I don't think the problem here is corruption or lack of accountability. The problem is the world changed, and the post office hasn't been able/allowed to change with it. barfo
Peopel would still have to send mail. They may kill 70% of their business, but there would still be business (guess they send millions of pieces of mail a day). USPS and Fedex seem to do well with their prices. My point to all this is if you want dependable and affordable US mail system, expect gov't to have to subsidize it. Can't really compare them to UPS or Fedex that isn't regulated to the manner and degree as USPS. Having said all this, there is a lot of waste in gov't and I suspect USPS is a big player in this . . . they got problems and need to clean it up (no easy task).
on top of the 6 men I write daily who are in jail? Jeesh, you don't want much do you? signed, SlyPokerDog
People wouldn't HAVE to send all mail. If you triple prices but volume drops 70%, you're not really solving anything, are you?
Possibly. If that drop in volume can be accompanied by a reduction in days that mail is delivered. But if a large portion of USPS costs are tied up in pensions and other bureaucratic garbage, then reducing the number of mail days won't help save much.
How so? As I see it, the USPS, UPS & Fed Ex all have unions (so the pay & benefit packages should be somewhat comparable). They all have shipping expenses that involve similar methods that should be comparable. UPS & Fex Ex probably pay more to senior management as they are not government related. All can raise rates in various ways. What is it that sets the USPS so far apart?
Fed Ex is non-union. The drivers are private contractors that work within the company and have to pay off their trucks.
I know long haul drivers with UPS that make up to $110k a year. They call them feeder drivers. They get paid for a 12 hour day regardless of whether they work that 12 or not. Its brutal on family life though, many of them have been divorced several times.
UPS has always done that. The sorters, pre loaders, drivers, feeder drivers... have each days job 'times' in various ways (or at least when I worked there). If they beat the time they get the full time. If they go over, they have to answer for it. As to Fed Ex, I didn't know the drivers were non union. What about the other workers?
Having to charge $0.41 (or whatever it is currently) per letter. And junk mail is much less expensive than first class mail. Those rates are limited by Congress. USPS cannot raise rates as it pleases. barfo
Imagine that. A government controlled entity / program can't be efficient and / or compete with a private model. Shocker. I'm sure it will be different with healthcare though.
But regulations are a good thing. Congress in the same situation would increase their budget and charge it on the republic's credit card.
That's a fairly ridiculous comment. I didn't say they weren't efficient or couldn't compete. I said there are limits on what they are allowed to charge. If UPS/Fedex were allowed to deliver regular mail, it is highly unlikely that they would be able to do so for 40-odd cents. barfo
That isn't the same thing. If the USPS needed to increase the cost of mailing a letter, people could choose to pay those prices or not.
I think it could all be solved if we ban junk mail. I don't know the exact figures, but at least 75% of my mail is unsolicited junk. Imagine how much more efficient the service could be if they didn't have to deal with all that garbage.
Or better yet, let the USPS increase the cost of delivering mail. If people still want to deliver junk mail, they should have to pay for it. Your proposal increases government involvement and regulations. My proposal let's the free market work.
I am in favor of ending the practice of military service counting towards postal seniority, subsidies that make junk mail possible, an overhaul of postal compensation, and a rotating delivery system like garbage services twice a week. The postal system has become very outdated, yet continued to grow.
