The Post Office

[barfo]

I think it's the only restriction.

The problem with the USPS is like any government entity they play with house (tax payer) money and zero accountability. It's just the way our government seems to work.

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

 

[The_Lillard_King]

You just adapt though based on cost. If they started charging a buck a letter, I wouldn't send anything out anymore.

I send out periodic email/fax blasts for events I put together....I stopped doing USPS because of the costs involved for much of it. I have a yearly event still I put together and I sent out 1500 pieces of mail.

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).

 

[SlyPokerDog]

We should all get 4-5 Chinese pen pals and write them weekly.

 

[julius]

We should all get 4-5 Chinese pen pals and write them weekly.

on top of the 6 men I write daily who are in jail? Jeesh, you don't want much do you?

signed,

SlyPokerDog

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

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).

People wouldn't HAVE to send all mail. If you triple prices but volume drops 70%, you're not really solving anything, are you?

 

[blazerboy30]

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.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

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

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?

 

[MickZagger]

Fed Ex is non-union. The drivers are private contractors that work within the company and have to pay off their trucks.

 

[MickZagger]

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.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

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?

 

[barfo]

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?

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

 

[blazerboy30]

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.

 

[Denny Crane]

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.

 

[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.

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

 

[blazerboy30]

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 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.

 

[blazerboy30]

That's a fairly ridiculous comment. I didn't say they weren't efficient or couldn't compete.

Well, you actually did, when you wrote this:

I said there are limits on what they are allowed to charge.

 

[44Thrilla]

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.

 

[blazerboy30]

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.

 

[Charcoal Filtered]

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.

 

[barfo]

Well, you actually did, when you wrote this:

Uh, whatever. I think there is a difference between efficiency and price controls.

barfo

 

[44Thrilla]

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.

that needs to happen, as well.

 

[Denny Crane]

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 was being sarcastic.

 

[mook]

The USPS has a large liability the other carriers don't--they are required by law to deliver to every US citizen the same sized parcel at the same price.

It's probably extremely cost-efficient to have a postal carrier deliver mail to an apartment complex in New York City. 3000 stamps delivered to a single location will cover a lot of overhead. Huge economies of scale.

It's when they have to deliver a single stamped envelope to Rural Route 79 in Bumfuck, Red State, is when they are fucked. They lose shocking amounts of money on every delivery.

UPS and FedEx adjust their rates based on profitability. USPS can do this to a small extent, but for the vast majority of the parcels they handle they are required by law to charge a ridiculously low flat fee.

 

[mook]

My solutions:
1. Allow UPS/Fedex to deliver to mail boxes/po boxes. That's just a retarded, inconvenient, anti-competitive law.
2. Allow USPS to establish separate pricing for rural vs urban vs suburban delivery.
3. Reduce number of days delivered, especially in rural areas.
4. Allow USPS to charge for non-delivery of junk mail. Basically junk mail right now subsidizes all their other mail. The USPS absolutely needs it. So why not allow the end consumer subscribe, for say $9/year or whatever, to a service that ensures you get absolutely no junk mail.

 

[Denny Crane]

Hey mook,

Maybe delivering letters in NYC is much cheaper than the price of the stamp - to cover the cost of delivering mail to some really off the beaten trail rural location.

 

[barfo]

Hey mook,

Maybe delivering letters in NYC is much cheaper than the price of the stamp - to cover the cost of delivering mail to some really off the beaten trail rural location.

Most likely, but clearly it doesn't cover it completely or we wouldn't be having this conversation.

barfo

 

[mook]

Hey mook,

Maybe delivering letters in NYC is much cheaper than the price of the stamp - to cover the cost of delivering mail to some really off the beaten trail rural location.

It probably is. But why? I mean, other than it being a regulation. Why should rural postal delivery be subsidized by urban delivery? A smarter way to run this would be to make the pricing of each reflect the true cost of each.

If you choose to live in rural America, what is so magical about you that allows you to get a cut-rate deal on postal delivery? The current system makes about as much sense as if the government subsidized gas prices in rural areas and charged an added tax in urban areas. You know, because people in rural areas have to drive farther, so government (and people living in cities) should subsidize that. It's absurd.

If you wish to enjoy the benefit of rural living, you (and not somebody living in NYC) should pay the price for it.

 

[Denny Crane]

Most likely, but clearly it doesn't cover it completely or we wouldn't be having this conversation.

barfo

They shouldn't offer services they can't afford to subsidize.

 

[Denny Crane]

It probably is. But why? I mean, other than it being a regulation. Why should rural postal delivery be subsidized by urban delivery? A smarter way to run this would be to make the pricing of each reflect the true cost of each.

If you choose to live in rural America, what is so magical about you that allows you to get a cut-rate deal on postal delivery? The current system makes about as much sense as if the government subsidized gas prices in rural areas and charged an added tax in urban areas. You know, because people in rural areas have to drive farther, so government (and people living in cities) should subsidize that. It's absurd.

If you wish to enjoy the benefit of rural living, you (and not somebody living in NYC) should pay the price for it.

Charging different rates or not providing equal level of service to anyone is a violation of the 5th amendment (due process clause).

 

[MickZagger]

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?

The inside workers at Fed-Ex are non-union, as well.

As for UPS, the part timers are gauranteed 3.5 and full-time gauranteed 8. But, they ALWAYS go over. Most package car drivers work 10 hour days on a regular basis and up to 12 hours during peak season. I've been with UPS over 5 years, its a great company to work for with everything it has to offer. I'm about a year out from being a package car driver.