‘Postal Service will not survive the summer.’ Lawmakers warn it could go bankrupt

The last time I compared prices for sending four pounds of various stuff to one of my friends in Germany with how much my German friend spends to send me two kilograms (a little bit more than four pounds), I was astounded!

It costs my German friend less than HALF as much to send two kilograms by parcel post from Germany to the U. S. than it does for me to send four pounds by parcel post to Germany!

Now... why the hell should THAT be?! It's the same process... it's the same transport aircraft... it's essentially the same distribution. WHY?

 

Some thoughts on the USPS:

1. The USPS is empowered by the Constitution so it should only be done away with by an Amendment to the Constitution. To me the USPS is a lot like roads and I don't want roads to be privatized. I for one don't get too excited about being in the so called electronic age. I remember reading an H.G. Wells Story called "When the machine stops." Don't think the Internet won't stop. I wouldn't be surprised if we see it stop sometime in the near future.

2. It is not up to the USPS to decide who gets to send worthless stuff. That is the decision of the people who send it.

3. I looked up the phone number of my local Post Office today and noted they are hiring people at around 72K to start. I would think they could find people for less money. That being said, the United States I grew up in was a place were blue collar people could be in the middle class - something I for one would like to maintain if possible.

4. The USPS has a huge real estate portfolio. Perhaps they could close and sell some facilities to become more solvent. See #5.

5. My understanding is the USPS does not currently receive subsidies from the US Government other that their first class monopoly yet they have to be subject to being told what to do by Congress on issues like keeping open facilities that for business reasons should be closed. Kind of hard to run a business like a business with Congress in the act.

6. As an organization empowered by the US Constitution the USPS should not be allowed to deprive patrons of the 2nd Amendment rights while visiting a Post Office.

 

No offense but you don't have a clue what you are talking about. The USPS does not receive taxpayer funding. The salaries of employees are funded by selling products and services So explain how the US taxpayer is fleeced.

 

Does the German postal service get government subsidy or is it stand alone?

 

This is a case of the USPS getting zero funding from Congress but getting told what to do by Congress.

 

It would not take an Amendment. The Constitution does not mandate that there be a postal service it only authorizes Congress to fund one IF Congress wants to do so. They don't have to. Article 1 Section 8.

 

I tend to agree with you overall but keep in mind the people that would feel the greatest negative impact for this would be people living in rural areas. If your population is small and spread out over a large area it would cost a lot more for delivery and pick up as opposed to people that live in high density urban areas. Private companies may choose not to operate at all in rural places or charge a lot more to do it.

 

Thanks for your post which brought back some memories. I have a son who did multiple infantry deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and I remember mailing those boxes of goodies to him and other soldiers.

 

I'll have to tell you this story. I was working a BIG festival I did, an played, for twenty years. I was the festival zone manager for the Country/Classic rock stage. So I was back stage with the road manager for Little Big Town and we were just shooting the [blank], it was sound check and it came up one of my sons was in Afghanistan, a Marine. He said come on and we went to the bus and the group was there he told I had a son over there and they sign a picture for them and lucky I knew his outfit numbers so they did to the whole company. I sent it to him in on of those boxes and he got it and they hung it the Mess Hall and even the company Col. had noted it.

So fast forward about 5 years, my son is home and he's helping me at the festival and Little Big Town is back. I see the road manager and hey how you doing do you remember we did the photo for my son and goes oh year did he get it. NOt only that he's here now and I bet he would LOVE to tell them how much it meant to troops there. OH hey YES SIR. So we set up a time in their dressing room and we get there and the road manager tells the groups about the last time and my son starts to tell them how much that meant to the guys serving over there and I swear not only were the two girls crying the two guys had tears in their eyes. One of them explained they loved doing things like that but rarely heard back anything and that having someone who was there letting them know..............well just. Both shows I worked with them there were one of the nicer groups.

 

There is no compelling reason to keep it open.

 

All the more incentive to go electronic.

 

Incorrect, starting salary is less than $50K annually.

 

If that was only possible, many rural areas do not internet service.

 

The constitution says it has the power to establish post offices and build roads. It doesn't require either. If you want to understand why closing the postal system can happen without a constitutional amendment,you can read it at http://postalnews.com/blog/2015/05/...to-eliminate-or-privatize-the-postal-service/

 

I live in a rural area and have satellite internet service. Not the best internet service but available to rural residents. Even dial up is adequate for receiving bills and emails.

 

85-90% of my mail is junk mail.

but I dont want usps to go away, I'd be fine with 4 day a week delivery, it's a good compromise.

I sell a lot of ebay stuff and purchase from there as well, I prefer shipping usps very much.

 

I rarely order stuff from germany, but I've sent small parts there to help a friend, the import charges were higher than the postage.

 

Only possible if someone has a clear shot of the Southern sky.

The problem with dial-up is HTML mail and rural fiber connected SLC systems running Integrated SLC, most of the time they will not
dial-up over 1200 baud.

 

Yup Customs can get expensive.

 

If the USPS were to go under, the economy would follow. Those flyers are used, people use coupons. In addition, all legal matters concerning correspondence, in done by the USPS.

 

An issue we agree upon. !!

 

People in rural areas have a clear shot to the southern sky.

I didn't say it is good. I said it is adequate for email-or at least text emails without attachments.

 

Some things would have to change. That should be obvious to you. As to flyers, perhaps you don't get hundreds of pieces of email spam like I do.

 

The Deutsche Post AG (Aktiengesellschaft), operats under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is described as "the world's largest courier company". This part of DHL took over the old Deutsche Bundespost in 1995, and it was set up to be privatized (I think).

One thing I know for certain -- Germans pay a HELL of a lot less to ship stuff to American addresses than we Americans pay the U. S. Postal Service to ship stuff to Germany! It's so bad that now when I want to get my German friends something, I just order it from a company like amazon.de , and, because amazon.de is within the EU, the shipping is economical, or, free.

Here's a link, if you want the granular view of all this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Post

 

I prefer the postal service so I hope they don't go away. UPS and FedEx have a bad habit of leaving packages just inside my gate and that can lead to wet packages. My mailman walks around to the back of my house and leaves my packages on my mower which is parked below cover, or my or my wife's vehicle (since we ride to work together). And the vehicles are parked in a carport FIVE feet from the gate that the parcel services leave the packages at.