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The coverage network domestically between USPS and fedex/ups are ridiculously incomparable.
This. Living in a small town (especially in the lower 48) is nothing. If you live forty miles out on a country road, USPS is bound to deliver mail to you, if only to a cluster box within a few miles. If you live in a village of ten people in Alaska reachable only by dogsled and bush plane, the USPS is bound to deliver to you.
It's impossible to compare the USPS to any other parcel delivery service because they can just say "no" or "ten thousand dollars, please" while the post office is bound to deliver that letter to the outback for 54 cents.
And that's as it should be.
(There's a story about a guy who shipped tons of cement mix to some small town in Alaska using parcel post. His cost was a few dollars a bag. The Post Office (this was pre-USPS) incurred some enormous cargo plane cost to get it there... but they hadda.)
The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 limits price increases for market dominant products to no more than the rate of inflation based on the CPI. What is the probability of this getting repealed? Hopefully, it doesn't and Forever stamp prices will increase slowly.
I hope Priority Mail rates for consumer don't increase dramatically. I would think politically, members of Congress would be reluctant to raise postage rates for consumers.
Correct me if I am wrong but I think Congress has been allowing rate increases for eons. It does not affect them. They get franking privileges. No?
Bulk mail - if you are referring to three-times-a-week grocery ads - pays the bills and keeps the trash man in business. I am in an apartment building of ten tenants. They leave us enough in each stack to supply a whole neighborhood. I am told they are supposed to put one in each of our boxes but ours does not. Just a thick bundle in the tray where it sits all week and is then tossed.
Correct me if I am wrong but I think Congress has been allowing rate increases for eons. It does not affect them. They get franking privileges. No?
Only if you're Barney Frank. *sh-boom crack* Thanks folks, I'll be here all week.
Well, Congress is even more highly insulated from reality than most corporate C-levels, so that's not much of a point. I particularly like the endless attempt to destroy healthcare for pretty much everyone when they have national-best care as part of their position.
It is constitutionally mandated, and is never supposed to 'make a profit' It is a service to ALL citizens.
WHat they could do is reduce the weight limits on the flat rate boxes frmo 70 lbs to about 30lbs. ABove that weight it would be zoned.
Also need to charge extra for those who need to come in to the PO with a package and need extra service.
Wrong on two points.
1. The postal service is not constitutionally mandated. The constitution allows Congress to establish a postal service. It does not mandate it.
Quote:
The Congress shall have power To establish post offices and post roads;
That is all the constitutions says about the post office.
2. The post office was established to make a profit. When the constitution was being written, the government was in need of revenue, and a postal business was looked at as a good, easy way for the government to raise revenue. Now that it's no longer profitable the government wants to divest itself of the post office. Which is it's right.
Quote:
The post-office, under proper regulations, is one of the most beneficial establishments which can be introduced by any government; by providing the means of intercourse between the citizens of remote parts of the confederation, on such a regular footing, as must contribute greatly to the convenience of commerce, and to the free, and frequent communication of facts, and sentiments between individuals. Hence the revenue arising from this source will always be more easily collected, and more cheerfully paid, than any other whatever. It appears, that notwithstanding the many unprofitable branches, into which the post-roads have been divided for the convenience of the people of the United States, there still remains a considerable sum that is annually brought into the federal treasury.
The post office is pretty much the only infrastructure mandated by the Constitution. I don’t see how privatization would survive the court challenge.
Personally, I like the idea of bringing back the Post Office bank. Run it cashless. Mandate that everyone accept a USPS debit card for payment.
DT has a hard on against USPS largely for same reasons he hates big tech, including and especially Amazon.
DT feels that Amazon and the rest are getting a sweet deal from USPS in regards to package delivery (hint, not really), and this feeds into his larger hate against then, which fuels his desire to do any and everything possible to harm. To those that know and or follow DT this sort of thug behavior is not new, it is how he runs his so called "businesses".
USPS has many problems far larger than Amazon's packages; and most of them stem from interference by Congress, especially that pre-payment of pensions law.
His Orangeness like many GOP don't like Big Tech because guys like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and scores of others have more money then any of them will ever see. That and their businesses (like it or not) are future of this nation and world, but much of it lies largely outside of government control.
DT has or has no problems with Twitter when he wants to spew whatever stupidity that is on his mind. But when they challenge or otherwise wont go along, he's outraged.
Bulk mail - if you are referring to three-times-a-week grocery ads - pays the bills and keeps the trash man in business. I am in an apartment building of ten tenants. They leave us enough in each stack to supply a whole neighborhood. I am told they are supposed to put one in each of our boxes but ours does not. Just a thick bundle in the tray where it sits all week and is then tossed.
Easily 90% of letter carriers put up for termination is because of handling market ads like that. The Inspector General has hit many postal districts and put scores of carriers at a time on "emergency placement", immediate suspension pending further action over the decades. Everyone thinks it won't happen to me until it does because that 10% who wants the ads has complained
They did market the packaging fixed rate many years ago you addressed. They should have kept that to simplify the process, but that gives up money they need to function. I don’t know the details of the funding of the PO, but it appears that the revenue from services may help them offset the funding losses.
Are you speaking of the Flat Rate boxes with fixed postage rates up to 70 lbs. ?
The Flat Rate box postage rates have increased. If you were to have a "Flat Rate Box" forever stamp, that same box you paid shipping for, if the usage were the same as the Forever Stamp for letter class, would not increase for the shipper should a "Forever Package Stamp" been available.
While package rates could increase, that same box would ship for the same cost of the original price paid for the "Forever Package Stamp".
The pre-funding pension and payroll costs are the solvency issues facing the PO ...
USPS has to reinvent itself. Amazon is investing in their own logistics company. I would imagine soon will drastically reduce their partnership with UPS, Fedex and USPS. Remember there is almost an Amazon warehouse in every state.
USPS should factor that letter mail will probably become obsolete once certain generations are long gone. (silent generation, baby boomers, Genx, Millenials, GenY, etc).
Parcel shipments is something that they should invest more in. Their tracking system. This way they can supplement their UPS Smartpost/ Fedex Smartpost partnerships.
Maybe look into new ventures:
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