United Liberty
United States Postal Service faces $238 billion budget deficit
Wed, 03/03/2010 - 3:06pm | posted by Jason Pye
The United States Postal Service is facing a $238 billion budget deficit over the next decade and may drop Saturday mail delivery to help cut costs:
The U.S. Postal Service estimated Tuesday that it will lose $238 billion in the next decade if lawmakers, postal regulators and unions don’t give the mail agency more flexibility in setting delivery schedules, price increases and labor costs.
Estimates also predict that letter carriers will deliver 150 billion pieces of mail in 2020, a drop of about 26 billion pieces from last year. Postmaster General John E. Potter plans to press lawmakers and the Postal Regulatory Commission in the coming weeks to eliminate Saturday mail deliveries and allow the mail agency to raise prices beyond the rate of inflation, if necessary.
“We intend to be around for decades and centuries to come,” Potter told a meeting of regulators, congressional staffers and major mail customers Tuesday. “These are the first steps that are necessary to make sure that that occurs.”
It is time to privatize the USPS, and not only should the postal service be privatized, UPS and FedEx should be able compete with it.
With all the fiscal issues facing the nation, some of which were pointed out earlier today, the post office is just more deadweight on taxpayers.
We’re always hearing about possibly cutting Saturday delivery and raising postage rates, but does that include the bulk mail rates? Seems to me half the mail in the system today are effing catalogs and advertisements, etc. They’re all mailed with a special “bulk rate” that seems to be much less than a retail postage stamp.
Why don’t we kill two birds with one stone? Raise the bulk mail rate substantially, force a ton of these business to quit sending crap through the mail, the USPS makes money on the rest that can afford to keep sending stuff.
Newspapers are losing money too. Why don’t they raise their advertising rates, substantially, force a ton of business to quit advertising, and make money of the rest that can afford to keep advertising.
I agree. Get this f’ing sh*& out of my mailbox. What a huge waste of money. The USPS is going to post a 6 BILLION dollar loss this year.
Raise the rates, get rid of the junkmail or make it a premium to have it delivered. Most people don’t want the majority of the adverts that come in their mailboxes.
Aren’t you glad the USPS has their Federal Status to abuse.
Here is a link to my experiences with the USPS and based on them I do not use the USPS when ever possible and it has nothing to do with email.
http://suzannahbtroy.blogspot.com/2010/03/usps-estimated-to-lost-238-bil…
Jason,
Actually, the USPS does not use a dime of taxpayer money. They are entirely funded by the services they sell.
They’re also not asking for any taxpayer money to deal with their budget issues. They’re planning a combination of rate hikes and service cuts to deal with the deficit. Just like a real business.
In short, the USPS is an excellent example of what good government can provide.
I’m very happy with the service that my business gets from the USPS. We make heavy use of direct marketing via postal mail. I employ 37 people full-time based on that marketing, in a part of the country that’s currently dealing with a 12-13% unemployment rate. Especially in this economy, knee-jerk comments like yours are not appreciated by people who actually provide employment.
The next time you feel like ranting, check your facts first. It’s Tea Party nitwits like you that have driven many moderate-conservative business owners out of the Republican party. Including me.
First off, I’m not a Republican. I’m an independent. Secondly, I’m not a tea partier.
Lastly, the USPS runs a deficit and is funded either by the general fund or debt (ie. on the backs of current taxpayers or future taxpayers). The business model for the USPS is so poor that the Government Accountability Office see the problem.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/04/gao_postal_service_…
I’ll let you take your foot out of your mouth.
David … you are a moron who needs to check YOUR facts.
“With declining revenues from the increasing use of premium delivery services for packages and emails substituting for letters, the Postal Service is having difficulty adjusting to modern times and changing technology. Even though the Postal Service has been a private employer since 1983, it operates as an independent agency of the U.S. Government.
While the company receives no financial assistance or subsidies from the government, as of late, it has been borrowing money from the U.S. Treasury to keep afloat. This year it plans to borrow $3.5 billion, tapping out its $15 billion line of credit.”
Getting 3.5 billion (actually 15 billion) from the Treasury IS A SUBSIDY! It will never be repaid and will end up in the never-ending, always growing federal deficit. Or maybe the Fed will simply print-up another 15 billion … no problem.
To better understand the world you live in David, simply substitute the word(s) “I the taxpayer” whenever you see the word government, or Federal Government, or Fed, or Treasury, or Reserve, or Washington, or ???? You get the idea … don’t you?
Jason obviously doesn’t know the Constitution if he wants to privatize the postal service. One of the few tasks mandated by the Constitution as a responsibility of Congress is to provide Post Offices and Post Roads. Sure, Congress shirks its responsibilities all the time and illegally abrogates its tasks (like issuing money, which it has given up to the Federal Reserve private banks) but it is still a Federal task.
What a big number….this deficient is really horrifying….