down.
However, the US Postal Service is a long time American institution that provides a valuable service to many people and businesses.
In my experience, USPS has great service. I hope they keep in business at their current level of service.
Go to drive-up mailboxes that are clustered and arraigned so the truck need not go both ways on a street and just deliver on every other day of the week. Only express mail should be delivered daily and with proper sorting, only half of it would require a special trip. Packages that are over the size that fit in the package compartments of the clustered boxes should cost extra.
I am favor of saving the P.O. in some form, but I have to say here that MY mail delivery has become very unreliable. In the last several months we have seen two charge-card and two AT&T bills go AWOL while receiving a half-dozen pieces of first-class mail addressed to someone else (different street, etc.). Is it just our carrier...or???
I spend $60,000 a year on the US Postal Service, shipping packages to customers all over the US. An average of about $7 per customer is what you are paying now to get your package delivered from my business to you in the US in 2-3 days. If the US Postal Service goes away, UPS will be the next obvious replacement. Your package prices will double, and so will your delivery time.
Think about that today when your order from Amazon.com arrives in the mail, two to three days earlier and at 1/2 the shipping cost on every single item you get in the mail from the day before the US Postal Service died -- until you do.
We have 2 choices.
A. USPS starts charging more to ship packages, so the taxpayer does not have to support them.
B. Close USPS, and let UPS charge people more.
Either way, the cost should be borne by those that use the service- not every taxpayer.
The post office should be saved. Despite the onslaught of technology, their are still many businesses and individuals who rely on the USPS. The problem right now is that Congress wants the USPS to operate like a business, yet they preclude them from making any strategic business decisions. The USPS can not make decisions about which post offices it should keep and which ones could go. When business slows down, stores that are close to each other are often consolidated into one location. Congress will not allow the USPS to do this. Businesses set the prices for their services yet Congress dictates to the USPS what they can charge for delivering different classes of mail. Is shifting to only having mail delivery five days a week part of the solution, I don't know, but if the USPS is to operate like a business they need to be free to make this decision for themselves without interference from Congress. If Congress really wants the USPS to be self sufficient and pay for itself, then they need to get out of the way and let the people running the organization make the business decisions that are needed in order to make that happen. Right now Congress is just demonstrating their typical hypocrisy in a grand fashion.
So now Grandma and Grandpa, the poor, the Hillbillies, the high school drop outs, and those who have never seen any interest in computers have to buy a computer and get tutorials? Meanwhile the Banks get rich by avoiding any float on your payment. However, they don't float collecting your cash by depositing your check, they immediately electronically grab your money from your bank account the second you receive it. Do not ever put your checking information on-line. Why do you think the Nigerian scammers want a blank check? So they can electronically run it through you bank, w/o your signature or authorization for what ever amount will clear. And guess what, if you want to argue, the Bank or Nigerian you gave the check to has "already destroyed it' i.e. burnt the evidence and you bank honored it w/o seeing it and doesn't have a copy. Enough said.
Just get rid of the USPS. It's outdated and woefully inefficient.
But then how will I get all my junk mail?
Slodon@ They are 65% of people who use USPS. USPS is a National Pride .
Business write checks to pay invoices. If someone would figure a way that my Account Payable software would interface with an online bill paying service (And, no, I'm not going to set up all my vendors twice, once in my software and once in theirs.
Otherwise, you find me someone will take a letter across the country for less than fifty cents.
Was, and they probably still would be and wouldn't be having these problems if they weren't union.
Ray, you'll be using FedEx or UPS soon enough. I get a chuckle out of my industry, printing, dying due to new tech. Can you imagine paying a few hundred bucks for some business cards? Imagine what wedding invitations will cost! Of course some things will still need to be printed, you just won't be getting the deals from the big corporations who no longer see the value in owning printing companies, so you'll be paying more. It's inevitable, and it sucks - but life goes on.
What people who want to get rid of the USPS don't seem to understand is that without it, many folks will be able to get no mail at all. If commercial delivery services take over, they have no sense of obligation to serve the nation and therefore will cut delivery options to anyone who lives in an inconvenient location. Kiss the delivery of anything goodbye if you live in a crime-ridden area, remote area, rural area, etc. If commercial delivery services don't find a location "profitable" enough to deliver to it, that location is SOL. The USPS is an absolute necessity for a democracy, just like police and fire departments.
How will we get Christmas cards without the USPS? Oh, and bills too. I need those.
People take the Post Office for granted. Even more than half of what I buy from Amazon gets delivered by the mailman.
Let them consolidate and become profitable. Don't kill them.
What most people don't realise is that the USPS would still be viable if congress hadn't raided their pension funds to pay down the deficit just like they did with social security.
If they're just going to die off anyway, how about the post office just charge half of what Fedex and UPS charge?
45 cents still seems awful generous in this day and age.
@Lee - Oh I understand it but dont care that those people will not get it. If in today's world in the United states if you dont have a computer or refuse to learn a computer then you should pay a premium to have this archaic system cater to you.
re: "Kiss the delivery of anything goodbye if you live in":
"a crime-ridden area" - Well I guess the local populace needs to figure that out huh? PErhaps by being more accountable for their offspring, supporting education, etc and taking more personal involvement in their local society but today too many people don't want to manage their kids or sit them in front of video games intead of responsbile parenting, allowing misbehavior etc, so...they can deal with lack of mail if its so dangerous UPS/FedEX or a modified USPS doesn't want the liability of delivering to that area.
"remote area, rural area, etc." Well there's two pieces to this. The first is if UPS doesn't want to deliver to BFE Kentucky there is opportunity for a small, local business to fill the gap so not really an issue. This could have a good benefit and its the free market. If there's not a good market for a place to make a business then the local community can decide if they want to run a local service managed by their farming town or whatever (even if its trading who drives into the nearest city and picks up all their mail from FedEx/UPS once a week). My point is there is always a solution, it doesn't have to be complicated and shouldn't come at the requirement of a federal govt run postal service that needs to be set free (an run as a business).
"If commercial delivery services don't find a location "profitable" enough to deliver to it, that location is SOL" - And this is what the "Free market" is for. IF they don't see value someone will, see above re: remote areas.
People keep trying to compare the Postal Service to UPS and FedEX. Totally different businesses. UPS and FedEX are freight businesses at their core - not couriers. UPS and FedEX cannot replace the Postal Service because they are different types of businesses. You do not 'mail' a letter with UPS or FedEX - you ship it as freight.
That is why UPS and FedEX do not deliver to all addresses - because they are freight companies - not a courier service.
Collapse of the U.S. Mail service will probably hurt the least tech. savy people the most, the so-called baby boomer generation.
I am a baby-boomer and I am very tech savy.
Don't hold your breathe, RTypo! I have a few years on the baby boomers and we have been online banking for almost as long as it's been around, use the internet a lot and so do our friends. I think it has more to do with soci-economic standing, per previous comments. In rural and poorer areas, postal delivery is still important, but I don't see why we need 6-day delivery, and there are no doubt post offices that could be closed. Streamlining is the word but certainly not elimination.
I'm a baby boomer and I guaran-f'in-tee you I'm more tech savvy than you are. So before you start throwing around incorrect generalities, check the mirror Jack!
Of course not all baby boomers are tech ignorant but I do know alot that are. Some of whom are within my own family.
I'm willing to bet that you guys are the minority within your generation. Gen X and Gen Y grew up with the tech boom. Many of the older folks got a late start. Not their fault just reality.
Right RTyp0. I'll remind myself how low-tech minded I am as I play Rift on my i-7, liquid cooled system. You have a nice day.
Okay...why not:
Just do away with delivery...Keep the package delivery...you're right..it keeps UPS and Fed Ex in check..and all the others..
That should save the govt a few billion...then you gotta get the high tech sector to write some strong encryption to alleviate problems and create trust with online bill paying. Ads and "circulars" would be delivered via email..and end up in the trash anyway..like most of mine do..
Save a few trees? why not???
Now..what to do with the postal workers: any idea?
@RTyp0- you come on an internet forum and post stuff like that, what kind of reaction did you expect? Try asking the folks still using the yellow pages and reading the daily paper.
@Snuze- by your logic then the US Govmt should operate an airline, to keep United and American in check. And Walmart, and Chevy (oh wait).
The postal service is an anachronism- slightly better than wheelwrights and buggy whip makers- but facing the same fate. Time to accept it and start turning off the spigot. Cut delivery dates as some have suggested, odd addresses on odd days, etc. Rural deliveries 2x per week. Greatly bump the price of bulk mail. Seriously review labor contracts for inefficient practices.
OR, since the USPS goes to every residence every day, do a more aggressive deals with FedEx and UPS for their end point delivery work, it could be win-win that way.
I don't think that R-Typo is saying all baby boomers are lacking tech smarts. As a group they are less tech savvy than their children and grandchildren, but more than their parents. Don't take it so personally.
Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. When did the Computer Industry start to Boom?? Can you say 1960's?? Computers had become small enough and affordable for a small business by then. H3LL I cut my computer teeth on an IBM 1130 in 1968. A 4K machine with a single platter disk drive(think Frisbee) don't remember the storage capacity. So now tell me again how us Boomers are computer illiterate. It was us Boomers who brought out the Macintosh,Comadore64 and IBM PC that introduced you Gen-X and Gen-Y to the Computer Age.
I too am a boomer. And my students are indeed more tech savvy than I am.... but only in the ense that they can pirate movies, download music, and play video games much better than I can. Oh, and they're great at copy and paste for their "research" projects. We're still working on that.
Hey RTypo,
I'm 55 yrs old,mkes me a baby boomer.I don't like your implied statement that baby boomers are dumb. I made 19.50 p/hr as a Diesel tech. Most young people today don't have jobs & live w/Mom & Dad,as they don't want to get there hands dirty-I guess so they can use their damn smart phones. oh,by the way all my friends ask me to fix their computers when they crash them.
RTypo
Are you kidding me? We were using computers before Gens X and Y were born. Please tell Bill Gates or Steve Jobs (RIP) and their predecessors, that they have/had no tech savvy. Really, the baby-boomers are the reason you have all of your toys to play with today!
As to the USPS .... it takes me longer to delete or block junk in my email inbox than it takes for me to toss a few pieces of junk mail. I LOVe keeping my Mothers Day cards and having real receipts for my taxes and bills.
I have smartphones, internet service, laptops, tablets, etc., but still prefer to receive and pay my bills thru the mail. I don't trust the security of online bill pay, and like to have the paper bill that is mailed to me, not an e-bill in my email. Raise stamp prices, raise rates on junk or bulk mail, and save the postal service.
Yea, and the concrete bills are pretty much essential for any billing disputes.
Right. It's impossible to print out e-mails. And nobody's identity ever got stolen from someone going through their mail.
I can steal your identity much easier through snail mail than from the internet.
But then if you really want to dispute something, an actual bill is a lot more credible than an email.
And since it's way easier to steal information over the internet, mail fraud and check fraud are hardly ever heard of anymore.
If you steal an identity through regular mail then it is a federal offense. Fex ex, et al, do not deliver letters, they also don't deliver packages "the last mile".
Agreed. What these mindless people in the article are saying to the older people and the poor is "I've got mine to hell with you". Typical selfishness from the younger crowd. The USPS is and always will be a vital part of the US gov'ts service to the people of this country.I will never trust paying my bills online with all of the instances of id fraud out there. Why give the big corporations anymore sway over our lives?
I don't think getting rid of USPS will help anything. Cutting back to the number of days they deliver might but NOT getting rid of it entirely! Not everyone has a computer and not everyone is computer literate.
Are you willing to pay more the postal services? That's one way to keep them in business. The other way is the Post Master must find the way to take businesses from Fedex and USP.
@South Bay,
There's a third way but it involves regular people getting off of their a$$ and getting involved in the political process. Read the paragraph below and you will understand my statement. Contact your senator or representative and ask them why Congress regulates the Post Office differently from all other federal agencies.
At the very end of 2006, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA). Under PAEA, USPS was forced to “prefund its future health care benefit payments to retirees for the next 75 years in an astonishing ten-year time span” — meaning that it had to put aside billions of dollars to pay for the health benefits of employees it hasn’t even hired yet, something “that no other government or private corporation is required to do.”
What I take issue with , was the republican congress in a lame duck session having them pre-fund 75 years worth of retirement in ten years, no other company has to do that, and then after setting them up to fail the same republicans cry your losing profits. The USPS is the only govt department that doesnt take money from the govt, and it actually pays into the govt.
Brad Swanson
Yep, as a parting gift to the American people, before the Dems took over congress, the Repubs slit the throat of the postal service. They were betting that people would be to dumb to realize it was failing because of their actions, and they were right. The postal service may be seeing the demise of its business model, but the time frame is unnatural.
Chris Gilliard
Your kidding right? I'll assume you are of the older generations. You know the generations that built up immense debt, left a crumbling infrastructure and expects the younger generations to pay off their bills, support them financially and rebuild the country. All while crying about their tax burden. How is that for selfish?
The Postal Service would be operating in the black every year if Congress had not mandated that it fund it's retirement program 75 years into the future. So why not just eliminate that mandate and all of the discussion about saving the USPS becomes moot.
It doesn't become moot. It just gets kicked down the road 20 or 30 years. You do remember what happened to all those auto companies that didn't properly fund their pension benefits?
The Post Office is dying. Just let it go.
For all of those that say we should just give it to UPS - I live in Reno, NV. Not exactly a small town. In the last two months I have had UPS parcels delivered by the post office. It seems UPS in this area does not deliver small light weight parcels. Instead they give them to the P.O. to deliver. If you go to the UPS site to track the parcel it says "Tendered to the US Postal Service."
Scubasteve58001
Epic fail. The USPS is being required to fund obligations for potential employees that have yet to be born, yet alone hired. This has nothing to do with kicking the can down the road. This is about the systematic destruction of our social institutions. This is about ideology. If the rightwingers who championed this funding scheme really thought it was for the best, they would demand similar changes to all pension systems.
@SemperFi Removing the pre-funding would help the USPS be in the black short-term but only very short-term.
Their location and personnel consolidations this year, in theory, will help their balance sheet. Having undercharged non-first class mail and packages for years is the bigger problem because now that's the majority of the volume compared to first class. But if they raise prices much more, most will stop mailing catalogs, many more periodicals will go under and more packages will shift to FedEx and UPS so it causes even more loss of volume. USPS has to figure out what its real place is and what levels of service can be provided in a profitable way and how to most efficiently handle the parcels while still, hopefully, holding to one of the founding principles of the USPS which is that EVERY American, no matter where they live, gets service.
Chris, you're being selfish for expecting others to pay for something that you want but they don't.
The problem is that the post office doesn't act competitively. Going to the post office is like going to the DMV...you have to wait 30+ minutes to move through the line, and when you finally get there, you are "helped" by some slow, sleepy, disinterested postal employee. I will gladly spend twice as much to mail a package from FedEx Kinkos because it only takes 2 minutes.
If you have that problem then why can't you print the postage online and just drop at USPS . You are lazy first of all to stand in line.
How can you be competitive during these tough economic times when you're up against companies with very low operating margins and you have to give your employees everything they ask for to avoid a strike?
2 minutes? Oh please do tell where I can find a FedEx with that short of a wait!!! I spent 18 minutes the other day waiting!
True true, just like the DMV. why cant they provide service?? I would pay more for people who know what they are doing... I feel bad for the postal workers, because congress raided there funds - BUT they are so mean at my PO...Its incredible! ANgry people who give you attitude but yet dont know what they are doing!!! They dont know what they are doing and they have no sense of service.. Maybe if they knew they were going to get shut down then they start compromising with there wages and perks...and try a little service!!! I live in jupiter FL btw.. its hard to empathize with them!
As someone who works in a mail room for a business that receives a LOT of mail, especially from senior citizens, losing the USPS would be terrible. There are a lot of jobs out there, like mine, that are affected by this. Since we mail paychecks, stubs, account statements, and royalties from our location, the effects would extend to those hundreds of recipients as well.
Email the statements and direct deposit the funds... Simple...
Oh ya, not EVERYONE has a bank account either... LIKE ME!!
However, they can always send it via UPS or FedEx... when you use FedEx or UPS ground it is not that expensive to send a letter... It is only the overnight service that is so high...
Screw you... this is NOT all about you.
Many "rural" communities will lose their post offices and then where do people using mail away prescription drug plans get their packages ?????????
Stop subsidizing the junk mail industry and stop screwing with their 'pay it all in advance retirement'. I've been on the internet since its inception and it is NOT a panacea. Too many hackers know too much about you to ever feel safe. UPS and FedEx are ruthless corporations and won't hesitate to rape and pillage everyone once the USPS is out of their way. I'm not at all certain that they're not bankrolling this anti USPS sentiment.
Actually Dale, it was UPS who was lobbying for the changes that were implemented in the lame duck session of 2006 as the republicans were on their way out the door! Another thing many people don't realize about USPS is they are forbidden from lobbying congress. UPS and FedEx can send lobbyists to wine and dine congressman, but it's against the law for USPS to even defend itself. Like everything else, republicans want to destroy another US institution. Losing the USPS will harm our country and our economy in ways people haven't even considered yet.
Wow, slodon (#2), such a nice simple solution to a complex problem. Just for instance, how do you propose we deliver prescription drugs to all of those homebound folks via computer? And, any organization that can pick up a piece of mail at my door and deliver it two days later on the other coast is hardly inefficient, much less "woefully" so.
UPS, FedEx, DHL ?
Bills are more of what concern me.
RTyp0: Only the USPS delivers to every home in America. There are rural places where UPS, FEDEX and DHL do not deliver.
Same with U.S. mail. In some rural places you have to drive or walk to the post office.
So RTypo..you want to start paying $10 for a letter that costs you 50 cents today...Quit thinking only of yourself for once...
Of course i don't, I want to save USPS too. Here, in this thread, I was just pointing out that there are options of which the original poster seemed to be saying there aren't any.
But that said, e-mail can handle letters where UPS et al could handle physical packaging. Maybe more expensive sure, but there are options.
Do UPS and FedEx deliver by snowmobile to the remote towns of Alaska? The postal service does. If the postal service goes, getting anything delivered to most of an entire state is impossible.
You will not like what you get when UPS and FedEx are your only options for sending a package. Might have to start going back to Best Buy and Borders to save on shipping.
And people don't realize that in many, many cases, UPS and FedEx use the USPS for the final delivery to your door. They do this after charging you double what USPS would charge. Prices will soar when UPS and FedEx have to pay for and actually deliver an item to you door. They simply don't have the infrastructure to do it.
We already have what is probably the most efficient system from getting a package from point A to point B. That infrastructure is there and selling it off in bits and pieces will destroy it. For those that think the USPS system is wasteful, think about this. The USPS Postmaster Generals base salary is about $274,000/yr. The CEO's of UPS and FedEx make about $10 million per year on revenue that is nearly half what USPS has. You want to see your rates skyrocket, wait until the CEO's get through with you!
First of all let's remember the main thing, the post office is a self sustaining non tax payer funded entity whose total objective is to serve the people of the United States by delivery their mail worldwide at a reasonable cost. They are not a for profit entity. The post office is a public business authorized by the constitution. If the Republicans have their way it will cease to exist and all we will have is what FEDEX and UPS offer us. The protection of the post office is as vital as any other of our national rights. Lets petition the congress to remove the onerous burden of pre-funding their pensions for 75 years out, and treat our post office with the respect it deserves instead of scapegoating it so that private corporation can throw us into further dependence on their monopolies that don't serve us or our interests
I totally agree. Most people think everyone is living in city and they are not even bothered about rural America. I think 35% of rural USA is dependent on USPS . If USPS goes then minimum cost for post will be 2-3 dollars compared 45 cents. Cut 2% of military spending and that will be more than enough to save USPS .
Go to 3 days/week. You'll cut your labor in half and mail will only arrive 1 day later than otherwise. By definition, nothing coming through snail mail is THAT time critical.
If your grandparents order their prescription drugs through the mail you might not be saying that.
Under Medicare Part D most drugs are much cheaper if ordered online and shipped through USPS.
The delay of a single day for your grandfathers heart medication could have serious consequences.
I order MY drugs through the mail. Mail order phamacies send refills 2 weeks ahead of running out. My parents do the same thing. Plenty of lead time-- which is why I wouldnt get rid of USPS all together. Its still cost effective.
Main problems with United State Post Office is when like other federal agencies went Union. They are in debt because they are paying reitirees more then when worked a 40 hour week. There are many people out there that would do the job for less.
You think somebody will let their critical drugs get down to 1 pill left in the bottle and be relying on the refill arriving exactly on time? Get real. They'd get to a brick&mortar store for a partial refill. If they cant drive/walk, they'd call senior services in the city. In the country, we know our neighbors. Easy to get a ride. Dont be fear mongering. We get enough of that from the congress that created this crisis in the first place.
DKJ-4 Sorry but the unions aren't the problem. It is the 75 years of pensions that the USPS has to pay in advance that no other corporation is required to do. If the USPS has to do this how about UPS, DHL and FedEx also being required to do the same....
I find service from the USPS to be outstanding and cost effective. On the other hand I use the USPS in my business as opposed to screwing around on FaceBook all day and blindly repeating what I saw another idiot post.
It was legislation passed during the Pres. "W" Bush administration in 2006 when the Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress which is undermining the USPS and as a result it is twisted government accounting which makes the US Postal Service APPEAR to be financially insolvent.
SEARCH: "Twisted Government Accounting Behind Postal Service Woes"
Actually I think the fix is very simple - - All mail delivered should be first class mail or above.... That would at least quadruple the PO revenue and might actually get rid of some of the junk mail in my box....
Considering Congress created the solvency problem, it seems fitting they resolve it. Remove the absolutely stupid requirement of funding their entire pension in 10 years and the problem is solved. No other corporation or public entity has that kind of stringent requirement. NONE.
The US Postal service is not a federally funded entity. They're entirely self-funded and have ALWAYS been solvent until Congress placed the retirement pension funding requirement on them. It's been a disaster ever since.
The post office biggest problem is its inability to transform itself to meet the demand of its customers. It is a monstrosity of an organization. They have 574,000 workers and 218,000 vehicles. They are the 2nd largest employer in the US surpassed by only the federal government and it's vehicle fleet is the largest in the world. They need to shrink their numbers and scale back their operation.
Exactly the post office is big business, so why should the congress make them pay their pensions 75 years out, which is overly burdensome regulation that is destroying a business? The Republican are constantly harping about regulation and business but here is a perfect example of their disdain for business. The post office would be fine if the Republicans in congress would vote to remove the pension funding requirement that they put on the post office in 2006. The post office does not need less employees, it needs its operating capital back from the over funded pension fund, so it can survive.
Wow, we're forgetting the amount of jobs potentially lost and what about the people (not just senior citizens) that don't have a computer and may not want one. There are some bills -such as Doctor/Dentist bills, not all of them have the ability to accept online payments. I certainly wouldn't want to have to send a small piece of mail via Fedex or UPS; raise the price of stamps, keep the postal service.
How about a decision beside keep or toss? Just cut back. Delivery staff and trucks can be cut in half by delivering to one side of your town on Mon-Wed-Fri and the other side Tues-Thurs-Sat. Is there really any mail you get that you couldn't sometimes wait a day to receive? Once this becomes the norm, break your town into 3 groups and receive mail Mon-Thurs, Tues-Fri, or Wed-Sat. It wouldn't kill you. Or just set up PO boxes at retail locations and go get your mail whenever you feel like it. Or, do both - cut back on delivery frequency and centralize mail boxes. This isn't brain surgery. There must be a million ideas like these that would work just fine. I'd bet you could even cut postage rates.
How would you like it if someone "cut" back your job from a full time job to a part time job???
You people just follow the repugs blindly.
Um, I was actually thinking that half the delivery staff would be laid off, but I'm guessing this concept would make you even more irate. Since you seem to want to keep everyone employed even when they are not needed or productive in their job, then let's at least call these workers as being unnecessary and merely have what we call a job but are really just part of yet another entitlement system. It just doesn't sound like you are offering much of a long term solution. Oh, and by the way... every time we have an entitlement program, why don't you consider who you're recommending we steal money from (or tax) to pay for it. Remember, your entitlement program is paid for by someone else with money taken from them because you think you have a better and more proper use for THEIR money. Stealing in any other circumstance, but for some odd reason it's not viewed that way when it's a tax. Keep your political slanders to yourself and address the issues.
Have a good time using UPS or FedEx for all your packages. It'll cost around 25 to 50 percent more. Might have to start going to Best Buy and Borders again.
The Postal Service is essential to the well being of everyone. Bull Sh^t technology aside, anyone who trusts "online" paying is a sucker waiting to be taken, and in fact, will be taken.
For those who do everything online; is the world all about you? Is everything between you and your devices. Many people still do not know how to use a computer, they are older or less fortunate and many get their meds and public and official notices through the mail. Most official business is still done with certified and registered mail. So I think its self centered, childish and selfish to say that I do everything in the internet so why do we need a post office. It sounds silly. Sorry to inform, but there is a larger world outside of you!
The Post Office is one of the few things that Congress is supposed to create/maintain according to the Constitution:
Section. 8.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
Oh NO.... do not tell me that Congress is NOT following the constitution....
BUT it is SO important to the gop/teabaggers !!!!
We need the USPS but it should charge higher rates to cover its expenses just like any business. They should eliminate Saturday service and live within their revenues.
The USPS charges enough to pay expenses but Congress in 2006 mandated they fully fund all pensions by 2012. No other government entity is required to fully fund pension reserves.
The USPS was never meant to be a business. It's supposed to be a low cost, self funded service provided by and to aid the government.
Sharky is right- the USPS would be fine had not Congress saddled them with this massive debt obligation: to fund medical payments for employees who have yet to be born.
One could make a good argument that this was a planned effort- Pass a law that would put the Postal Service into massive red ink, then sell the idea to the populace that they are unsustainable, for the sole purpose of handing the mail service to private corporations who donate lots of campaign cash to members of Congress. Far fetched? Stranger deals have been cooked up in the back rooms of Congress in the past.
The Postal Service is vital to all citizens of this country. Just last night, I saw a show that talked about rural delivery of mail in Alaska, by plane. The last airmail route in America is operated by the Postal Service. Think UPS or Fed Ex would send a plane to deliver mail to a few people in remote areas? Not on your life- no money in it.
The USPS is the best deal around- for 45 cents, you can put a letter in the mail in Los Angeles today, and have it arrive in New York in just 4 days or less. Mail two identical packages, one at UPS, and the other in the mail, and tell me who charges more. UPS' rates are outrageous. Fed-Ex as well. The only reason they don't charge even more is because there is the third option: the post office. Both of them would love to see the USPS go out of business, since then they would be free to gouge prices thru the roof.
Asking the Republican Congress to fix the Postal Service is like asking Colonal Sanders to administer health care for chickens.
Dear Sharky:
The Congress has already asked Colonel Sanders to administer health care. It's the health care mandate.
Red wolf- I thought ... your kind were extinct ???
Spoken like true fox news sheep.
Which gop house member do you work for ???
You sound ignorant to me. Must be you work for Cantor.
Just goes to show just how stupid most loyal MSNBC readers really are.
What's that supposed to mean???
The people who don't like snail mail, would you rather have to UPS any package that you want to mail? To have something mailed UPS costs twice what it costs to send it priority USPS. Also, paying bills online is risky. There have been a lot of hackers breaking into peoples accounts that way, getting their credit card and social security numbers. Not to mention it, not everyone has a computer (or knows how to use one). Those that do have a computer really need high speed internet to keep up with the changes. These things are very expensive. Why do they always do things that keep out seventy-five percent of the human race? Don't these people matter?
RedWolf - you said "To have something mailed UPS costs twice what it costs to send it priority USPS." UPS makes a profit, USPS looses money. How about they cut expenses as they wish (get congress out of management's way) and raise rates to market prices.
Forget the cost...UPS does NOT pick up at every home and/or business. How long do you think it will take for everyone to be totally sick of having to schlep out to the UPS store to ship/mail something?
Red Wolf- If Congress would get with the program and allow the Postal Service to add other forms of revenue streams to their inventory, (besides getting rid of the ridiculous 75 year funding mandate) they would actually turn a profit. In France, for example, the postal system operates an internet connection business, which is quite popular. Years ago, the Post Office operated something called the Postal Savings system. You could actually open a savings account at the Post Office and they paid interest on deposits. The Banking Industry, however, hated this loss of income and lobbied Congress, who (surprise) did away with it in 1966. Many countries around the world still have postal savings systems, which are highly regarded.
And - UPS and FED -Ex will not deliver to every address in the US, since they are in business to turn a profit. If there's no profit in it, a lot of people would stop recieving their mail.
The Post Office was the first cabinet post created on July 26th, 1776 by the 2nd Continental Congress. It was that important.
If we'd let the Post Office become a private enterprise it would take care of itself and probably in less time than most people would think it would take. Private enterprise would cut the waste and focus on what would work and still be efficient. Even if the cost were to increase, so would the service to the people who would use it, and most people I know don't mind paying for quality service. If you didn't want to use postal service you wouldn't have to. If you don't own a car you don't have to buy gas do you? Those of us that don't use the postal service still have to pay for it thru our taxes.
If USPS is so much better than UPS, and will pick up packages from you...etc, why is there no premium charged? USPS charges less, and provides better service, will running in the red?
Easy fix here....double all prices for USPS, and get the taxpayers off the hook!
Guess what....Who do you think delivers a lot of UPS packages in rural areas ? UPS dumps them off on the post office to deliver. This whole problem was created and contrived by the lame duck Bush republicans to end the post office as we know it . Opening doors for some entrepreneur to take over. It doesn't matter if mail volume has dropped or continues to drop people.....the carriers pay is dropped along with the volume drop...whether you knew that or not ! It's like being a cashier at Wal-mart and having Wal-mart say to you ,"Well, we didn't have very many customers come in to day, so even though you stood here and worked for eight hours we're going to have to adjust your pay to reflect that." Even though they drive (in their vehicles in rural areas) the same amount of miles every day, the pay will go down with volume. If you are paying on line and emailing as opposed to letter writing so be it. Your not paying for it anyway ! But, maybe you should count the number of bills you pay on line and divide them into your cable/internet bill and see just how much they are really costing you. Making the postal service private would do absolutely nothing. Sure, you can swallow all that , "Competition lowers your prices", drivel all you want. How much is your cable bill for TV that used to be free ? How much is your phone bill ? Yea, competition has really lowered those bills almost to nothing hasn't it ?