http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/06/news/economy/postal-service-cuts/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

END OF 'MERICA

2/6/2013 11:16:20 AM

They could pretty much cut non-business class mail down to 2 or 3 times per week and it would have virtually no negative impact on anyone. Hell, if they only delivered mail to residential addresses once a week I doubt many people would notice.

2/6/2013 11:19:33 AM

Quote :

"Hell, if they only delivered mail to residential addresses once a week I doubt many people would notice."

I'd definitely have to get a bigger mailbox.

2/6/2013 11:20:15 AM

That would kill Netflix.

2/6/2013 11:20:55 AM

I only check my mail when a new Netflix is supposed to be there...

2/6/2013 11:21:20 AM

people still get netflix in the mail?

2/6/2013 11:22:22 AM

Netflix should already be a 100% streaming shop.

2/6/2013 11:22:54 AM

^ Quality isn't there yet

2/6/2013 11:24:49 AM

Quote :

"I'd definitely have to get a bigger mailbox."

Yes, but you're a lawyer who I assume probably gets a lot of correspondence at home that could be delivered to your office instead, right?

2/6/2013 11:25:29 AM

Nah. I just get a lot of mail. Mostly letters and magazines. But I do have one of these:



But I still think I'd struggle to fit everything in a regular sized mailbox if it was just done weekly.

2/6/2013 11:30:23 AM

They really need to examine their pricing structure, maybe consider charging first class rates for everything. Their pricing is way, way too low for the service they provide. This is not normally the case for a quasi-government entity.

2/6/2013 11:31:48 AM

I get paid via US mail...but the bank is not open on Sat anyway.

2/6/2013 11:32:23 AM

^^ Yeah I'm not one of those people who thinks the PS must necessarily turn a profit since its more just along the lines of essential government service, but you can't be losing 16 bil a year. Goal should be pretty much break even and pricing should reflect that imho.

2/6/2013 11:36:39 AM

If they would just be allowed to quit funding pensions 75 years in advance, they'd probably be closer to even. Still losing money, I think, but there's also something to be said for not having to pay $20 for a stamp.

2/6/2013 11:40:29 AM

But imagine the public outcry if they raised their prices substantially. People are already like, "They are raising the price of stamps by a cent again? " Same as any government spending decisions.

2/6/2013 11:40:46 AM

Yeah, if they can be self funding it would be a huge win, rates just need to go up and they need to scale back to what actually are "essential services."

Sending everyone in the world the penny saver and chinese menus every week for $.002 each is not an essential service or smart business.

2/6/2013 11:41:33 AM

Yay no more junk mail on Saturdays

2/6/2013 11:41:52 AM

The last time I bought a book of stamps was around the time they introduced those forever stamps. I still have 3 or 4 left.

Hell, if they just pegged the increase to inflation they'd be a shitload better off.

2/6/2013 11:43:10 AM

why does each house have a mailbox in their front yard? why not have large boxes, similar to apartment complex setups, at the end of the street or something. Less driving, less gas, less manpower, and might could get by with electric vehicles. In rural situations I understand the need for a mailbox at the house, but not in these tight neighborhoods. Walk and get the mail, or if you are disabled, have your family or neighbor get your mail (once a week)

2/6/2013 11:48:02 AM

Nah, centralized pickup for rural communities too. Something like a 20 mile max drive for weekly pickup or you could write off the mileage difference on your income tax.

2/6/2013 12:02:54 PM

Isn't that what a P.O. Box is for?

2/6/2013 12:04:12 PM

Pretty much. It may not be a doable system considering some people can't drive due to handicap, age, etc.

2/6/2013 12:08:35 PM

Quote :

"why does each house have a mailbox in their front yard? why not have large boxes, similar to apartment complex setups, at the end of the street or something. Less driving, less gas, less manpower, and might could get by with electric vehicles."

this is what they do in my neighborhood, and most of them around this area. there's a cluster of boxes in a hidden area... keeps those unsightly mailboxes out of the clean manicured lawns.

seems to be a lot easier for the mailpeople.

i do see some of my more portly neighbors driving to the mailboxes that are under a block away, to turn around and drive back to their houses.

ahhh, texas.

2/6/2013 12:15:03 PM

If they would just eliminate unsolicited advertisements, that would save a lot of gas, time and trees. Only one or two out of six days do I get anything important. They're just wasting gas and time to drop off junk mail that ends up straight in the recycling bin or the trash.

[Edited on February 6, 2013 at 12:41 PM. Reason : dumb government]

2/6/2013 12:40:36 PM

Junk mail is where they make most of their money

2/6/2013 12:44:17 PM

Which in and of itself should tell you something.

2/6/2013 12:46:37 PM

They could leave stamps the same and increase the rates for bulk mail and flyers, I guess.

2/6/2013 1:10:33 PM

Is there an argument against privatizing the post office?

I'm fairly liberal on these things, single payer healthcare, social security, welfare, EPA, etc. but the post office just seems like a giant unnecessary waist of money.

Why can't elected officials just strip it down, sell it off and place some oversight to see that those in poor rural counties, without internet, will still get service.

It seems like the whole USPS is just subsidizing industries that rely on junk mail, which makes up 80% of my day to day mail and of which 99.9% goes straight into the trash.

2/6/2013 1:36:11 PM

Quote :

"WAIST OF MONEY. "

2/6/2013 1:48:10 PM

I think there's an argument to be made that it's essential to infrastructure at a basic level. Its unlikely but if UPS/Fedex etc ever shutdown or striked or there was a national emergency there would still be a need for basic shipping with resources that might be only available to the government.

That said in this day and age it doesn't need to be the behemoth that it is. Residential delivery should probably only be 2-3 days a week and costs on all services should jump in cost to a more appropriate level.

Additionally, much like has been done with some libraries I think it would make sense to make POs more multifunctional facilities. Say combining social security offices, passport (already done in a lot of places), records office, other daily governmental services etc.

2/6/2013 1:50:54 PM

2/6/2013 2:00:21 PM

As a freelancer, I get paid (mostly) by checks in the mail. I'd definitely notice a once or twice a week mail delivery.

2/6/2013 2:07:30 PM

I get paid by mail too, but I have all my shit sent to my PO Box

90% of what I get mailed to me at home is coupons/junk/bullshit dealsavers

2/6/2013 2:12:27 PM

THANKS OBAMA

2/6/2013 2:50:16 PM

If they stopped cramming my mailbox with junk mail I would be happy if they only delivered mail once a week.

2/6/2013 3:40:02 PM

Figures are showing that USPS is losing $106 a year per deliverable address. ($16b and 151m addresses). I calculated that it costs at least $80 a year per address to deliver mail in my community (3 delivery persons, ~1500 homes, they gotta make about $40k a year plus benefits). If a basic PO Box is $20-25 a year then shouldn't we be paying for curbside delivery that requires the extra manpower? If we switched to every other day depending on community/neighborhood (mwf/tts) we'd cut probably 30% off of the carrier budget. I agree that bulk mailings need to be more expensive, the labor involved just doesn't make sense for the prices most pay.

2/6/2013 3:51:29 PM

No more nudie magazine day

2/6/2013 8:07:12 PM

I work for the USPS, and as mentioned above, the pension system passed through Congress is draining money from the company. Also, yes prices on packages are low (which probably is why package #s have been on the upswing). It's a terrible combination, but problem 1 is a much more significant issue. We sure as hell know that whatever Congress fucks up sure as hell isn't getting fixed anytime soon.

2/6/2013 9:17:29 PM

need MWF delivery only

2/6/2013 9:21:34 PM

what the fuck is mail

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

2/6/2013 10:03:54 PM

Fuck USPS. I shipped a package home to myself from Qatar back in 2010...they absolutely destroyed it. Despite the fact that I paid to insure the package, they wouldn't pay the claim, because I couldn't furnish a receipt for the item or show proof of value for a comparable item, which came from a street vender in Doha--there was no receipt, and certainly nothing comparable on Amazon or whatever.

I have not sent one single thing via Postal Service since then, other than stamped envelopes. Even if FedEx or UPS is more expensive, I always use one of them, no matter the price difference.


Shit, I'm even starting to get pissed at regular mail. For the 2nd time in the last 2-3 months, I got a notice that I had to drive down to the Post Office to pick up a package for insufficient postage. Shit gets processed by a clerk as one type--say, "small envelope"--when, in fact, it's a "small parcel" or something. Going to the post office is fucking annoying, because I can't go there in uniform and they are only open during banker's hours.

2/6/2013 10:13:57 PM

can't go to the post office in uniform?

2/6/2013 10:17:25 PM

Since the Soap Box thread about this has turned into a philosophical argument on the merits of property rights (seriously, that's how bad it sucks) I'll repost what I said here.

USPS is severely handcuffed by the federal government. There's no way they can compete with the major carriers and expect to turn a profit, especially since they already subsidize their deliveries. It's cheaper for FedEx to take a package to a delivery center and then slap some postage on it so USPS can carry it the rest of the way. And that's only one reason why they are fucked. Time to stop pretending like these guys will ever turn a profit again.

I still think its important that we keep the infrastructure though since they deliver to every address. So maybe the commercial carriers can pay an extra tax to keep it afloat since they benefit the most from it.

Also, 46 cents doesn't even begin to cover the cost of having someone deliver a letter across the country.

2/6/2013 10:25:57 PM

^^

2/6/2013 10:38:15 PM

Quote :

"Fuck USPS. I shipped a package home to myself from Qatar back in 2010...they absolutely destroyed it."

Surely you have to consider the strong possibility that the package was damaged long before it ever arrived in the US, right?

2/6/2013 10:43:14 PM

^^yeah, USMC regulation. Can't go anywhere off base in cammies or flight suit (only service uniform, or dress uniform with ribbons--not medals). It's a fucking pain in the ass.

^ No, shipped from a USPS office on a military base in Qatar...but I'm not pissed that they destroyed it--I understand that shit happens. What really pissed me off is that they wouldn't pay the insurance claim.

[Edited on February 6, 2013 at 10:44 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on February 6, 2013 at 10:44 PM. Reason : fuck 'em, I hope they go under]

2/6/2013 10:43:29 PM

Quote :

"Also, 46 cents doesn't even begin to cover the cost of having someone deliver a letter across the country."

Man, I never thought about this before. I wonder how they don't lose trillions of dollars a year since apparently they drive each letter individually across the country.

2/6/2013 10:46:26 PM

Also, 46 cents times the number of letter in the bag doesn't even begin to cover the cost of having a plane deliver bags of letters across the country.

There. Better, Mr. Semantic McRollyeyes?

2/6/2013 10:50:27 PM

[citation needed]

2/6/2013 11:43:58 PM

I'm just going to have to get over waiting for 2 whole days to not go to the Post Office. °_°

2/7/2013 12:32:45 AM