US Postal Service out of money Oct 1st

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I think USPS has been a screaming bargain ..heck, since I was able to understand mail. They're a great alternative to UPS or FedEx for smaller packages. I'm glad that they're there if UPS and/or FedEx were the alternatives.

No, I didn't like spending around $50 for holiday letters ..but I doubt I send 100 letters a year otherwise at this point.

The USPS is subject to every other upturning curve that everyone else has. They're all over the place. It's what made most of our manufacturing quietly bankrupt itself and close its doors before those curves came to bear.

Get used to it. You can blame it on anything you like. Evil this ..corrupt that, but I'll bet your taking your own situation for granted if you're still in some functional state. Odds say that you're at your peak in terms of anchor factor to your employer ..your medical insurance carrier ..etc..etc. Those costs are being paid by someone.
 
I think USPS should just go out of business. Seriously.

The few times that I used their service to ship a package, it took two weeks IIRC. The price wasn't significantly less than UPS or Fed-Ex either. I don't know why the market has a place for a company that is not competitive with the rest of its industry.
 
If I'm buying something from CA, I'd rather it be sent priority mail than UPS. UPS takes a full week or more to get a package from CA to VA. Priority mail does it in 3 days.
 
Originally Posted By: Geonerd


Union contracts make this option impossible. The same union over-reach is responsible for the un-fundable pensions and wildly elevated pay scale. While I respect the "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow" work performed, most employees are (IMO!) rather overpaid for the relatively unskilled work they are doing. As I understand it, the overall situation is strikingly similar to that the US auto industry is suffering through.

Unions have done great good in the past, but all too often they over-step and become parasitic, often killing the host in the end.


Then let's use the same system to fix it: bankrupt the post office and have the contracts void, and those who lost their pension or retirement would be picked up by the Fed.

The saving would be.....?
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
I think USPS should just go out of business. Seriously.

The few times that I used their service to ship a package, it took two weeks IIRC. The price wasn't significantly less than UPS or Fed-Ex either. I don't know why the market has a place for a company that is not competitive with the rest of its industry.


Then don't use them. What's your beef? There's a reason that there's a competitive package delivery sector. Wishing one the competitors out of business just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Try FedEx ground and see how happy you are with delivery times for some locations. I think you'll be in the same boat.
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Then don't use them. What's your beef? There's a reason that there's a competitive package delivery sector. Wishing one the competitors out of business just doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

Try FedEx ground and see how happy you are with delivery times for some locations. I think you'll be in the same boat.


At least FedEx ground has detailed tracking information.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic

At least FedEx ground has detailed tracking information.


You want to pay $2.30 for sending just a letter by ground?
 
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: The Critic

At least FedEx ground has detailed tracking information.


You want to pay $2.30 for sending just a letter by ground?


Fed-X must be a better value, they are a non-union shop while UPS and USPS are union shops.
 
Priority Mail flat rate is a screaming deal for mailing smallish, heavy things, far better than UPS or FedEx. Regular Priority Mail is not expensive and usually faster than the other guys if you're shipping more than one state away. Express Mail is cheaper than either of the other two's overnight service and has been very reliable for my employer.

Drawbacks: USPS tracking sucks terribly. Express Mail will take two days to get to the furthest-out boonies, but at least they'll tell you ahead of time.
 
Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX
Junk mail is a large revenue producer. The USPS needs to deliver more of it.

Seriously.


For a few months now, I have been barely getting any junk mail. The exception are brochures for high end junk and car insurance offers. I used to get a two inch stack of junk mail every day. Now I don't even get comcast internet service offerings, and I used to get those daily!
 
I wonder if the USPS direct deposits paychecks? Maybe they should start mailing them out to the postal workers?

Ditto for Social Security. Stop the direct deposit now of any federal pay and tax refunds.

We have to bail out the USPS!

They could start mailing any legislation congressmen and senators. That would slow down the process AND help out the USPS.

Let's keep those ideas coming for how we can bail out the USPS.
 
Originally Posted By: javacontour
Let's keep those ideas coming for how we can bail out the USPS.


We could hire illegal aliens to deliver mail, just give them a bicycle instead of those dorky RHD trucks.

Or we could outsource the postal service to India and have people self service at the counter while asking question from the guy in the video conference (or voice only).

Or we can bankrupt the USPS and have the union take on the ownership and future liability like we do to GM/Chrysler.

Or we can force TARP banks to buy up the shares and have them turn it around / fix what's wrong on their share holder's dime.




One idea is more ridiculous than the others, just cut the delivery service to 1, 3, or 5 days a week, lay off the younger workers that can find another job, and call it a day.
 
3 days a week of USPS would definitely hurt my netflix service. I turn them in as fast I get them. I'm on the 2 at a time plan. I get 4 DVD's a week, 6 if I'm lucky.
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I'm totally satisfied with the USPS. Recently I sent a tee shirt across country for $3.69 including the packaging. It got there in 4 days. Why is it everybody wants everyone else to work for peanuts and no bennies?
 
Originally Posted By: PandaBear
We could hire illegal aliens to deliver mail,


The USPS already employes a majority of people who don't speak English fluently. It's a good start! At my post office It goes like this:

"Nest! Nest een line! Good deh, a-how can I hep you? Anyding frechill, perry-shibble, flemmibble, oh adewise danejerers? Wood you laik to sendid with a-Expresss Mail foh only leetel mo munney? You can a-add de Delibery or uh Signetshure confur-mashion. Wood you laik tobuy sum stemps? Good buy now. Nest! NEST EEN LINE!"
 
The Post Office is not a letter delivery company. It is a member of the media, like a newspaper. Most of its business is advertisement, just like a newspaper or magazine which is delivered by the newspaper guy. Letters have been replaced for the most part by email. All that remains is advertising.
 
Originally Posted By: andyd
I'm totally satisfied with the USPS. Recently I sent a tee shirt across country for $3.69 including the packaging. It got there in 4 days. Why is it everybody wants everyone else to work for peanuts and no bennies?


Why is it that you only spent $3.69 to send it? If the USPS is out of money more or less, then obviously it cost more than $3.69 to send... Therein is the problem. The satisfaction provided came at a price...
 
Originally Posted By: moribundman
The USPS already employes a majority of people who don't speak English fluently.


+1 our post offices are about 50% that way...
 
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