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The Nation's Pulse
Post No Bills
Would anyone even notice the U.S. Postal Service’s demise?
It’s the end of the United States Postal Service as we know it. Rain, snow, and gloom of night may not have able to stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, but technical progress and a huge budget deficit apparently can.
I, for one, will miss the postal service. For decades the agency has served a useful purpose. I don’t mean delivering my sewer bill. No, the USPS has long functioned as my chief example of the staggering ineptitude of governmental agencies.
Sure, there have been countless other instances of the federal government’s legendary incompetence. The welfare system totally wrecked marriage, morals, and the underclass. Unless you were the Rev. Al Sharpton, a D.C. bureaucrat, or a drug peddler, welfare was a complete and utter disaster. And who can deny the wonders the U.S. Department of Education has done for our public schools since becoming its own cabinet-level department? Last, but not least, there are the perpetual and unwinnable wars on drugs and poverty. If America’s conventional military conflicts were as successful as our government’s metaphorical wars, there’d be a Russian tank and a diskoteka on every street corner in Kansas.
The U.S. Postal Service, however, has long been my go-to agency when I needed an example of government bureaucracy at its worst. Every time America would invade some godforsaken country like Afghanistan or Iraq, and pundits and politicians would start yapping about spreading democracy and nation building, I would ponderously mount my soapbox and proclaim: “What makes those Wilsonian knuckleheads in Washington think they can build a democratic republic in [blankistan] when they can’t even run a lousy post office?”
And it is only getting worse. Today the situation is so dire the agency may soon eliminate Saturday mail delivery. This is fine by me. The only mail I receive these days are medical bills and circulars that go right into the wife’s recycle bin, and that can certainly wait till Monday. Hell, it can wait till Tuesday.
The USPS may also close up to 3,700 postal locations. Also, fine by me. I seldom go to the post office, especially since they removed the stamp machine from the lobby. I suppose they did this so I would have the opportunity to stand in line for an hour to buy one lousy stamp. Now, where the stamp machine used to be, the postmaster has thoughtfully tacked to the wall a sheet of paper that reads: “Books of stamps can be purchased at the counter during business hours, or at the grocery store across the street.” This is so I can make two stops to mail one letter. Not that it mattered. The machine was always out of order anyway.
The postal service’s deficit will reportedly reach $9.2 billion this fiscal year. That’s a lot of money to be in the hole even by Washington standards. Worse, the USPS may lay off nearly one-fifth of its work force, tossing 120,000 employees out of work, right on the brink of a double-dip recession.
Like any government monopoly, the USPS has always been inefficient, lethargic, and unprofessional. And those were its good points. Now it has gone completely bust, too. The reasons for this must be obvious. The agency has always given the unions whatever they asked for, including no-layoff clauses (nice guaranteed work if you can get it), the best health benefits in the country, and the right to wear funny shorts to work. Until June, the postal service was paying $115 million every two weeks to the Federal Employees Retirement System. Even Europe’s quasi-socialist governments have been more pro-free market than the U.S., allowing competition and a mix of private and public ownership of their postal services.
The New York Times notes that unless Congress takes “emergency action” the USPS may shut down entirely this winter. Conservatives have been dreaming about privatizing the postal service for decades. Moreover, we now have email, faxes, text messages, and Federal Express. If there is still a need for snail mail, trust me, some ambitious entrepreneur will fill it. With the exception of the laid-off postal workers, I doubt most Americans would even notice its demise.
Personally, the biggest loss I will feel will be coming up with another example of supreme government incompetence.
Fortunately, there’s still Amtrak.
About the Author
Christopher Orlet writes from St. Louis.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (87) | Leave a comment
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Darin| 9.16.11 @ 6:32AM
What I haven't seen discussed yet is what the impact to FERS will be. The post office is required by law to pay into it ahead of time. Are payments from the post office being used to prop up FERS? Will this have a snowball effect on other jobs and civilian companies which support them (who do you think makes the trucks (and parts) used by the post office - it's not the government)? Very few things happen in a vaccuum. An adverse impact to the post office means an adverse impact to businesses which rely on the post office (like closing a military base has widespread impact).
Carmudgeon| 9.16.11 @ 7:00AM
Didyiz forget about Gummint Motors,the outfit Barry bought? The board of governors can mandate all vehicle purchases come from our very own car company. Who would the entrepeneurs buy from if they take over mail delivery? Your argument contradicts itself.
Mike Hawk| 9.16.11 @ 6:52AM
I suppose "going postal" will have to be dropped from the vernacular. The language will be less colorful. Well.... maybe not.
Shamus| 9.17.11 @ 10:59AM
The new slogan will be "Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt."
Moe Blotz| 9.16.11 @ 6:55AM
Another point of irritation about USPS: Letter carriers are instructed to walk on your lawn whilst completing their rounds. Supervisors actually sneak around to clock the men and women who are on foot to make sure they spend a minimal amount of time delivering your junque mail. Go ahead and complain,the USPS will tell you that their surveys have informed them that foot traffic will not harm your grass.
Frank Drackman| 9.16.11 @ 7:16AM
at least you were able to get Stamps..
havent been to a Post Office this millenium, last time was during the Clinton impeachment...
The Stamp Machine(That gave those rediculous Suzan B. Anthony Dollar Coins in change) was broken, stood in line 10 minutes, and when I asked for 2 Books of Stamps the clerk looked at me like I'd asked for a Lewinsky.
Had to stand in the Corner for 10 minutes while one of the Monkeys found a banana...
Frank
Bill Diebold| 9.16.11 @ 11:28AM
...ten minutes?!? where'd you find an express line?
Mriordon| 9.16.11 @ 7:55AM
I hate to be the one to offer support, but I need my post office. I own a small business in a small town that ships 1 and 2 pound packages daily by Priority Mail. The cost, while always increasing, is reasonable. The service is excellent- quite timely, and only a small percentage of packages are lost or stolen. Having to use Fed Ex or UPS would be a major time waster, and my costs on smaller packages would increase. I am in favor of ending Saturday delivery- quit talking about it and just do it. If they have to go through bankruptcy or privatization to eliminate unnecessary workers and pare back their health costs, just do it. But please keep or privatize the USPS.
Dick Nome| 9.16.11 @ 8:02AM
The package portion of USPS is agreeable pretty good. The rest stinks. Higher rates for crappier service and then tell us what a great deal we get. I pay my bills on line. Somewhere along the line a solution will be found whether it is by privatizing or some other enterprise involving enteprenurial exercise. Non-union is essential. Then too the gummint drones will need to keep their meddling hands off, but that isn't possibile while the Oborg collective is in control.
John Navratil| 9.16.11 @ 8:55AM
Mriordon,
You are taking a happy snapshot and saying it works for you. We are fortunate to live in a country where you actually have three major national package services, not to mention local couriers and other ways to get the job done.
What we do know is the USPS is losing money at a prodigious rate. How much of that loss is spent subsidizing your shipping is unknown. What is known is that it cannot last.
For the sake of your shipping, you should hope the cuts occur in package shipping last.
Mike Hawk| 9.16.11 @ 9:20AM
If anything is being subsidized it is the junk mail and the pension and benefits that the postal workers get for free, plus the no layoff contact.
Emily| 9.16.11 @ 1:41PM
Alaskans who live off the road system depend on parcels delivered by the US Mail for many necessities of life. Surely there must be rural areas in the "lower 48" which are also not served by UPS and FedEx?
Tired Taxpayer PRM| 9.16.11 @ 10:24PM
If you choose to live in a rural area and receive all of the benefits therein, you must pay for the privilege and that includes paying a private company or picking up your packages whenever you go into town. Don’t expect (force) me to have to pay for it.
Does the government pay to deliver your food because you live in the boonies? Why expect it for your packages and mail?
InLineFour| 9.19.11 @ 5:55PM
ditto, Mriordon.
Keep the USPS, drop Saturday delivery if necessary, restructure benefits packages/whatever..
My business suffered greatly in this recession, and to help my bottom line I have switched to purchasing as many of my business consumables as possible from online marketers like ebay for a fraction of retail, and saving still more money by using mostly sellers who ship USPS, which for smaller packages runs about one-third to one-half less than UPS or FedEx shipping rates. Thank you, USPS.
It takes me about the same two minutes per bill to log onto a website and pay a bill as it takes to write a check and stamp an envelope. But only if you discount the cost of your high speed internet connection - - it'll take 20-25 minutes to pay that one bill online using a free, slow dial-up connection (no kidding, try it). And I can buy months worth of stamps with cash left over, for the cost of one month of dsl service. A year's worth for one month of satellite internet service.
And speaking of stamps, Mr. Orlet, maybe you were never a Boy Scout. Why would you stand in a long line to buy just one stamp? Buy several. Buy a roll so you won't need to stand in that line again for months, or even a year. Plan ahead.
kurgan| 9.16.11 @ 7:19PM
My son works for UPS. USPS contracts with UPS for package delivery. Basically you're screwing yourself paying USPS to pick up and drop off your packages when UPS will do the same for your buisness. Now sure about the cost of UPS visiting your business but it's bound to be cheaper than what USPS charges. Why pay a middle man to perform a service when you can get the same service from the provider?
Petronius| 9.18.11 @ 9:46AM
UPS punts parcels to the Postal Service addressed to places they don't want to go.
Indy| 9.16.11 @ 8:11AM
80% labor costs is not sustainable, a labor contract does not allow layoffs so no surprise here that they are broke.
over at redstate, is there a bailout in the CR? What is the GOP doing, do they think conservatives won't learn about this?
"And now we find that tucked into the recently unveiled CR is the provision to bail out the Postal Service"
http://www.redstate.com/russvo.....e-to-cave/
Intelligent Design| 9.16.11 @ 8:21AM
The USPS has too many people, too many buildings, and not enough customers, similar to the major banks. The banks are cutting thousands of employees and closing branches. For example, Bank of America said it would cut as many as 40,000. Isn't it time for the USPS to cut as many? Isn't it time for across the board federal job eliminations?
emilio lizardo, PhD| 9.16.11 @ 9:29AM
Such as the VA- a hospital system with the efficiency and adeptness of the USPS and the compassion and warmth of the IRS. Should vets with illness service-connected and otherwise have their health care needs met? Absolutely. In a separate hospital system with separate infrastructure, bloated middle management and byzantine administration that poorly serves the patients in far too many cases?
NYMPH| 9.16.11 @ 12:36PM
Its those darn ATM machine thingies, I till ya!
Larry| 9.16.11 @ 8:36AM
I'm lucky if my mail is delivered by 6:00 P.M. every day. Don't expect any pity parties from me for any lazy laid off postal workers.
I have to stand in line to mail a package while the girl at the counter takes her time working, yapping away with whomever is at the counter. Don't expect any pity parties from me for any lazy laid off postal workers.
The postal service is slow, inefficient and wasteful. Don't expect any pity parties from me for any lazy laid off postal workers.
There've been situations where I've had a notice put into my mailbox about how to properly give the mailman a Christmas gift, most likely meaning money of course. These clowns make more than me, have better benefits than me and can't be laid off. I've never given a mailman a Christmas gift. Don't expect any pity parties from me for any lazy laid off postal workers.
Mike Hawk| 9.16.11 @ 9:27AM
Last I knew you weren't permitted to give a gift to the letter carrier. I remember in the 50's at my grandmother's, the mailman was a prat of the community and knew everybody. It was a friend you saw everyday and he stopped to chat if he had time. He would give his customers a Christmas card (not permitted now, separation of church and state and all that crap). Mailman was not the best paid job in town, but it had security, the employees delivered a service and liked their jobs. Now they get fully funded benefits, above average pay and permanent employment and are pissed off all the time. Public sector Unions are to blame largely, in my opinion. Top heavy overpaid bureaucratic overseers don't help either.
Petronius| 9.17.11 @ 10:26AM
It's those B O's who make us carriers so surly. There's no time for conversation these days with all the forced overtime. Holiday tipping, while illegal by statute and proscribed by regulation continues sub rosa. Back in the era of the old Post Office Dept. operating funds were appropriated by Congress and craft employees could not earn enough in a 40 hour week to meet living expenses. When I became a substitute, most of the senior carriers held secondary jobs. I even met a retiree who worked 43 years and never reached the top pay step because every change in political administration brought lengthened terms between raises or new schedules. Those were also the days when substitutes worked up to 16 hours a day at straight time with no benefits and up to 12 hours on Sundays running collections. Clerks had to endure "swing time". If there was nothing to do, they had to clock out and wait for their next assignments in holding areas. Today, the six hour routes are no more. Park and loop foot routes now have up to three times the residential stops and mounted routes are longer. Like I told Chris; just you try it.
NYMPH| 9.16.11 @ 12:41PM
Larry, just to make sure I am understanding your position correctly, you would have absolutely no pity for any laid off postal workers? I wasn't quite sure that's were you were going. I think I got your message and I agree.
dsayne| 9.16.11 @ 9:25AM
Our small town post office is clean, efficient and friendly. I suspect that most of the complainers live in heavily populated metropolitan areas, where service in most types of business is similarly rude and inept. That being said, the USPS definitely needs an overhaul - not a typical Big Government overhaul, mind you, which we all know means feeding the fire with cash - but a good old fashioned business minded house cleaning. Sadly, one of my favorite companies, Netflix, will probably not survive the cost increases. On the other hand, I know it's not right for my fellow citizens to be subsidizing my entertainment choice of watching old movies from the 40' and 50's on DVD.
Mike Hawk| 9.16.11 @ 9:33AM
My little local PO is the same. Friendly, efficient, and clean. Years ago some small towns had locations in General Stores, hardware stores and the like. I suppose they were paid a fee to run these p/t Post Offices. They pretty much disappeared when the USPS went union. Had to have those union jobs ya'know.
NYMPH| 9.16.11 @ 12:45PM
Those small town, clean effcient, and friendly post offices will be the first ones shut down and consolidated into the nearest large urban area post office, generally known for the opposite.....
InLineFour| 9.19.11 @ 6:27PM
The PO in my small town is also friendly, efficient, and clean. Furthermore, it is friendly and efficient in spite of the Postmaster being the Only employee working the counter and stuffing the PO boxes (a part-time employee keeps everything clean). The same office had 3 full -time employees in the office only 6 years ago (not including the mail carriers), while the local population hasn't changed, so they at least appear to be moving as far towards efficiency as they can while providing good customer service.
As for NYMPH's urban consolidation, the nearest WalMart-HomeDepo sized urban areas are 37 miles north, 39 miles south, or 55 miles west, take your pick. We 2,000 or so citizens want to keep our local post office, thank you very much.
kurgan| 9.16.11 @ 7:25PM
How is Netflix going to be adversely affected by shutting down the USPS? UPS does most of the pachage delivery for the postal service.
dsayne| 9.17.11 @ 3:07PM
The US Postal Service delivers DVDs through the mail, usually in 2 days or less, for very little cost because it is a bulk mailing. I have no idea how much it cost Netflix or what the actual cost to the USPS is. However, the costs would obviously go up significantly if shipping was by UPS of FEDEX. Have you never bought a CD or DVD online? Shipping is usually at least $2.99. If it is less it is only because the seller has built the shipping cost into the price of the item, and it usually takes 3-5 days - with up to 10 days possible. Once again, it is not my right to have my fellow citizens subsidize my entertainment choices, although I believe the USPS does not typically receive budget funds from the Federal government. The Netflix business was built on the efficient running of the USPS. If the Post Office was as inefficient as is implied here, that business model would have failed miserably. Streaming online is not yet a viable alternative to that business model, although I hope to see it become that soon. The shipping of DVDs allows a much greater variety of content than streaming is capable of. Not everyone wants to watch just the latest Hollywood blockbuster or Network sitcom. Again, my intent is not to defend the USPS or Netflix. It was just an observation that this is one likely casualty if the Postal Service were closed or severely curtailed.
kurgan| 9.17.11 @ 4:16PM
You're missing the entire point, both the USPS and FedX ship through UPS. The only reason that UPS doesn't deliver mail, including CDs or DVDs to your house is because delivery of the mail, not parcels, is a government mandated monopoly. USPS wouldn't last a year in the wild.
kurgan| 9.17.11 @ 4:16PM
You're missing the entire point, both the USPS and FedX ship through UPS. The only reason that UPS doesn't deliver mail, including CDs or DVDs to your house is because delivery of the mail, not parcels, is a government mandated monopoly. USPS wouldn't last a year in the wild.
PolishKnight| 9.18.11 @ 11:12PM
I'm chuckling a bit about the netflix comment. Netflix's DVD model is quickly becoming as obsolete as, well, paying your bills by mail! Or Blockbuster!
Better business model: Redbox should set up DVD burners and have customers order them while they wait. In 5 minutes, their DVD will be ready and they return it when convenient and the disc is trashed. Total cost? About 3 cents when I buy them in bulk (they may get an even better deal!)
kurgan| 9.16.11 @ 7:30PM
How is Netflix going to be adversely affected by shutting down the USPS? UPS does most of the package delivery for the postal service. The reason that UPS does not do letter delivery is because letter delivery is a gonernment declared monopoly. In a free market the USPS would have been gone decades ago.
kurgan| 9.16.11 @ 7:30PM
How is Netflix going to be adversely affected by shutting down the USPS? UPS does most of the package delivery for the postal service. The reason that UPS does not do letter delivery is because letter delivery is a gonernment declared monopoly. In a free market the USPS would have been gone decades ago.
Paul from SA| 9.16.11 @ 9:55AM
Yes, I would notice. 99% of my mail received is junk mail that I discard without reading.
They should cut back to M-W-F service and disband the postal union. No bailouts and let them operate for profit.
I wish they could notify me personally when I receive important letters or packages and coordinate with me when best to deliver it to my doorstep. A private company would.
Paul from SA| 9.16.11 @ 9:56AM
I use stamps I purchased 10 years ago for the one bill I send my mail each month. Yes, I have to double-up the stamps.
manon mckinnon| 9.16.11 @ 10:15AM
the P.O. is everything you say -- but alas I will miss my little local place -- read my piece in the Spectator this week
http://spectator.org/archives/.....ost-office
Petronius| 9.16.11 @ 11:11AM
Chris
Go read my other posts on this. While your litany of gripes is as so many others, you ought to try carrying mail today. I can see you clawing your way up those steps to the cliff dwellers of 63116 or 18, which is much worse when you hear shots fired or your truck gets broken open. Are you good at juggling four bundles of cased mail, DPS letters, flats, and Advos in a driving rain? And late delivery is now pro forma with over 120 "no bid" open full time carrier assignments in this city which have to get cased and carried by other carriers who also must finish their own routes first. And these employees are drafted against their will every day to boot. Think about how long you'd last under these conditions. Then look at this mess through the eyes of any regular Letter Carrier who must endure the purposeful sabotage of his work management inflicts upon him. As to the wage issue: the Board of Governors and the craft unions each make demands and have sub rosa floor figures which get whittled down to that which is "acceptable" before the next contract is to be submitted to our members come November when the present agreement expires. (Don't hold your breath.) The wage package is really determined by how much the executives and managers, (this means the National Assn. of Postal Supervisors; they have a union too,) want to increase theirs. Do me and my fellow Letter Carriers one favor. Talk to your regular, (if you have one.) Follow him or her for one day from start to finish on a Monday. Then give it all a rethink.
Paul from SA| 9.16.11 @ 12:01PM
Is your name Cliff Claven?
Postal workers are way overpaid compared to the private sector and produce about half as much as a normal worker in the private sector, but without all the lavish benefits, health insurance and pension.
A postal worker wouldn't last in the private sector. See UPS or FedEx. They work. They earn their pay. And it doesn't cost me anything if I don't use them.
Petronius| 9.16.11 @ 1:11PM
Cliff is as fictitious as the last sentence of your post. And I wouldn't be saying this had I become an Equity actor either. Oddly enough that man made his own job as Cliff was not an original character slated in the Cheers pilot. And if he was carrying mail in Boston now he'd be hard pressed to pay his living expenses even if he was making top money at step O @ $53,000 + annually without working the overtime desired list.
kurgan| 9.16.11 @ 7:41PM
Sorry, but were it not for the federal government making your job a monopoly the private sector would have eliminated the USPS decades ago.
As an aside, everybody says "buck-up" when a private sector business downsizes due to free market business conditions, why should public sector employees be any different.
Last but not leasst, I work as a production support engineer in a Tier-I plastic injection molding plant. I routinely miss breaks. My typical work week is fifty hours, I'm salaried so am not paid overtime not to mention that I haven't had a pay raise in three years so cry me a river. You'd need roller skates to keep up with me on a slow day.
Petronius| 9.17.11 @ 11:04AM
The U.S.P.S. operates under Title XVIII of the U.S. Code, To wit, the Private Express Statutes which prescribes the protection and security of everything you put in the mail. Theft of U.S. Mail is a felony under the Act even if it's 3rd class. And if something you sent gets lost, we must attempt to trace and recover it. This means there will be a postal service sanctioned by the Federal Government so long as people write checks to pay bills. All other companies operate under the laws of common carriage. They choose the areas they serve. The postal service must deliver anywhere and everywhere. If your shipment gets lost or stolen they will sell you insurance but won't track it down or forward it if the addressee moved. It's F.O.B. on that person's doorstep. I had a route in an exclusive subdivision. In the autumn of '85 a couple retired and moved south. Friends sent them bushels of fruit for the holidays via UPS. The new resident demanded that I take these packages back. I told him that they were not U.S. Mail and I don't work for UPS. He threatened me with my job. He blew a gasket and dropped one box on the hood of my vehicle telling me, "you'll do as you're told!"
I retorted, "I'm a Letter Carrier, not your errand boy! If you want a servant, hire a butler." Such is the arrogance we have to deal with now. Of late, carriers get assaulted, shot, mauled by pit bulls, and abused by snotty kids. One day three 6 year olds poked me in the rear with sticks on a park and loop route. One teen aged girl spit in my face and I called the police. Nothing was done because her father was a high dollar lawyer. Yeah! We never had it so good.
kurgan| 9.17.11 @ 4:28PM
Then get a job.
I fell inside a press three days ago and I still can't stand up straight. I work in an "Employment at Will" state which means that my employer can terminate my employment without cause. That translates into get hurt and get fired.
As far as getting spit at and dog bit and the like, file assault charges, you can do it down to the local cop shop, provided that you can get the cops up off their butts to get the job done. Spitting on someone is felony assault, handcuffs, booking fingerprinting, picture in thre paper and so on. Once again, cry me a river
Drop anything on the hood of someone elses vehicle and you'll be getting a set of matching cuffs.
Like I said before, my son works for UPS. People from time to time steal or pilfer shipments from UPS. When they're caught, they're fired and then the cops are called to take them into custody, which the cops do.
Like I said before, delivery of the mail is a government mandated monopoly. In a free market, open competition environment there would be no US Postal Service.
Petronius| 9.18.11 @ 10:49AM
My manager and foreman issued me a written "direct order" to forget it or face suspension because dealing with my complaint about this brat was inconvenient for them. The unit didn't have a shop steward. The following month I bid out. I also know guys driving for UPS. Their idea of security is signs on the walls of their installations offering rewards for turning in other employees stealing shipments, but they must have cameras by now. We were and still are actually watched by the Inspection Service along with gumshoes sent after us by the Inspector General of the Postal Service and or the G.S.A. to make sure we don't go any place not listed in our route books, wear our seat belts, scan all Delivery Service Points, or any piddly tactic they can think of which will allow them to write up a carrier. Supervisors get promoted based on these "gotchas". And the females are the most ruthless when they target a guy they want to nail. One manager here even invaded a carriers home when he called in sick so he could say the man was a liar on the suspension letter. One ex UPS route foreman told me of their quality control division hounding their best man in this city over times between deliveries to the extent where he took enough risks on the street to get himself Killed. In any case the situation will not change until the banks and credit carriers move to all on line payments.
markenoff| 9.17.11 @ 3:20AM
So quit and stop whining. I like my carrier at my home of record. But economics is about the most efficient allocation of resources across an economy. More efficient allocation = overall improved standard of living. The introduction of machine woven fabric allowed more people to own clthes that would protect them from the elements even though it meant the end of the hand weaving business. T
Al Adab| 9.16.11 @ 11:20AM
I would hesitate to rely on online billing for my utilities and other such. Paying online isn't particularly attractive to me either. Maybe I'm just an old Luddite because I still write about ten checks a month or so.
Occam's Tool| 9.17.11 @ 10:18PM
Al, the majority of my stuff is done online. I write about 15 checks a YEAR. Much better for me, and my balance is always available, perfectly balanced, electronically. Fantastic at tax time---I just print out my credit card statement for the year and my checking account statement, circle my Continuing Medical Education costs, bring it in to my H and R Block guy along with my 1 10-99 and my 1 W-2, my mortgage payment statement and my one SEP statement from Edward Jones, and I'm good to go. (Oh, and anything from my stocks)
Money exists to buy time.
james wilson| 9.16.11 @ 11:52AM
Cut one day? Cut five. One day a week mail is adequate until they are liquidated. While we are at it, can we finally take the penny out of circulation?
BTW, the PO is an obvious reminder of the efficiencies and attitudes of government (buy a roll of first class stamps one month and discover it is no longer a first class stamp the next) but let no one imagine it is the most inefficient of government programs only because it is so visible.
Paul from SA| 9.16.11 @ 12:03PM
If there is a bailout, there will be hell to pay for Congress.
It should be the other way around. They should refund some of our money, then garnish their wages and give it back to us. Where's my bailout? Why harm me to help them?
CalMark| 9.16.11 @ 12:19PM
Vallejo, CA, is the home of quite possibly the worst (if it isn't, it's tied) post office in the country. It's also in the district of "Card Check" George Miller, so nothing can be done.
I won't bore everyone with war stories except to say: no private business would survive long if it shuts down customer service windows as the number of waiting customers increased. There is something vicious and poisonous about the USPS, quite apart from their incompetence.
Good riddance.
Petronius| 9.18.11 @ 10:52AM
Postal management considers their primary objective to be the elimination of craft jobs and routes so that they can proliferate their own.
Steve A| 9.16.11 @ 12:50PM
I will stand by for the speech where Obama blames Al Gore for inventing the Internet & killing the Post Office, much like the ATM's have killed bank tellers.
Kevin Compton| 9.16.11 @ 1:04PM
My dad was a postmaster from 1954 to 1980 when cancer forced his retirement. None of the people working under him would take the promotion to postmaster because they all made more than him.
Dave| 9.16.11 @ 2:03PM
Again - If they would actually WORK and practice good CUSTOMER SERVICE, they might have a future.
Conservative Bob| 9.16.11 @ 2:57PM
When I lived in the city I found the post office and the carriers to be extremely rude and inefficient.
I now live out in the country (15 miles to the nearest gas station) and the carriers, regulars and subs are helpful and coutious. The office is still a pain but much better than their urban and suburban counter parts.
I think a major contributer is the union, and we should work to remove unions from all public sector jobs.
KY Kernel| 9.16.11 @ 4:12PM
I would find the complete elimination of the USPS a serious loss, but that doesn't mean that I think it should continue unchanged.
As a retired couple we use the services of the USPS quite a bit, mostly incoming - magazines, financial statements, prescriptions, local wkly newspaper, bills, and so forth. Most of this cannot be handled electronically; the use of FedEX, for instance, would just be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
RMM| 9.16.11 @ 5:59PM
Where does one begin. This piece is a total hack-job by Christopher. I happen to work for USPS as a letter carrier and can say unequevically that this guy doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. First of all slouches don't last, because, you have to actually work your ass off to keep your job. Life time job ! Are you kidding, we're not public school teachers that have tenure. I can only speak for myself, but I give eight hours work for eight hours of pay. Like I said before, been there done that, Chris HAS NOT.
kurgan| 9.16.11 @ 7:51PM
You must have missed the hatchet job that one of the network news programs did on the USPS about ten or so years ago. They mailed a hidden camera in a box from New York to Kalifornia. All along the way the camera recorded postal servic e employees sleeping on mail bags and the like. The box was labeled "Fragile" and "This End Up" and the like but most of the footage was shot sideways or upside down.
The kicker in all this was that the postal workers union attempted to sue the network for producing the story because they claimed that is was defamitory.
I guess that you can call most anything a hard day's work, it's all relative. Truth be told though, in the wild, in the private sector, an operation as poorly managed and inefficient as the USPS would have been out of business decades ago.
Petronius| 9.17.11 @ 11:18AM
The one thing about television news or any media outlet people don't comprehend is that they give the viewing public what they want us to see and believe. I watched an infobabe doing a stand up street interview and she asked the same question half a dozen times until the person having the mike shoved into his face yelled the same answer. Then the producer jumped out in front of the camera, yelled "cut", and said, "that's what I want."
ABC did a hit piece on berry farmers over the issue of child labor. They didn't care that migrant workers get paid on volume and are not supervised. The growers didn't employ any children. Their parents made them work. But the evil growers got pilloried for it because some f***ing news producer had a 7 year old walk through a field for ten yards with a heavily loaded bucket of blue berries. This is why they cost $8 a pint.
RCV| 9.16.11 @ 6:47PM
I must be in a minority. My local post office in Los Angeles is both efficient and always pleasant to go into. The personnel are uniformly pleasant greet you warmly, our mail gets delivered on time. The package services are great and reasonably priced, and we can even get passport services and not have to trudge to downtown LA and wait in those long lines.
I guess I'm one of those folks who is still utterly amazed that you can pay someone just 47 cents and they will deliver a letter for you to someone all the way across the country.
JmsA| 9.17.11 @ 5:11PM
Speaking of long lines, I just spent one half hour standing in line to mail a package at the Encino, CA post office. Long waits are a regular occurrence. And while some of the postal workers are nice, others are hardly so.
Two weeks ago I mailed a package, only to have returned to me for the postal service could not find the address. I returned to postal office with the package and asked the postal worker to read out the return address label, and she did so without any problem. I then asked what she believed might have happened, and she nonchalantly said, I dunno, yet assured me I would not have to pay again. That was nice, but I wouldn't shock me if in the not so distant future they'd make me pay for their incompetence.
RCV, I could care less about your screaming joy about your local postal office. Mine stinks. What I'm utterly amazed at is how utterly amazed you are about soon to go bankrupt utter ineffiency.
JmsA| 9.17.11 @ 7:19PM
Meant to write: inefficiency.
Occam's Tool| 9.17.11 @ 10:18PM
Let it go private and it will drop down to 30 cents, RCV.
Petronius| 9.18.11 @ 10:59AM
If the Postal Service goes totally private, you will or will Not get mail delivered to your residence based on the logistical cost to reach you.
kurgan| 9.16.11 @ 8:11PM
My story in regards to the USPS concerns a set of engineering prints for an overhead crane. The designers of the crane paid for express delivery, guaranteed next day delivery of approval drawings. The drawings didn't show up the next day. A represenative of the crane company ended up driving a set of drawings to the plant for approval. The drawings then showed up at the plant about thirty days later. I called the crane company and told them about the delivery, I had to sign a reciept. My take is that they ought to at least try to get a refund for the next day delivery. The crane company's response was that they didn't have time to mess with the USPS folks over $20.00. It's a shame that they couldn't have sued USPS for the botched delivery of the drawings and the cost of hand delivering the drawings and all the other costs inherent in rectifying this fiasco, like would have happened in the "Real World." That's why the USPS is in the shape that it's in now anyway, they're operating in a La-La land insulated from reality by a government mandated monopoly.
Denver Todd| 9.16.11 @ 11:52PM
There is an automated postal kiosk in the lobby of one local post office. It is sort of like an ATM machine, with a scale. Maybe that is the wave of the future.
The Bruce| 9.17.11 @ 2:53AM
Putting aside the constitutional mandate of the Congress to 'establish post offices and postal roads,' what exactly do they deliver to us these days? Answer: JUNK MAIL! Think about it. How much of your snail-mail is junk?
Sure, the occasionial gas bill gets through, to those unfortunate elderly souls that never heard of the "Internets," but what modern purpose does the USPS serve?
Non-correspondence (parcels) is still handled more efficiently/cheaply than the USPS. Bill delivery/payments are handled electronically unless you were born before 1959.
I could go on and on, but, in the course of my daily life, the USPS no longer serves any other purpose other than to force me to make daily trips to my mailbox in order to collect the garbage (junk mail) to deposit into my trash-can for collection of another government-created agency (garbage collection)..
dsayne| 9.17.11 @ 2:51PM
Believe it or not, there are still businesses that do not have online bill pay set up. I have a life insurance policy that must be paid either in person or by check through the mail. This is a major national company that allows auto and home insurance to be paid online, but for whatever reason they do not have life set up that way. Like wise my local utilities and trash collection do not have online bill pay. I'm not saying this is a good thing, just pointing out that's the way it is. It has nothing to do with being born before 1959, which I was not.
markenoff| 9.17.11 @ 2:54AM
Triple the cost of sending catalog and junk mail. Most of the mail I get is junk mail. I get multiple catalogs from companies I ordered something from once over the internet. Make them pay.
Petronius| 9.17.11 @ 11:41AM
Bulk rate third class is the one thing we make money from. The sender has to secure a permit and have an open account with the weighers office and deposit the mail with them once it is sorted , sequenced, schemed, zipped, and bundled. That mail can be in the system for up to ten weeks. It does not get handled again until it reaches the incoming office at district level. The mailer does all the work and pays by the pound. The National Assn. of Letter Carriers has developed a district marketing program called Door to Door Direct. Merchants in your zip code area can now mail unaddressed circulars or letters at bulk rates without a permit and specifying the routes covered. Except counting and bundling the mail for the number of residences per route and labeling there are no other requirements and it must be mailed at the delivering office.
kurgan| 9.17.11 @ 4:41PM
Petronius,
You'll probably like this one...
Then the kids were little we used to save up the junk mail that was delivered to the house by USPS. We had a box by the door and all the letters that we got from the lawn care folks and insurance companies and credit card folks and so on went into the box. On rainy weekends the children and I would get the box of junk mail and the sit down at the kitchen table and open all the junk mail. I taught the kids to trash anything that had a bar code or our name on it. We kept the business reply envelopes and all the application paperwork. The kids would color on whatever they saw fit to color on, we'l laugh and have a big time. Then we'd readomly stuff paperwork into the envelopes and mail it all back. The magazine people getting the application paperwork for the credit card company and so on, complete with a "have a nice day" smiley face drawn by a five-year-old.
When the kids were little like that we actually used to look forward to getting junk mail in the mail.
Occam's Tool| 9.17.11 @ 10:20PM
Kurgan---you are DEE-lightfully EVILLLLLL!
Petronius| 9.18.11 @ 11:28AM
That one reminds me of Jr. high students using reply cards in magazines to make trouble for others by sending fraudulent subscriptions, usually Playboy. The publication once delivered upset many a household until it went viral enough that some publishers had the Inspection Service on speed dial. One guy at the high school in my area got caught after sending over 75 reply cards and an FBI handwriting expert tracked him down. He risked having a Federal felony conviction as a minor, but the publisher still had to eat the loss. A common carrier handling that material would simply tell them, "that's not our problem."
Yet I have had my own fun with post paid reply envelopes. AARP got a couple sent to them containing smashed wheel weights after my third refusal to sign up. Postage due is rated by weight. Half a pound of lead doesn't go unnoticed for long. The Brady campaign got theirs back with three 4 oz weights and a note telling them I cast bullets with the rest of it. There were a hand full of others, but it usually took just one for them to take my name off.
InLineFour| 9.19.11 @ 6:42PM
Perto, like kurgan's kids I used to save junk mail, those that contained prepaid reply envelopes. I'd stuff the prepaid envelopes envelopes with the rest of the junk mail trash. For special junk mailers like those save-the-planet types, or AARP after they announced their official support for Obamacare; I'd tape the seams of their prepaid envelopes so they's hold up to a bulging near half-pound without bursting.
Jim| 9.19.11 @ 1:06PM
I for one feel sorry for ANYONE losing his job, esp. in this economy. However, the P.O. is sadly becoming a dinosaur. Except for several magazines, there is NOTHING I get in the mail that I want / need. I pay bills online, read several of my magazines online, etc., etc. Technology changes peoples' lives, sometimes in horrible ways, but there really isn't any sense in propping up obsolete organizations, which, again, sadly, the P.O. is. The troubles you mentioned carriers like yourself having, instead of being evidence of why we should keep you and the P.O., are instead evidence why we should not. The whole operation, by your own admission, is poorly run, and is unlikely to change soon enough to make a difference for either postal workers or clients.
Growning up, our postal carrier was a very nice man, who went the extra mile to shelter packages when it rained (putting them under our front door's "roof") and did other things that marked him as a good worker. He just isn't needed anymore. I hope thatt you begin looking for other work, or retire if you can, before the inevitable, which is the closing of the P.O. God bless.
markenoff| 9.17.11 @ 3:08AM
Any time a post office office is closed it literally takes an act of Congress since every post office represents federal jobs in some congressperson's district. In 1991 I was stationed at Ft. Campbell KY and lived just across the TN line on the southern edge of post along US 79. My address was Indian Mound TN. There was a post office less than 2 miles to the east along 79 in the direction of Nashville. Essentially all my mail came through Nville . But it was driven past the post office nearest me, another 5 miles west than 10 miles south to Indian Mound before being brought back to me within 2 miles of the other post office. So every piece of mail I received traveled at least 30 miles further than it had to in order to keep one or two federal jobs in Indian Mound TN. Any time I received a package I had to make the 3o mile round trip to pick it up even though there was a post office within 2 miles of my house. Eventually I paid for a post office box at the post office nearest me so I could receive my mail earlier than if I had it sent to my house and so I didn't have to waste time and gas (think about how this increased my carbon footprint and the carbon footprint of my mail!) to pick up packages. Let the USPS die.
kurgan| 9.17.11 @ 4:52PM
I know just where all those places are.
When the wife and I were courting I would send her a letter from where I lived to Bowling Green, it took four days for the letter to get there. The letter from Bowling Green to where I lived took two days to deliver. Now, how can that be? Does the USPS drive empty trucks around? Isn't the distance from point A to point B the same as from point B to point A?
Spouse and I never did figure that one out. I asked Ruth, the post mistress lady down to the post office in the two cow and one dog town that I grew up in what was up with that delivery route but she didn't know either. Everybody knew Ruth, she was a great lady.
QuietPro| 9.17.11 @ 1:20PM
Don't presume to speak for me, Mr. Orlet. Has it ever occurred to any of you self-righteous tech heads that not everyone communicates EVERY thought or desire electronically? There's many among us that still remember the human touch via a card or a hand-written letter. So e-mail that to your fellow contributors, Mr. Orlet.
kurgan| 9.17.11 @ 4:55PM
OK, Mr. Pro, go ahead and use smoke signals if you want to. Perhaps a carrier pigeon. Maybe a syctale. I still think that if you choose to communicate in such a fashion that you ougfht to pay for the servicwe and not try to make non-users pay for a service that they don't use.
D Roamer | 9.17.11 @ 6:16PM
Mail was delivered twice a day up to the 1950's, 6 days a week.
I would think they would charge more for the trash mail, which gets about the same effort to get to you except not sorted.
They still have to deliver to the rural routes, and the stamp costs the same, even to Point Barrow , Alaska; one would think the rate should be higher for that service. Post office delivers the politician's mail free (franking privilege I think it is)so , does it come out of the Post Office funds?
Just a thought.
Petronius| 9.18.11 @ 11:47AM
Congress must reimburse the Postal Service for franked mail. Then again, does anybody remember the scandal about the working conditions of the Capitol Hill printing dept. where the employees were putting in 16 hour days to get out those end of session survey letters nobody even looks at? But I digress.
#1 You are Not the only person on My route. 2 Most of what the public believes about what goes on in the Postal Service is myth derived from predisposition. 3. If we were allowed to case and carry our routes as we see fit, your delivery service would improve tomorrow.
PCP Smoker| 9.17.11 @ 10:48PM
A woman I know was bragging about how the postal insurance covered the cost her recent surgery, somewhere north of $15K. It wasn't until later the I realized her husband, the postman, had been dead for over 15 years, and she had never worked for the USPS. Thank God for the union, eh?
Petronius| 9.18.11 @ 11:58AM
Every health insurance plan offered through the FEHB program has self and family enrollment. When Newt was Speaker of the House, the Republican majority offered legislation opening enrollment in these plans to the uninsured. Senate Democrats killed it.
When a carrier with a family retires, a premium deduction comes out of his monthly annuity to fund continuation of benefits to his spouse if he precedes her in death. Dependents are covered to age 22 if still in college.
POST American| 9.18.11 @ 4:57AM
--------------------BOTTOM LINE-----------------------
----As FUKISHIMA fallout goes into its 7th
month of Globalist media blackout, even as
the CHEM-trails it combines with are now
in their 12th year of NON-existense------
WE expect ever more 'planned' dysfunction
as 'Agenda 21' and authoritarian 'world authority'
is brought forward.
We very much expect 'outside assistance' in
matters such as postal delivery as our culture
and the demographic disintegrates.
By 2015-2020 we are almost certain the
Globalist created, US taxpayer underwritten,
'RED Chinese miracle' will be sending some,
if not all, of that EUGENIST made 30 MILLION
man surplus to 'help out' with that ----and
'other things'.
---SO, keep on exterminating those
'inconvenient' unborn. Keep swigging
that bisphenol A. Keep saturating your
enviornment with plastics. Keep on taking
them thar' injections.
We're about to learn just how eternally
inconvenient capstone 'convenience' can be.
--------------HUAC meets NUREMBURG-------------
ole meanie| 9.18.11 @ 12:42PM
I wish they would close it. At least 95% of my incoming "mail" consists of unwanted advertising circulars from car dealers, pizza joints, dentists, etc. Like Orlet, I just ransfer it directly to the recycling bin.
Last week, I ordered two books online, from two bookstores. One shipped the book by FedEx for $3.59, and I had it in two days; the other shipped the same sized book by USPS for $2.99, and it took 12 days to arrive--well, actually 11, because 1 day was lost due to dropping it off at a neighbor'sdoor.
Otis Criblecoblis| 9.19.11 @ 4:10AM
It's fine to propose that the USPS be disbanded. I'm open to the idea. But it is completely insane to think that there is no need for a First Class-type letter carrying service that serves every address in the country.
This service must be protected by law irrespective of who provides it. That means, inevitably, that a privately-based letter-carrying service would become another public utility. Thus, we would only be replacing one inefficient bureaucracy with another. It would most likely be less inefficient, but it would just as likely be considerably more expensive.