U.S. Postal Service in dire financial straits: Postmaster

[The Northerner]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service is in such bad financial condition that it may not be able to make a payment for future retiree health benefits due September 30, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said on Tuesday.

In testimony to a Senate subcommittee, Donahoe said that without Congressional action, the service would default on its payments.

"As things stand, we do not have the cash to make a $5.5 billion prepayment for future retiree health benefits due September 30," Donahoe said.

"Despite our significant role in the American economy and our aggressive cost cutting and revenue generating efforts, I regret to say we are in a serious financial predicament today," he said in a statement.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110517/us_nm/us_postoffice

[Vinca]

1. If we had single-payer they wouldn't have to come up with it.

[Abq_Sarah]

2. The USPS has overfunded the CSRS

To the tune of 50-75 billion. The Congress could allow them to use the overpayments to fund the RHB fund but it's likely the government has already pissed that money away.

[Pab Sungenis]

3. Simple. De-privatize the USPS.

Bring the Post Office Department back into the cabinet, clean house of middle management, bring management salaries under control.

[emilyg]

5. Yep.

[WinkyDink]

6. Oh, but Repubs would argue this would HURT UPS & FedEx.

[arbusto_baboso]

7. Exactly. These troubles didn't start until privatization.

Of course, we even have corporate shills here on DU who want to privatize most government functions, so don't expect universal agreement with your opinion.

[al_liberal]

4. Why not let them raise rates?

I mean is $.50 for a first class stamp that expensive? To send a letter to any address within the entirety of the 50 states? To me that's a bargain considering I can pay all of my bills online. Yes, I understand that there are people that don't have the internet, bank accounts, credit cards, running water, flushing toilets, yada, yada, yada. This is the very reason the post office needs to stay solvent. Because without it, all of those people would be denied a service that keeps them in a functioning society. I'll agree that the bulk or junk mailers should pay more, that's a no brainer. The fact of the matter is all rates should be increased to make sure this most basic function of our society remains solvent.

When the tornadoes came through here last month and knocked out our power for a week, when you couldn't use your cell phone, when you couldn't get gasoline, when some cities ran dry because they couldn't pump water, what was there every day just as though nothing had happened? The United States Postal Service.

[jtrockville]

13. I wondered the same thing.

60, or even 75 cents seems totally reasonable to me.

[Fool Count]

16. Precisely. Australia Post charges 60 cents (~ 64 cents US)

for a letter delivered domestically, and Australia is a slightly smaller country than the US. They don't deliver mail on Saturdays.
Canada Post charges 59 cents (~61 cents US) for the same service. Also no Saturday deliveries. 65-75 cents seems totally reasonable
for the kind of service USPS provides. Why not charge that and keep the valuable public service afloat? What's so sacred about 44 cent
stamps?

[DCBob]

8. Well, it is costly to handle and deliver billions of pieces of junk mail everyday..

What a monumental waste of time, effort, money and resources.. especially considering 99% of it thrown away instantly.

[live love laugh]

15. It's marketing. If businesses choose to spend their $$$ to reach

the masses through the mail that's their right. Junk mail is not junk to the Postal Service or to the marketers.

[DCBob]

18. Would if be ok to airdrop tons of markerting materials every day on every city in America?

Would that just be "marketing" and a businesses right to spend their $$$ to reach the masses?

[live love laugh]

20. I think that would be littering. I believe that you see junk mail the same way, but

you can remove your name from lists if it bothers you enough.

[DCBob]

22. It's basically the same thing to me... the trash end ups scattered all over the place..

and someone has to pick it up and deliver to the city dump. Tremendous waste of paper, energy, resources, time and money. There should be controls implemented or begin charging a helluva alot more to make these companies think twice about blanketing the country with this crap.

[customerserviceguy]

9. So, they're going to play games with the postal workers' retirements

rather than up the cost of sending junk mail. I can't believe how many catalogs I get from places where I ordered only ONE THING five years ago, at a deep discount from a posting on Ben's Bargains. Maybe if it cost them a buck or two for postage, they might think twice about sending me something that just becomes garbage.

[tammywammy]

10. There's plenty of retirement money already

"He said Congress could allow the Postal Service to access between $50 billion to $75 billion in pension obligations overpaid into the Civil Service Retirement System, as well as an additional $6.9 billion overpaid into the federal employees retirement system."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/17/postal-service-pleads-for-help-to-stay-afloat-make/


More info here:
http://www.postalreporternews.net/2010/07/02/prc-affirms-usps-overpaid-50-billion-to-retirement-fund/

[customerserviceguy]

11. Yeah, that's the excuse that state governments used

to loot the pension systems when interest rates were double-digit. We saw how that worked out for a lot of teachers, etc.

There isn't a government workers' pension system in the country that is overfunded. Unless you compare a properly funded one to the jokes that most states and municipalities have.

[tammywammy]

12. I suggest reading the second link I put up

Yes, they have over paid. On top of that in 2006 they put in place that the USPS must pre-pay $5B ever year. No other government agency has this requirement. They should be allowed to put over payment of $50B towards the $5B payment every year. The USPS is under more strain because of unnecessary burdens placed on it in order to try and justify privatizing them off.

[live love laugh]

21. Absolutely right tammy. Bush and the Republicants started pillaging the Postal Svc. nt

[arikara]

14. Sounds to me like

they are planning to put the screws to the workers some more. Canada Post is busy doing just that too. Claiming they are broke, trying to bust the unions and they just outsourced all the help desk jobs to India. The new CEO is also sourced from India I guess to them it was a logical progression. Bastards.

edit grammar

[Rex]

17. And again, more people getting fucked over that put in decades

hope the rich like their tax cut.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Just as planned by Republicans

who want to force the demise or full privatization of the USPS (which also will bust the unions)