USPS may be unable to make payment into retiree health fund

[Finn_Jarber]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

Another fine government run institution(sarcasm). I bet ups and fed ex don't have these problems.

The constitution mandates the government to provide a postal service.

[GreggT]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

Another fine government run institution(sarcasm). I bet ups and fed ex don't have these problems.

You are 100% correct however if UPS and Fed-x charged a little less than $.50 a letter instead of $14.00 to $17.00, had to deliver on Saturdays, and had to deliver ANYWHERE in the US and the territories instead of selective service areas, they would already be out of business. On top of that, UPS and Fed-x looks to corporate management for direction, the post office can't do squat without congress approval!

[HappyTexan]

USPS troubles are multi faceted. They rely on bulk mail for a good chunk of their revenue and they failed to adjust to technological changes in the way mail is delivered now. And over time with online bill paying and e-statements their reliance on advertising (bulk mail) only grew yet with such a low cost you have to have quantity.

That's why our mailboxes are full of JUNK most of the time.

[sickofnyc]

Originally Posted by mlassoff

Right.

The truth is this IS an artificial crisis created by congress. Why do people ignore this fact?

At the risk of sounding politically incorrect...they are mentally retarded. There is no other explanation as to why this not so current news and the explanation for it has not been understood when it has been linked to the reasons over and over again. You've got to posses real low level brain function to not yet comprehend how the GOP pricks screwed over the USPS.

[texdav]

The USPS is just another governamnt controlled service that is inefficent with cost structure that isn't paying what the service it gives.No private company really wants the service of delivering letters at the rates;providin the number of locations ;employing based on polcial considerations or even political management. Just anther polical based system that has some responsibilty not allowed to other services provided by governamnt and expected to still pay cost;IMO.

[2nd trick op]

Originally Posted by stillkit

Wouldn't reforming the unions from inside be a better option than just simply shutting them down? If they're eliminated, who gains by that?

Everybody gains, except for the racketeers running the unions who would no longer be able to extract their "protection payments" as dues.

The instance I cited above is an example of the union using the naivete of the membership to hold them hostage. The union recognizes that any attmpt to increase wages increases the risk of loss of the entire plant. They just don't have the honesty (or the guts) to admit it.

A labor union contract represents an attempt to monopolize one employer's labor supply, in other words, an agreement in restraint of free trade. If two private business did the same thing, they wuuld be liable for prosecution under the antitrust laws.

In fairness, everyone recognized this when the Wagner Act was passed back in the 1930's, but labor unions are generally viewed in a sympathetic light by politicians. I don't have too much of a problem with that, particularly when, as here in Pennsylvania, members are allowed to opt out of the portion of their dues used for direct political contributions, When times were good, I always viewed the rest as the price I paid for keeping overzealous junior supervisors under control, and it was worth it.

But that was then, this is now, the globalizing ecnomy has made it increasingly easy for an employer to avod an abusive union. With the exception of the very capital-intensive industries and government-"service" monopolies I cited before, unions now have very little power, and they're likely to lose a lot of what's left.

If unions truly had the power to raise wages, every fast-food joint in America would be unionized. But the organizers know that these places are staffed by people on the fringes of the labor market -- some ambitious retirees, trailing spouses and teenagers, but also some people on the bottom rung through their own lack of discipline. And the would-be organizers know that this group can't be counted upon to stick around long enough to pay its dues.

The interplay of supply, demand and quality will always win out in the end, and the union, depending upon which part is doing the blathering, either just doesn't get it, or can't afford to own up to it.

[tablemtn]

Congress has contradictory goals for the USPS. For instance, the USPS is told to make money, but then it is told that it can't raise its prices for delivery? Or shut down money-hemorrhaging rural offices?

Really; how much do you think UPS or DHL would charge to deliver a letter from Key West to Nome?

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by Rick Roma

Go union.....bankrupting America one piece at a time

One guess who will be paying this bill.....

USPS may be unable to make payment into retiree health fund | Federal Times | federaltimes.com

Unions? Really? How about Republicans and their 2006 brainchild H.R. 6407?
3 Big Lies At the Heart of Republican Attacks On the Post Office | Alternet
" in their last month in the majority in 2006, House and Senate Republicans passed a “postal reform” law requiring USPS, over a decade, to pre-fund its health benefits for the next 75 years".

Postal Service Bankrupt: Republicans Set USPS on Fire
"Fast forward to December 2006 H.R. 6407; The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act was passed in the Republican-controlled Senate two days after it was introduced in the Republican-controlled House. It was subsequently signed into law by Republican George W. Bush. One of the provisions in this hastily passed law requires the USPS to prefund ALL of it's retirees health benefits 75 years into the future".

There is so much information available on this, I wonder why you didn't mention it.
Repub legislation of 2006 requires USPS to pre-fund it's retirement benefits for the next 75 years within a 10-year period - for employees yet unborn! What business could operate with such a burden in its business model?? NONE!
You still "wonder" why the USPS is in trouble? The repubs are out to destroy it.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by Rick Roma

Go union.....bankrupting America one piece at a time

You are very opinionated for someone so appalingly ignorant. If you knew what you were talking about, which you obviously don't, you'd know that in 2005 Republicans passed a poison pill designed to bankrupt the USPS. They legally required it to prefund an entire half century's worth of retirement costs all by 2020. There isn't a single private company in America which is required to do that nor any other government department.

You really should learn to close your mouth about things you know nothing about.