Republican Congress Poised To Destroy U.S. Postal Service
[su_right_ad]The [/su_right_ad]U.S. Postal service may wind up in the hands of a Senator who wants to bust the postal union and privatize mail service.
In January, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is slated to take over as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the federal workforce and the entire Postal Service. Johnson has said that the Postal Service should go through a bankruptcy process that would result in a downsized, private corporation that would lose the benefits of governmental oversight and regulation. It could also allow the revised entity to terminate or substantially modify its contracts, including its collective bargaining agreements with various postal unions.
Last year, Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) introduced the Postal Reform Act of 2014 which would restructure the needless requirement that the agency pre-fund 75 years’ worth of employee health benefits, a demand no other businesses or institutions face. The bill would also allow for a gradual end to Saturday mail service if financially necessary, as well as the eventual termination of door-to-door service, but would not mandate either of these steps.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, who is set to retire early next year, has said the bipartisan legislation would be best for the Postal Service, but postal unions and commercial mailers oppose many features of the legislation. While the unions support some of the core principals, including changes to the pre-funded mandate, they say a switch to a five-day delivery would eliminate tens of thousands of jobs. At the same time, mass mailers say the Carper/Coburn bill would continue higher postal rates which would stifle business, causing the volume of mail to decline further.
Postal unions and commercial mailers came together to offer compromise legislation and an alternative to the Carper/Coburn bill. Their proposal would keep six-day delivery and would guarantee the rollback of the recent 4.3 percent price increase, replacing it with smaller and more gradual increases over the next few years.[su_csky_ad]
mea_mark November 19th, 2014 at 2:06 pm
That veto pen sure is going to get a work out in the next two years.
raincheck November 20th, 2014 at 7:25 am
I sure hope your right… It’s sad when all you have to look forward to is the ‘Veto’ because, republicans will NOT cooperate, on ANYTHING! I can’t help but wonder what kinds of changes we can look forward to in the Senate, after the ‘tortoise’ takes control.
tracey marie November 19th, 2014 at 2:28 pm
why does everything the repubs do benefit private corporations and a handful of people over the American public
Candide Thirtythree November 20th, 2014 at 1:17 pm
Because they are evil.
John Henry November 19th, 2014 at 2:40 pm
I really do not like the massive BBM (Junk Mail) I receive daily. But shutting down the USPS would be like cutting a vein in the arm of the US.
Private Corporations run on profit. When it is not profitable to deliver you mail, it will not come. The poor, The elderly, and the Rural will be cut out from one of the things that connect us a society.
mea_mark November 19th, 2014 at 2:49 pm
What is funny is that it will hurt the stupid rural redneck republicans the most and they voted these fools into office. Will the idiots ever learn to quit voting against their own interests?
Budda November 19th, 2014 at 2:57 pm
Exactly. It can’t be profitable to deliver to Nowhere Wyoming or Bellybutton, Texas…to the one or two persons living there.
Foundryman November 20th, 2014 at 10:43 am
Bellybutton, Tx??.. That’s up there by Innie, OK ain’t it??
John Henry November 19th, 2014 at 3:07 pm
I’m still baffled by that one myself. I often wonder if I’m in the matrix. I start looking for red and blue pills.
fahvel November 19th, 2014 at 5:16 pm
no
raincheck November 20th, 2014 at 8:05 am
Last night I saw Rachel Maddow, talking about, the top 5 most popular things, the Americans want to see passed thru Congress… The republicans (elected officials) are against ALL 5 things. Immigration, equal pay, raising minimum wage, etc….. Sooooo what did the voters do? They voted republican!!! The hate must be so heavy, (R) voters, voted against their own interests (a) Because of the hatred (b) because of ignorance (c) because they’re being lied to by the propaganda machine (Fox etc.) (d) outside money (e) fear (f) all of the above
Wayout November 19th, 2014 at 2:51 pm
The Postal Service is already destroyed. I mailed a letter on the 4th of this month from here in Florida to Pennsylvania and according to the bank they haven’t received it yet. It offers poor service and loses millions yearly, it is time to kill this puppy once and for all.
OldLefty November 19th, 2014 at 2:53 pm
No one else has had that experience.
They offer the best service at the lowest price and is the only entity who has to pay pensions 70 years in advance.,
UPS AND Fed Ex both deliver to the postal service, as it is not profitable for them to go to far out.
This is how we become a third world country.
Larry Schmitt November 19th, 2014 at 3:06 pm
The postal service handled 158 billion pieces of mail last year, and a fraction of one per cent was mishandled. Unfortunately, with a number that large, a fraction of one per cent still amounts to millions of pieces misspent. I think they do an excellent job, and their services are a bargain. You can’t handle as much mail as they do without making some mistakes. How many packages do UPS and FedEx lose or misroute each year? And they are both more expensive than USPS.
Abby Normal November 19th, 2014 at 4:35 pm
And replace it with what? Is some private corporation going to have a full-service post office in every small town in America like the USPS does? I’ve never had any problem with USPS. It provides a great service at a fair price. I much prefer USPS Priority Mail shipping for packages over UPS and FedEx. I have to drive 20 miles to ship a package UPS. Or I can go right up the street to ship a USPS Priority Mail package. UPS has left my packages at someone else’s house, they’ve left other people’s packages at my house, their drivers have been caught on camera drop-kicking packages.
The Republicans want to privatize everything. I’d like to privatize the Republican party and sell it to Kim Jong Un.
fahvel November 19th, 2014 at 5:15 pm
oh cmon wahoo – they knew it was your letter and decided to screw you personally because of your weird ideas and politics and also for living in florida.
whatthe46 November 19th, 2014 at 7:35 pm
LOL
Obewon November 20th, 2014 at 12:09 am
“According to the bank” that’s probably hustling you with late fees and lost interest for not using low-cost USPS 2-day, overnight, or free Adobe EchoSign® electronic signature, email, e-fax, electronic deposit & ATM’s.
How much does it cost you to send in your Glenn Beck Gold Coins bought at $1,700/oz now selling off at $1,177 minus buy/sell transaction “fees”?
Did you lose more than the Obama Admin saved RWNJ’s on gas price declines from GWB’s 2008 $5+/gal, wholesaling today at $2.03/gal? ‘Gas has dropped every day for 53 days in a row now’-Fox News Radio 11/19/14.
arc99 November 20th, 2014 at 11:36 am
assuming your story is true, which I doubt and if is true, it is more likely a bank error than a post office error. when was the last time your credit card bill or electricity bill was not delivered?
contrary to what right wingers would have us believe, private corporations are no more reliable than the government.
it is time to kill idiotic ideas like yours which would have us believe that corporations are the answer. people deserve to have post office service, regardless of whether or not the service is profitable.
there is no requirement in article 1 section 8 of the Constitution for the postal service to be profitable.
Pistol-Packing AKA "Susie" November 19th, 2014 at 3:04 pm
An interesting article about the 2006 mandate and some other goodies.Its from 2011, but still make an interesting read.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/five-things/the-u-s-postal-service/11433/
OldLefty November 19th, 2014 at 3:13 pm
The poorest county in the US is Owsley County, Ky
The nearest UPS drop-box is 17 miles away, the nearest FedEx office is 34
miles away.
Pistol-Packing AKA "Susie" November 19th, 2014 at 3:15 pm
Better hope the car gets good gas mileage or that just became a much more expensive letter/package to mail… =(
OldLefty November 19th, 2014 at 3:18 pm
As Joni Mitchell said, “Don’t it always seem to go, That you don’t know what you’ve got til its gone”
Pistol-Packing AKA "Susie" November 19th, 2014 at 3:34 pm
True that….
R.J. Carter November 19th, 2014 at 4:21 pm
They may have to drive even further if they want timely delivery.
When I was working in North Carolina, I lived “technically” in Cameron. The nearest PO was in Olivia. I started getting dunning notices on my car payments, etc, even though I knew I’d sent payments on time.
Turns out the smaller post offices don’t send their mail out (or didn’t then) until they had collected a hundred pounds of mail — which could take some time in a small town.
OldLefty November 19th, 2014 at 4:25 pm
It’s much worse for private carriers.
Meanwhile we send mail through the USPS to India, Australia and the Gulf, always on time, and cheap.
truthseeker2436577@yahoo.com November 19th, 2014 at 4:25 pm
The U.S. postal service deserves defense. USPS has mailed items to so many Americans. The USPS has even facilitated UPS on many occasions as a means to better deliver packages to locations. Extremists love the privatization of everything. I am glad that many people are standing up for the U.S. Postal Service (which is made up of dedicated hard workers).
Foundryman November 19th, 2014 at 8:41 pm
If anyone thinks a private company is going to send someone out to your front door everyday to pick up a letter for .52 cents each, and while there drop off others for free, they are much more than delusional.
fancypants November 19th, 2014 at 11:02 pm
much like your public service pension companies (who are more then 200 billion in pension debt ) in my state and are talking about a federal bail out. The postal service is in the same boat This crap is starting to look like the AIG bailout over and over again.
May I suggest instead of mocking a possible solution ( even if it comes from the gop ) try and figure out how you are going to bail out the usps debts and still not rob peter to pay paul ?
Gindy51 November 20th, 2014 at 7:56 am
The only reason they are in debt was the 2006 GOP congress made them pre-fund pensions and health care for 75 years within a 10 year period. This move was designed to break up the postal service so they could sell it to the likes of UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.
A simple Google search will tell you all you need to know.
http://business.time.com/2013/02/07/how-healthcare-expenses-cost-us-saturday-postal-delivery/
http://deliveringforamerica.com/infographic-the-truth-about-postal-finances/
By the way, in rural USA the UPS dumps off packages at the USPS for them to deliver…
fancypants November 21st, 2014 at 11:04 am
UPS filed for chapter 9 ( I think ) bankruptcy a couple of years ago. I seriously doubt whoever gave you this info is credible DHL was bought by UPS about 2 years prior of their bankruptcy and FED-EX is barely making a profit because their drivers are total lunatics.
in a nut shell the USPS is on their own…
raincheck November 20th, 2014 at 8:43 am
My guess is, they had a solution before the problem occurred (was created)
fancypants November 21st, 2014 at 11:21 am
I can remember when the first class stamp was 5 cents. If you do the math over the years ? My guess is the USPS has been mismanaged with some of the top brass retiring with huge amounts of cash in their pockets
Candide Thirtythree November 20th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Bush and his cronies did this to kill the post office, they waited until after Christmas break started and after hours to pass it.
They have been waiting for their Fed-Ex stock to explode ever since but they underestimated just how long it would take to kill the post office which is and has been in great shape all along except for the part about republicans purposely laying land mines.