Biden nominates three to USPS board of governors as DeJoy testifies on mail crises

There is no Dejoy in Mudville tonight.
Another Trump henchman is about to bite the dust as Biden fills up the Board of Governors for the post office.

USPS DeJoy hearing: Biden nominates two Democrats and a voting rights advocate to USPS board of governors - The Washington Post

Open link in a private window.

 

Why didn't he nominate the smartest man he knows, his son?

Anyway, it took 13 days for an envelope I sent from New Mexico to get to New Jersey. Something's wrong, it used to take just 2 days.

 

Welcome to Trump's Post Office.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) saw a severe decline in the rate of on-time delivery of first-class mail after Louis DeJoy took over as postmaster general, according to new data obtained by the Guardian that provides some of the most detailed insight yet into widespread mail delays this summer.

 

Time to get rid of USPS Unions and outsource mail delivery.

 

Republicans are what is wrong with the mail.

 

You want to outsource a program that is deficit neutral for one that will cost taxpayers tons of money.

Let me guess, small government fiscal conservative?

USPS is authorized by the constitution

 

Nepotism is a hallmark of the Trump administration.

 

The problem is chronic under-funding and it's been an ongoing issue under multiple administrations. Firstly Congress has repeatedly refused to mandate real price increases in postal charges. Price increases have almost exactly mirrored CPI for the past 20 years or so. Secondly they insist that the USPS maintain mandated delivery patterns on low value/high cost routes where costs have risen at far above CPI. Think remote/rural deliveries.

And as long as Washington continues to insist on these idiotic metrics you couldn't give the USPS away to anyone let alone sell it even if you were allowed to. In summery USPS is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They can't reduce costs and they cant increase prices. And US voters put the people responsible for this farce (from both sides of politics) in office.

 

Really? You can start with JFK and work your way up to Waters.

 

Explain to me why Postage and fees could not and would not pay for outsourced delivery and mail operations as they currently pay for Union Government employees to deliver and sort mail.

Where in the Constitution does it say the Government can't outsource? Are you aware the USPS currently outsources various functions? Are you aware that since OMB Circular A-76 was issued in 1966 the Federal Government started outsourcing work formerly done by Government employees.

Funny how how liberals never mention Postal Unions being associated in any way with poor performance of the USPS.

 

Why not outsource the USPS and self off the extremely valuable USPS real estate Portfolio? You say no one would bid on this. Why not put an RFP on the street and see?

I live in a rural area and Amazon delivers to my door every day. The USPS delivers to a mailbox which is 300 yards from my house. If a package will not fit into the mail box I have to drive several miles to pick it up.

I have never had Amazon lose a package. With the USPS a package is lost several times a year. The USPS grows more sluggish every year. I wouldn't be surprised if the Postal unions were not sabotaging mail delivery as leverage on their next contract.

 

Yep! To a DeJoy owned company of course!

 

Whataboutism

 

Did you not see the whataboustism I was responding to?

 

I don't know how it works down under, but here in the US, Federal Procurements must comply with this complex regulation which would preclude what you suggest.

https://www.acquisition.gov/sites/default/files/current/far/pdf/FAR.pdf

 

Because the law mandates letter delivery to every city, town and single out house hamlet in the country. Whoever buys the USPS also buys that mandate. Amazon will NOT be interested in delivering Aunt Sally's birthday card out to the middle of nowhere unless they can recover what it costs - which they are not allowed to do.

Parcel deliveries on the other hand are profitable for most carriers (and usually cross-subsidize other loss making services like normal mail). Amazon has already made it bucks when it sells you whatever widget you bought. Postage is included in the price, so naturally its happy to deliver it.

 

Profit.

 

Here Australia Post is a self funded government enterprise with an independent board and it usually returns handsome dividends each year to the Federal Government. Partly this is because it has been able to apply for and receive permission to raise postal prices in line with costs. However it also asked for and received permission to reduce standard mail delivery services. They used to 5 days a week, now its down to 5 days a fortnight. Which doesn't matter that much because the volume of 'snail' mailed being delivered to homes across the country each week has also declined dramatically.

They have also franchised out Post Office services at local agencies which are run for profit. They sell stationery etc, process government applications and fees (charging a fee to the agency), let you pay your utilities and other bills over the counter (more fees) and most recently signed an agreement to act a bank agencies. It could actually be sold off at a handsome profit.

 

Together, DeJoy and Wos may claim up to a total $75,815,000 in assets from U.S. Postal Service competitors, according to government records.

Fact check: Postmaster general Louis DeJoy invested in competitors (usatoday.com)

 

I don't buy that exactly what the USPS does today with union labor cannot be done cheaper and better by private industry. If you outsource mail delivery, the contractor would have to be required to deliver mail as the USPS does now, e.g. from anywhere in the country to anywhere in the country.

But you are correct that parcels are where the money is. Would outsource mail delivery somehow preclude outsourcing both parcels and regular mail?

 

No and it does not matter one does not excuse the other

 

Where I live (rural) our local post office does a roaring trade selling those “tv special” products. But let’s face it - it was not a big leap to franchise post offices since so many rural post offices already were selling everything from groceries to small meals and anything else

 

Mail is the problem, its a loss maker no matter who runs it. If you de-unionized mail delivery you could perhaps lower costs but that saving would only buy you a limited amount of extra time. If you can't cut services (costs) or raise prices you'll will inevitably end up back in the red.

Also I think you are overestimating the potential savings, in this industry a least of de-unionizing. Mail sorting/delivery is highly mechanized automated. You'd save wages on the collection and delivery phases but only at the cost of pushing a larger number of workers onto lower wage rates. Which has negative impacts on consumption. Its an axiomatic that every additional $ earned by low wage earners is spent and circulate through the economy whereas every additional $ earned by high wage earners is far more likely to be saved.

The US already has an issue like most western nations with chronic low wages growth. Its stifling the economy.

 

Does the nepotism extend to Biden? I'm not aware of Biden hiring anyone related to him. Are you?

 

Not sure what your point is. Only a Federal Contracting Officer can award a contract. A CO knowingly awarding a contract to a company that DeJoy owned or controlled would face arrest and indictment and the contract would be subject to legal protest.

And what does claim assets even mean? Ownership of stock, mutual funds, or what? I own stock but does that give me a claim on assets? If you think it does, you didn't have GM stock or bonds at the time Obama restructured the company.