No wonder the USPS is going broke

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by edjs

I cannot and hope never to be able to top your story.

+1 I have a lot of good ones but Ken is the winner by far.

I complain about the business side being run like Bozo the clown is in charge but in 1000's of transactions I have never lost a single item.

I have a 1 of 12 known card right now that has been out for delivery since Friday. Buyer is flipping out about it, I just keep replying to relax it will get there eventually.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by bnorth

... I complain about the business side being run like Bozo the clown is in charge ...

I think a major part of the problem is that Congress won't let the USPS run itself like a business for fear that this would upset too many of their constituents, because far too many "want to have their cake and eat it too." We all saw the recent furor over the USPS's request to eliminate regular residential delivery on Saturdays to help reduce its massive deficits. IMHO, the USPS needs to go much farther than this - it should reduce regular residential delivery to 3 days a week, with half of us receiving mail on M-W-F and the other half on Tu-Th-S to better help bring its costs more in line with its revenues.

Going further, the USPS was an absolutely necessary government service for its first 200 years or so, but I don't believe it is needed any longer, especially if it keeps running huge deficits that we taxpayers have to absorb. I say this for the basic reason that I don't believe that government should be involved in running any type of business that private enterprise can accomplish with reasonable competition. With the advent of companies like UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc., I have little doubt that private industry can more efficiently handle all of the mail services the USA needs, albeit with there likely to be many changes to the way it is being done by the USPS.
Val

[japhi]

If anyone really wants to know why USPS posts losses check out The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The act forces USPS to pre-fund a whole bunch of future liabilities like healthcare for the next 75 years. The Repubs put this in place to bankrupt USPS so they could take them private.

And it's working, look at all the bellyaching on this tread about the USPS being poorly run, which is not true. They are forced to manage the books unlike any private org so they show large paper losses.

In truth USPS does post an operational profit and they are very efficient.

If USPS is privatized expect large subsidies to the firm that wins the contract, less service to urban markets, decreases overall service levels and an increase in shipping costs.

I worked 5 years for a major shipping company in a management role and it anything things that the private carriers are any more efficient your nuts. More profitable, absolutely.

[kilo]

This much mis-information is upsetting. Being a USPS carrier myself, i do have some knowledge to add (and correct):
USPS is the ONLY branch of the federal government that runs completely autonomous. It is no longer funded by federal dollars of any kind, and recieves absolutely NONE of your (our) tax dollars. We process and deliver over 20 million pieces of mail PER DAY including an average of 35,000 parcels. We are the only ones to deliver packages 7 days a week. The percent of all miss-deliveries (including lost/destroyed) is less than .1 (read: less than a tenth of a percent). More than 75 percent of our revenue goes to wages, as there are roughly 50,000+ of us. Another 20 percent goes to benefits and retirement packages (the latter of which are not only required, but will pay for your grandchildrens' retirement should they decide to work for USPS). The rest (less then 4percent) goes to maint/operations/mechanicals/vehicles/etc and related costs. Most of us carriers work an average of 9hrs per day, 6 days a week. We deliver in every kind of weather extreme you can imagine. And most of us deliver to 750+ adresses every day.
So please, the next time someone decides to vent their frustrations (which we all have had at some point), remember what it is that the USPS does.

--mike kilo.

[ValKehl]

Matt, I truly doubt that the USPS gets any where close to posting "an operational profit." The reason I say this is that Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (referred to as GAAP by those in the profession) require that an operating profit (or loss) for a business entity be properly determined by taking into account all operating revenues and all operating expenses, regardless of when the cash related to these revenues and expenses is actually received or paid out. And, operating expenses include all the employee costs associated with producing the operating revenue - i.e., these expenses include employee post-employment healthcare expenses and pension benefits earned currently, even when they don't require require cash to be paid out until several years in the future. To determine a business entity's profit (or loss) in any other manner would be misleading.
Val

[ValKehl]

Mike, if the USPS "is no longer funded by federal dollars of any kind, and receives absolutely NONE of your (our) tax dollars," then I have one question for you - Who does pay for the USPS' losses/deficits?
Val

[kilo]

USPS is required to put $xxx amount into their retirement fund each quarter, a percentage of which is matched by the federal gov, (These funds are also available to the federal governement to help fill some holes in their quarterly budget, but thats a different issue). When there isnt enough profit to contribute that preset mandated amount, they call it an "operational loss". USPS has been running self-sufficient since the 70's....

[ValKehl]

Mike, from where (besides us taxpayers?) does the federal govt. obtain the "percentage of which is matched by the federal gov?" The USPS isn't "running self-sufficient" if it can't fully cover its retirement obligations to its employees (which it can't!). My response to your telling me "USPS has been running self-sufficient since the 70's" is that "I'm from Missouri," which is known as the "show me" state. From everything I have read, the USPS is not close to running self-sufficient, unless one is using something other that GAAP accounting, because if it were, there wouldn't be all the recent proposals to reduce residential service and close lots of small, inefficient post offices. But, I invite you to prove me wrong - kindly send your proof to ekehl333@aol.com.
Val

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by kilo

USPS is required to put $xxx amount into their retirement fund each quarter, a percentage of which is matched by the federal gov, (These funds are also available to the federal government to help fill some holes in their quarterly budget, but thats a different issue). When there isnt enough profit to contribute that preset mandated amount, they call it an "operational loss". USPS has been running self-sufficient since the 70's....

I believe the USPS was mandated to fund $5.5 Billion a year starting in 2007 (with $5.8 Billion due in 2016) for future retirees. 2016 was originally supposed to be the last year, but one year they were allowed to put up only $1.4 billion and they did not meet the federal mandate a few other years so they are behind. And yes, this is above and beyond what they pay to meet their current obligations. In essence, it's funding the retirement program of people who haven't even been hired yet.