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Your Take: Is Five Days of Mail Delivery OK?
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Did you know that that the United States Postal Service is slated to lose $6 billion or more this year? It lost $2.8 billion last year.
With all the outrage over lending billions to financial institutions, you’d think more people would be fired up about running an operation that lost $2.8 billion last year and could lose $6 billion this year. No one is sending packages on credit for people without jobs. There aren’t multi-million dollar bonuses for anyone at the post office. It’s just a business that is spending more than it earns because mail volume is dropping.
In reading more about it, some people argue that delivery days is a red herring and that the USPS can save money in other areas. While I can appreciate that to a degree, sometimes it comes down to an argument of “less filling” or “great taste.” The reality is that the post office is losing money and we’re paying for it, with taxes and with higher postage stamp prices, and they need to stop arguing and start fixing.
I am perfectly fine with getting mail five days a week.
What do you think?
(Photo by icanchangethisright)
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If this will cut down on all the junk mail, I think it would be great.
Same here. They could go to 3 days a week for me and I’d barely notice the change.
I’d like to see one day a week to residential addresses and four days a week to businesses.
As far as junk mail, stop giving them bulk rates! Make them pay the same as everyone else. That should raise some revenue as well as cut down on the amount of junk that is sent.
I think the best solution is to let the free market fix the USPS.
Given the fact that the USPS is a monopoly and can’t achieve, let alone maintain, profitability is ridiculous.
I say let UPS, FedEx and others have a shot at first class mail delivery and let the winner(s) emerge victorious. If the USPS can get their act together to compete with private entities, then I’m all for it.
While 5 or even 3 day/week mail delivery would be fine with me, I think that would be equivalent to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
I think the USPS is a sensible natural monopoly. Having 3 different services trying to hit every home in the US every day is going to cost 3 times as much. The USPS is well-run, and until recently was the only government agency that booked a profit.
They do need help, because electronic correspondence (email, online statements, bill pay) are cutting their volume. I would be fine if they doubled their rates. Sending a letter by FedEx from NY to Cali would cost 20 bucks (”Express Saver” service), but 44 cents with USPS.
There are so many flaws in this post I’m having trouble knowing where to begin. I guess line by line with have to do.
“I think the USPS is a sensible natural monopoly.”
I think you are mistaken on the definition of a “natural monopoly.” The USPS is a government-granted monopoly. It’s impossible to know if 1st class postal service would result in a natural monopoly because competition is outlawed.
“Having 3 different services trying to hit every home in the US every day is going to cost 3 times as much.”
Unless a natural monopoly does exist, experiencing increasing prices in a competitive environment seems to fly in the face of real world experience. If 3 different services can successfully compete, there was never a natural to begin with. And if a natural monopoly exists, who’s to say that the USPS wouldn’t be the one to disappear?
“The USPS is well-run, and until recently was the only government agency that booked a profit.”
In the midst of the worst economic downturn we’ve seen in over half a century, the USPS has done absolutely nothing to adjust, resulting in huge losses. I wouldn’t consider that well run. Additionally, I have always believed that the government is funneling money to the USPS to give it the perception of profitability.
“They do need help, because electronic correspondence…are cutting their volume.”
Only the government would assume that increasing prices and keeping service supply unchanged would be the logical response to decreased demand.
“I would be fine if they doubled their rates.”
I find it ironic that earlier, you were worried about rates tripling with added competition; but here, you are very open to rates being doubled. Keep in mind that the 1st class postage has increased 33% in the past 8 years and maintained an annual increase of 4.8% for the past half century, far outpacing inflation.
“Sending a letter by FedEx from NY to Cali would cost 20 bucks…but 44 cents with USPS.”
There’s no possible way to know this considering that it’s illegal for FedEx to deliver 1st class mail. But let’s assume you are correct. Doesn’t this seem odd? FedEx’s costs would really be 45x that of the USPS?
If true, why does it cost a similar amount to send packages via USPS vs other carriers? Considering postal carriers are already going to these locations, it should cost USPS only a fraction of the amount.
A natural monopoly is one where economies of scale make a single provider the most efficient. Many things are impossible to know, but we theorize anyway. Irony is not the same as contradiction. I quoted a the price to send a letter at fedex.com. The three services don’t successfully compete, as you point out later. You believe the government is funneling money to the USPS, but you have no evidence. The services do compete directly in package delivery, that is why their prices are similar. Your post fails.
That is correct. “A natural monopoly is one where economies of scale make a single provider the most efficient.” It seems like a stretch to assume that a natural monopoly exists in 1st class mail service given that the closest comparisons we have, packages and expedited delivery, fail this test. But even should a natural monopoly be most efficient, there is no evidence to suggest that USPS should be the provider.
Your comparison of a letter sent via USPS vs. FedEx compares apples and oranges. Private carriers are severely inhibited from exploiting economies of scale in 1st class mail delivery due to the legal barriers set up by the government. These barriers result in artificially high costs.
You actually had me doubting myself about the government’s use of tax dollars for USPS, and then I looked at USPS’s annual reports going back to 2000. “Capital contributions of the U.S. government” have been $3.034 billion annually since 2000 (as far back as I researched). Despite this fact, the annual report states that USPS has run a deficit of $4.7 billion since its 1971 reorganization. This might not sound like much given the money being thrown around in the current economic crisis, but things are only getting worse.
From the Government Accounting Office:
“USPS is facing a deteriorating financial situation in which it does not expect to cover its expenses and financial obligations in fiscal years 2009 and 2010. This year, USPS expects to increase its year-end debt to $10.2 billion and incur a cash shortfall of about $1 billion…”
Keep in mind that this $1 billion assumed unspecified “savings” of $5.9 billion that have not been (and may never be) realized. In other words, the government will have given USPS more than $30 billion during this decade alone and will likely give it another $11-17 billion to fund its deficit for 2009. And this doesn’t even address 2010 and beyond. The other option is USPS follows California’s example and sells bonds, in affect just pushing the debt off to the future and tacking on interest in the meantime.
This is (and has been) a bailout of monumental proportions and is on par with some of the larger bank bailouts. Perhaps those $0.44 stamps are costing us taxpayers more than we think.
“Sending a letter by FedEx from NY to Cali would cost 20 bucks (”Express Saver” service), but 44 cents with USPS.”
Yeah, but it would get there in 2 days with FedEx. With USPS, I’d be rolling the dice to see if it might potentially make it there in a week, or at all.
And the USPS isn’t universally well-run. Chicago’s run horrendously. I worked as an administrative assistant and we sent out invitations to a party in 2002. I was still getting people who were calling me who *just* got their invitation in 2007, and still getting returned invites. I’d be lucky if things that I mailed my mother in Minneapolis got through in two weeks.
They did a big “clean-up” a couple years back and its better, but I still don’t mail anything I’m certain needs to be at a spot at a certain time with the USPS. I’d rather pay more and go for FedEx/UPS.
So you’re ok with so many loosing their jobs???
Going to 5 days will leave many without work and we have enough unemployment already!! Keep 6 days or some other delivery service will take that day and USPS will be in bigger trouble.
The USPS is not a jobs program. Employing lots of people to do something stupid and inefficient is not a good idea.
Welcome to the real world. People lose their jobs every day when their company can’t turn a profit. Why should USPS be a any different? Here are some interesting unemployment statistics:
* At the end of June there were about 2.5 million job openings nationwide;
* During June there were 3.8 million new hires;
* 1.8 million people quit their jobs (seasonally adjusted);
* There were 2.5 million involuntary separations.
In other words, approximately 2.5 million people were laid off in June (not including those that had their hours cut back). Where were your calls for a bailout for these companies?
Yes, net jobs are still being lost, but the great thing about the real world is that new jobs are being created every day to replace unproductive ones. I can only imagine how awful our economy/society would look if we relied on the government to bailout every unproductive job.
I’d be fine with zero…just email everything and leave the packages to UPS/FedEx. I’m sure that wouldn’t work for my grandparents, but it would for me.
I agree with Walt that zero mail delivery days would be the best although I would say change everyone over to a post-office box and eliminate the delivery cost. You could still send someone a letter, they’d just have to go to the post-office to pick it up. You could even set up your post-office box such that you got an email/text message/twitter/facebook/whatever telling you that you had something waiting for you.
My concern is will the post office still be open on Saturday. For someone that works M-F, Saturday is the only day I have available when I do need to ship something using USPS.
No Bills on Saturday!
Five is Fine. Just think – no bills on Saturday, what a great concept that would permit enjoying the weekend just a little bit more.
I also like the idea of making the bulk mailers pay the first class rate.
I’m sure I’m the only one … but I think the cost of first class postage is a steal. You can send something across the country for less than the cost of a candy bar.
I’d be fine with 5 days of delivery I like the idea of dropping Wedneday and retaining Saturday better, but dropping Saturday would be fine, too.
Hear hear! It seems like it would be more inconvenient to have two consecutive days of no mail delivery (or, more importantly, no mail pickup than if we dropped Wednesday. Then we would have two days of processing, a day off, three days on…
Probably not as convenient for the mail workers. But I think a day off in the middle of the week is actually sort of nice – you can actually go to the DMV and other places that have inconvenient days/hours!
Keep the Post Offices open on Saturdays, but stop mail delivery. I could do with delivery once a week (much like trash pickup, where most of my mail goes anyways).
That’s a pretty novel idea, it shuts down the argument that people who work the 9-to-5 can’t get to the post office in time while saving on some expenses. Though I am starting to agree with Russ, are we simply maintaining a dying enterprise?
Better yet, have the garbage man deliver your mail – he could leave it in the garbage can.
After all, the garbage truck starts the day empty – what a waste of space!
(I’m JOKING, postal employees)
On a somewhat related note (inspired by this post)…
Why do we bother hiring census workers? If postal workers are federal employees who are already going to the homes of pretty much everyone in the country on a daily basis, let’s make it a part of their job every 10 years to do the census along their route.
I bet you union rules or something along those lines would prevent this, it would also be tricky to find the time to train them on what to do… but not a bad thought.
Mail carriers make $5-10 more per hour than census workers. Paying them to do the census would cost more.
Not if they’re ALREADY GOING DOOR TO DOOR EVERY DAY. It makes perfect sense. Rign doorbell. Hand over mail. Ask a few questions. Move on to next house. Done.
Let’s just shut it down. Only the gooferment could have a monopoly and NOT make a profit.
I thought they did this already….come on government…make a move already.
5 days a week sounds good to me.
Hopefully, folks will take into account when their mailed checks to businesses / credit card companies will arrive, or they might get dinged.
Robert: From what I’ve heard, they’ve been talking about dropping Tuesday service, not Saturday.
I don’t see what the big deal is, really.
We get mail 5 days a week here in Canada, and our society has not imploded yet.
Many post offices remain open on Saturdays (some standalone ones don’t, but any that are inside store do. Here in Ontario at least, many Shopper’s Drugmart or small convenience stores have a Post Office booth inside the store), but mail delivery only happens Monday to Friday.
People! We need at least 5 days a week. I don’t want to have to wait for Netflix!
I’d be fine with 5 days a week. Aside from junk mail, magazines, the occasional card, and the rare package one less day of mail will not make much of a difference. As long as I can get to the post office on Saturdays, that satisfies all my needs.
A five day delivery schedule is fine for John Q Public but I think it is more about business users of USPS. They will object because many companies are open 6 or 7 days a week and they want(or need) their mail delivered promptly. I am also sure that mailings are down because of communications technology( interactive Internet, e-mail, texting, twittering etc.) Maybe if it doesn’t already exist there should be a consumer postal rate and a commercial rate. Based on volume I would think that we as consumers are paying proportionately more for the higher commercial volume of mail. The counter point is that our postal rates would be even higher if it wasn’t for the volume of commerial mailings. I think we could chase our tail on that argument all day long. As in any business if you buy in bulk or volume you usually get a discount and I beleive the bulk discount rate that USPS uses needs to be addressed. For example, I sometimes get 2 or 3 unsolicited mail order catalogs a day. I am subsidizing the bulk rate for all of the junk mail received. These companies get the economic benefit and we get the bill via higher 1st class postage rates. I say that these large retail and mail order businesses are spending $ billions on advertising each year which we as consumers pay for when we buy their product so why don’t we level out the playing field and let them spend $6 billion more to mail their solicitations. Again it’s another tail chasing exercise and I think in the end this will all be swept under the carpet by the pressure of Big Business and Washington Lobbyist. I think until we change how Washington works we will all die of exhaustion just chasing our tail. There are 2 things that we say are certain in our lives, death and taxes. Maybe before we all die we should take every business tax return and add a block that says that X% of your taxes will be used to support the annual USPS deficit. From a consumer’s perspective the better fix would be to have the IRS disallow bulk rate discount advertising expenses as a deductionsince the government is already gving them the discount) or better yet lets add a tax surcharge. Ooooooh… the tail just gets longer and longer. I am out of breath. Thank you for listening.
I hadn’t thought about businesses that remain open 6 or 7 days a week. That’s a good point. Businesses in Canada that are open 6 or 7 days a week do just fine with getting mail for only 5 of those days, but I agree that taking away a service is hard to adapt to than never offering it in the first place.
I suspect that few businesses use USPS for anything other than 1st class mail. In my experience, if a business needs something delivered promptly, they would rather use FedEx, UPS, or some other private carrier.
The counter argument to to your point on commercial mailings is that USPS is going door-to-door in either case, so commercial mailings are actually keeping the price of regular 1st class mail lower. It’s hard to say which is the case. I guess it depends on sorting costs. But the marginal cost of actually delivering another piece of mail is almost zero.
Honestly, I’d be fine with four days a week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. (And for me, personally, Saturday’s optional. I know that for a lot of people, Saturday is the best day to go to the P.O., though.)
Even though no one person’s experience is statistically significant, at least 80% of the mail I get (and I don’t get a lot, thanks to having registered with the Mail Preference Service) is stuff that I don’t want and don’t look at, other than to confirm that there’s no personal information on it that shouldn’t be.
I appreciate the postal service for what it is and what it was, but technology and times are changing, and USPS needs to change with it.
Keep the business delivery at the 5-6 day level, but move the residential delivery to 1 day a week.
This might not be cost effective because since many mail carriers carry mail to both residential and business buildings, they’d still be wasting gas driving every day, moreso since the trucks are gonna be moving half-full.
The goal is to consolidate it so that we have as few trucks and drivers out there, and that they’re hitting as many targets as possible when they’re out.
I’d be fine with mail delivery once or twice a week, or mail delivery to a central box in my neighborhood, no more than 2-3 blocks away, where I could pick it up. Some rural areas and gated communities already have things like this.
I can go to 3 or 4 times a week mail delivery. Like most people stated, most of the mail received is junk. Most people bank and pay bills online. The USPS needs to change with the times.
I think the biggest cost of the USPS is gas. Driving every street every day of the week costs a lot. I don’t like the idea of them closing shop one day a week. If they do shut doors one day a week it should be Saturday and just be open on the business week.
My suggestion is to limit delivery to 3 days a week. Driven delivery on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only. Keep the USPS locations open Monday – Saturday. This would allow businesses to get the mail form their PO Box (most have them) every day. People that care to get mail daily can also get a PO Box.
Five days would be fine. One less day of junk mail to put in the recycle bucket.
Also, I agree with Kosmo, for 44 cents I can send a letter/card 2000 miles away to the CA. And for twice that much I can send a letter/card overseas to my cousin in England. It’s a bargain compared to many other countries.
The problem with the USPS is not whether it’s 5 days or 6 days. It’s the fact that it’s heavily government regulated.
There are near useless buildings that can’t be shutdown, $100k mailman who’ve worked there for decades and do nothing more than sort mail. It’s these things that add up. Unless the government finally free up its control, USPS can only do so much with their hands tied behind their back.
I used to live in an apartment complex that had a tennis court in the back. After living there a short time, I noticed that the mailwoman would sit in her truck for hours on end hidden behind the tennis court doing nothing most days. I’m hard pressed to believe that this doesn’t happen everywhere.
While every mail-person I’ve met have been courteous and “seemed hard working”, I can’t imagine that what you’ve experience happens EVERYWHERE when everyone knows that whatever they do, they make a good living.
When it doesn’t matter, of course people will become lazy.
I agree, but I believe the USPS should compete in the marketplace just like every other business. I don’t think they would remain in business long if they had to rely on a profit rather than the government. The thought of loosing $6 Billion because it is government run is just maddening. But once government takes control of something, it costs more then it should and there is no hope for change. Watch out health care.
Coincidentally, my wife and I were having this discussion yesterday. I think that daily mail delivery is nothing more than a convenience that we’ve all become accustomed to. My wife thinks 5 days per week is reasonable. I like the idea of 3 days per week with the option to pay more to have something specially delivered on an off day. This would allow mail to build up on the off days and decrease the cost of actual delivery.
Of course, I simply don’t like the idea of flat rates. 99% of the mail I send is sent to/from non-remote locations. Yet those people who live in remote locations, send mail for the same price. In other words, I subsidize their mail service.
While reducing delivery days isn’t unreasonable, I think the expectation that mail make money isn’t totally reasonable. Mail is public infrastructure, and so it is not entirely a business. Running it at a loss may be in the public interest.
“The reality is that the post office is losing money and we’re paying for it, with taxes and with higher postage stamp prices, and they need to stop arguing and start fixing.”
This is silly. Yes, you’re paying the postal system’s loss through your taxes. But you are not paying for it through higher stamp costs. Indeed, they’re losing money precisely because stamp costs are not high enough. Decide which way you prefer to pay for it. (I almost always like to pay for stuff like this through my taxes since that means a disproportional amount is paid by people with more money than me)
There is no courier company which is cost competitive with a stamp, so they can substantially raise prices before demand gets syphoned off to their competitors. (Though, of course there will be some demand destruction as people and businesses transmit more documents electronically)
I’d be fine with 4-5 day delivery for residential addresses. Might be best to keep 6 day delivery for business.
I don’t think theres a magic bullet to ‘fix’ the USPS. Its a $75B operation with nearly 700k employees. Mailmen make like $40-50k. Transportation is less than 10% of the USPS budget.
One of the biggest expenses for the USPS is retiree costs. Their reitree health benefits are over $7B. If they could move that obligation into a private trust then that would help their balance sheet moving forward. Its just like the problem the US automakers had. Big US entity that has existed for a long time and has a large obligation to a large retiree population.
5 days a week would be fine with me. I access & pay all personal bills online except one (our water dept charges $2 for online payment so I mail a check). I can wait for everything else.
As far as business, we now email all invoices, pay some bills online and receive most payments by credit card or wire transfer. For the few who insist on paying by check we provide a FedEx # to ship the check.
Only problem would be making sure to mail business payments in time to meet due dates for things that we can’t pay online.
I think 5 days a week is adequate service. I don’t like working weekends so I don’t have a problem with that at all. The only problem I have with my local post office is the uncaring attitude of the counter personnel. It seems there are always long lines and the people there will take their breaks even if the line is out the door. It’s so frustrating to be the next in line and to see a postal counter person look over the crowd and then walk away to take a break; and it obvious that is just what they are about to do. The problem stems from too few counter people for a large post office. You would think that there would be people cross trained to do more than one job. You can hear the laughter and talking of numerous workers behind that large screen that separates the front counter from the back of the post office. Other than that, I believe our USPS does a great job.
The Post Office needs to restructure just like most companies have done in order to survive. Do they need as many workers now as before with business way down due to email and the recession? Why do we have so rural post offices? We have 2 in my town when one would be adequate.
Why is it illegal for anyone else to offer 1st class mail service? Maybe the govt should just get out of the postal business. By the way its kind of scary that the same folks who are losing their shirt in the postal business may soon be charged with running our healthcare. According to the Prez it will be done at a savings to the taxpayers!
I used to work for the post office so I can say with some degree of confidence that there are dozens of factors that make the business unprofitable. For one, their payroll is huge. Don’t get me wrong, I personally am pro-union, but the amount of money some positions get paid is out of control. The carriers deserve every penny because they really are out there in rain sleet and snow, and I cant tell you how many times I was chased by dogs, no joke. But then you have clerks who get paid 2.5 to 3 times the national average for similar positions. What is minimum wage for most places gets paid 15- 20 per hour at USPS.
The routes themselves are perhaps the most inefficient of all. I had a route that was supposed to take 7 hours and I finished it in 4 every day as did many of my co-workers. Eliminating routes would reduce payroll and vehicle costs dramatically. One more note, in my opinion they have always undercharged for mail service and would do well to double the price for first class mail. What many people don’t realize is that are not a government agency at all but rather a privately run government SUBSIDIZED business. The money they receive from the federal government is considered a loan an d must be paid back. The difference is that the line of credit will not dry up if not paid.
well jared, you got your wish. This week the post office implemented the new routes, reorganizing them and doing away with many of them. It will work as long as the mail volume never goes up. Christmas will be interesting this year. However, all the TEs are still working 6 days per week. We have to take swings off the regular routes so that we can all get off the street by 6 or 7pm. I am unsure how this reorganization will save us in the long run. Looks good on paper, but in our offices (5 in this city) we still work overtime to get the mail out. We are way under staffed.
Yeah, I think I could handle mail only 5 days a week. I hope that would cut down on the mass amount of junk mail that I receive.
Leaving it up to the private sector could be a great solution…however the cost of mail would increase and the volume would decrease further.
I wonder if this would put a strain on small businesses who may depend on USPS?
I’m pro-losing a day. I personally couldn’t care less which day delivery stops for residential-it’s all junk or bills anyhow, and I pay all bills online. Perhaps they could allow for 6 days to commercial buildings, or, deliver for 5 days but let the business choose if they lose Sat or a weekday with the additional option of paying a fee to have full 6-day delivery.
That said, I think it is very important to either keep the PO open for hours on Saturday, or mandate that every PO has evening hours (think until 9 or 10 at night) twice a week. (because inevitably there would be many complaints about the one night not working for people)
What really annoys me though is that the PO down the block from my office closes for lunch, which means if I do need to send something during the week, and I try to do so on my lunch break, I have to drive to the next town and scarf down fast food in my car while driving in order to get back to work on time.
They generally have two people in the close office – I don’t understand why they can’t stagger lunch breaks.
Or, couldn’t we spend some of this bailout money on electric fleets? I can’t imagine those trucks are very efficient.
Since I’m on disability and the EDD doesn’t do direct deposit, I need them to deliver at least five days a week to prevent lag time for my checks. Too bad those who count on something like that would suffer the most.
You should ask your state legislator to introduce legislation to fix this. Direct deposit is not only more convenient for the recipient, it’s cheaper for taxpayers.
@Dilbert69 – Well good luck with that. Gov. Schwarzenegger should have implemented something like that before cutting government employee’s work hours. Now everything is twice as slow then it was before.
I said you should do it. I don’t really care enough.
Also, the governor probably can’t do something like that. I would suspect it would require legislation.
Finally, I doubt that direct deposit of benefit checks would save nearly as much money as cutting state employees’ work hours, but I agree with you that it should have been done first.
I meant, I doubt I have that much power to make that kind of change when I said “good luck with that”
Companies and the government often put items in the mail to arrive on a certain date. When those dates fall on Sunday don’t they usually adjust to arrive a day earlier? You might not have a problem if they do the same here.
They cut check on certain days of the week but there’s no telling when it will actually arrive if there are delays with the post office.
Carla – I’m sure one day delay in getting your check won’t be the end of the world
The reason the post office is running a deficit is that recent legislation requires the P.O. to fully fund the pension plans. BUT WAIT, why do they have pension plans when the average American worker has to fund their own retirement plan(if they are lucky enough to have one)?
I don’t understand why tax dollars are used to fund a better lifestyle than the average American has.
Like many governmental and quasi-governmental organizations (teachers, firemen, police etc), they have extra perks to offset the lower-than-market salaries that are paid. Take that away and they won’t be able to hire people.
I don’t know where you live, but where I live, starting salaries for police officers are > $70K annually. Even without the excellent benefits, this would be a very, very high salary for a job that does not require experience or a college education.
The fundamental problem with the post office is the same problem that all government agencies suffer from; the cost of labor. Nearly all post office jobs could be performed by morons. Pay and benefits should reflect that.
Count me as one that would be fine with less than six days of service. I would be cool with three days a week. I can see where some people need Saturday service. You can always cut out Wednesday service. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday would suit me fine as well.
For those complaining about the pension plans and the 100K/yr employees who don’t do much of anything, you have the unions to blame for this, not the government. This is why I don’t like unions anymore. They had their time, but these days, the unions basically extort money from the companies.
This brings up an interesting point. Why are unions so pervasive and powerful in sectors of the economy where government is highly involved? Could it be a mutual beneficial relationship? Unions support politicians who will give preferential treatment to unions and increases union power. In return, these politicians get more “donations” from the unions and get re-elected.
Lower the cost…..
Act like a business…..
Make USPS profitable…..
Compete with the rest of the shippers…..
Be accountable……
Don’t act like a govt organization……
TWA, Circuit City etc went extinct with such a management style and P&L…..Why does USPS survive?
Go 4 days if you have to…..If mail is critical, send it via Express Delivery. Rest, get by email!
KKP
Nothing like a post office topic to create a comment storm
And yes, I would be perfectly fine with five days.
I think five days mail delivery is a good idea. Technology has changed tremendously, and there are many more options for communications.
DUUUUUUUUH!
Five days is fine, but do your homework before you post. USPS is not a government organization and is not funded by taxes. I’m no fan of the Post Office; however, I do believe that hack bloggers should be educated before they publish their opinions.
Micehelle,
Your response isn’t entirely correct, either. The Postal Service is an “independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States.” The president appoints the Postmaster General. So, technically, it IS a government organization, albeit an independent one, with Executive oversight.
In an earlier post, I discussed my review of USPS’s annual reports going back to 2000. Listed in USPS’s financial statements are entries for “Capital contributions of the U.S. government,” which have been $3.034 billion annually for as far back as I researched (2000). That’s over $30 billion since the turn of the century. Not to mention that USPS has run a budget deficit of over $4 billion since its 1971 reorganization. I can only assume that the $30 billion and $4 billion budget shortfalls are made up with taxes?
But even if USPS hadn’t receive tax dollars in the past, it’s looking like it will need a truckload in the future. The Government Accounting Office estimates that USPS will run a deficit of $10.2 billion in 2009, plus a $1 billion cash shortfall that assumed unspecified “savings” of $5.9 billion that have not been (and may never be) realized. So it’s not unreasonable to assume that USPS will need $11-17 billion this year alone.
Who cares if the Post Office is losing money? The USPS has done more to grow the US economy than UPS and FedEx will ever do. All these neo-cons whining about big government never stop to think that without the communication the USPS has provided our economy would still be in the dark ages. $6B to run it each year is a bargain. If the free market ran the Post Office you would be paying at least $5 to send a simple letter. Take down your mailbox if you don’t want to support the USPS. But I doubt any of these neo-cons have the guts to do it.
We’re not only maintaining a dying enterprise, we’re accepting the fact that since demand for their service is down, it’s acceptable for them to jack their prices instead of a scaled downsize. The Fed has done nothing to scale their service back: adjust routes to make their service areas larger thereby cutting heads, eliminate junk mail to lessen the burden that these people have to carry, close old, dilapidated post offices. Instead we don’t do this and we just accept the fact that a stamp costs more every month, and that we’ll just stop getting mail on Saturday. We roll over and accept it. Just another example of how leadership in the federal government has fucked another social program! Then they always tell us, “We’ll get it right the next time, we promise, and it’s imminent that we pass it now!”
Five days is fine by me. We are all going to have to tighten our belts to get through this. It wont hurt our culture to slow down a bit anyway.
5 days would be okay, even four. However, I agree that this is not really the problem. I’ll give you an example. I lived in the Montrose area of Houston, Texas. There were six post office branches within 10 miles of my home (that I was aware of!). That is crazy! I now live out in the country in east texas. The closest three are 8, 12 and 15 miles away. Again, that’s crazy. I don’t think it is unreasonable to have post offices farther apart. Most folks don’t go to a post office more than once a week or once a month. Heck some folks never go. I sell books so go more often, but if I had to drive farther, the cost would be built in to my expenses. These buildings must cost a lot along with security, parking lots, fencing, utilities, etc. You can bet that there wouldn’t be a McDonald’s on every corner if it weren’t profitable.
Or you could take the opposite way (suggested above) to stop delivery altogether. Everyone gets a post office box (although the re-building costs would be enormous, I think).
If their mail volume is down, are they doing layoffs and closing branches? Any other company would.
5 days is fine for me…
I’d like to note a few things about “junk” mail though.
-The so called junk mail generates massive amount of revenue for USPS. you take that away and you might as well take entire usps out.
-Personally, about 90% of my junk mail goes to recycling. But, I do go through most of it before routing it to recycling, and I do find a lot of local deals in there. There are a lot of coupons, offers, sales in there…all there to save ME money on my next purchase. What is wrong in that?
- Lastly, and this is a more indirect relationship, mail marketing employs a ton of people…all the way from creative designers, statisticians, analysts, marketing folks, manufacturing, printing…all the way down to the mail man…the size of machinery behind all that “junk” exists for a reason…there is still profit to be made from marketing. a lot people depend on this…don’t be so short sighted to dismiss it as “junk”.
I have every possible bill sent online, and make all of my payments online, so I could stand having it cut back. Most of the mail that we receive is junk, anyway.
The only problem with five day delivery is that it’s also coming with higher rates, so it’s really a double whammy.
Taking the longer term view, we used to get twice daily delivery back when we were buying stamps on first class for under a dime.
If we drop to five days, will postage rates stay where they are? Will they soon be asking to drop delivery to four days?
It’s the trend that’s troubling here.
The last time rates were under a dime was in 1974. I’m pretty sure most prices have quintupled or more since then, as have wages. Talking about prices in absolute terms is highly misleading.
But if you reread, you’ll see that I was coupling that with reductions in service. It’s a valid observation. It’s inflation from two directions.
True, but it’s difficult to put a value on reduced delivery.
The managers and executives that run the USPS should be ashamed of themselves for running that company into the ground. It is just another example how the government is a horrible business manager. It should make you really concerned that now they want to tackle healthcare after botching the USPS and Amtrak among other industries. Sad…just sad….
We already have that here in rural areas. When my mailman had a heart attack, the others pitched in to help but we only got mail 3-4 days/week for a while. No harm and if you were desperate you could drive and pick it up.
We even have this when they take vacations but no one cares, it’s ok.
Although, email, texting, etc. have become more popular ways to communicate– and though I do use them, I am a letter writer, I am card writer and I am a postcard sender. And, it is annoying to hear so many say that mail delivery can be done away with. No, it is not effectively run– and maybe you get junkmail and bills only, but you are not the only one out there. My relatives, friends, etc. appreciate and look forward to getting mail via snail mail and so do I. I am also sure the that our men overseas appreciate their letters and packages too. It is naive to believe that we should do away with the USPS because of electronic communication.
I don’t think mail delivery can be completely removed but reducing it by a day, and taking other steps, can be effective.
No, I know that you did not say that– but the breadth of comments made seems to ignore the facts that letter writing still exists or that there are people who still consider it to be important. And, I do agree some changes in the USPS need to be made– but I also agree with the one commenter that the prices of stamps are a steal. It is so easy and cheap to mail a card via the USPS– and it’s something that is tangible as opposed to a hastily written electronic message. In addition, not everyone has the luxury of “picking up” their mail from the post office. There’s a segment of the population who cannot leave their home. And, many people work schedules that inhibit any form of pick up– delivery is key in these situations.
The PO Box portions of most Post Office buildings are open 24/7. Who does not have “the luxury of “picking up” their mail from the post office” during these hours? If delivery days are reduced and station that is not open 24/7 should be changed to do so. This only leaves individuals that can’t leave their home (Bed ridden, house arrest, etc.). Other than medical or legal reasons anyone should be able to get their mail. I also don’t suggest 0 delivery. Some delivery days should still happen.
Yes, the PO Box portions of most are open 24/7. However, neither I nor anyone I know has a post office box. And, when I have a special pick up to make (as in something cannot be delivered to my apartment)— it is especially difficult since my work schedule and commuting schedule completely conflicts with the “open” hours of the local post office. And, I am not the only one who has this issue. I do not assume that my situation applies to the everyone in the entire United States— but then, neither does yours.
One thing that might help is to end bulk-mail discounts. The junk-mailers get to send their crap at a discount, which means that we, the people are effectively subsidizing them.
I say we end this subsidy and let them pay their way.
I don’t even care if I only get it 4 days a week!
Thank you Jim & everyone who’s working, me no pay raise this year w/only about $350/week on fixed with all prices going up. I think there’s more to the Post Office that could be trimmed back & help Green our Planet & our economy, than just taking a day or two off.
I can’t dispute that $350/week is thin gruel indeed, but where is your evidence for the assertion that “all” prices are going up? Inflation is actually very low, and many prices are going down. Gasoline, to name just one example, is a good 1/3 cheaper than it was at this time last year.
YOUR ANSWER IS SIMPLE , GO TO YAHOO HOME PAGE & READ THE NEWS – TODAYS NEWS. Considering the 35% increase I have already received a letter from our county notifying us that licence, re/auto, taxes all these items our county uses & charges us for is to be increased,35%. Sure your rates may be lower but I’ve been here on this property for almost 14 years, regardless of the economy series everything increases/year by year this cannot be denied.
I am always shocked when I travel to the US and see that you get mail on Saturdays. WHY?!?! In Canada, and in many other countries it’s only M-F. Why do you *need* to get mail on the weekends? It makes no sense to me.
Mon, Wed, & Fri would be fine. Got to get rid of the overtime that is hurting this business. Alternate days – delivery / sorting
I actually doubt that most post office box lobbies are open 24/7. Are there reliable data on this?
To answer Tamara, there is still a great number of people who work more than 40/hrs/week & when they get off work the PO are closed providing Sat as the only eligible day to go. That’s how it works in the USA.
Not getting mail delivered on Saturdays wouldn’t bother me a bit as long as the Post Office cut their budget by 1/6, but that is wishful thinking. I think the business model of the post office is broken and it’s not capable of operating at even a break even level without some major changes.
I would be great with five day a week service, as long as it was Tuesday through Saturday. Those of us who work 40hrs/week or more need that Saturday to get service. My post office isn’t open long enough on weekdays to get there after my hour and a half commute home daily (on a train or in a car).
Education has so much to do with our economy, true those that work lazily proves my point but the ones that deliver I Thank & those that do their job as well. We need the PO but as in so many situations organization is a must factor or everthing just goes right down the hill. Saturday is a must.
Education is a contributing item & those that do not do their job proves my point. Those that deliver I thank & those too that do their job. Saturday is a must, there are many who work nights & weekends so Saturday should not be a problem.
I think their biggest problem are these massive 75 year old buildings that take up high end real estate and cost a huge amount to heat in cold climates. I was in Germany a few years back and thought the postal service was bright and refreshing – small locations, seemingly well run.
As for number of times a week – 5 is fine with me.
As for ’subsidizing’ remote locations – that’s in disregard to the premise of the postal service as being a great American equalizer.
Three days a week could happen I would never notice. I barely check my mailbox more than 3 times a week.
I believe that the post office can save money by going to 5 day delivery. We don’t need our mail on Saturdays, half the the world is off on Saturdays. Those congressman & senators on the hill should think about working 6 days a week in the heat, snow, rain, hail and walk for miles in those conditions. I bet they would think twice about 5 day delivery. The mail carriers deserve it. Maybe, they should think about trying 5 day delivery for at least 2 yrs and see if it saves money..
Half the world does not live in the USA. I’d trade Tuesday & Thursday removal for an all day Saturday Post Office.
Does anyone realize that every year congress siphons off 2 to 3 billion from the post office before the post office even gets to do their yearly budget? It puts the PO in the red right off the bat and has for years. Also, since Clinton was president, our presidents have “borrowed” from the postal employees retirement several times, and simply gave them an “IOU”? I bet nobody realizes that when the price of gas goes up just a few cents per gallon it cost the PO over a million more per day to deliver the mail nation wide. Just thought I would give a few statistics, things that I learned myself this past year as I am a postal employee. My job will be one of the first to disappear if we go to five days per week. As with any government run conglomerate there are huge problems that need to be solved, I see examples of it every day I go to work. I don’t however, see how any other business would have the ability to do what the PO has been doing for decades. The number of employees is staggaring (there are over 700,000 nation wide) as well as equipment and buildings. Who could employ that many people, other than Walmart? (ha ha).The postal service has done away with about 100 million working hours this year (2009)alone, which translates into 57 thousand jobs gone this year. And, I have to address the fact that so many people are really put off by the fact that the stamp went up a whole 2 cents this year. Which of you would be totally incensed if your boss gave you a 2 cent raise? So come on. It cost 44 cents to send a letter. No body else can do that or they would.
There has always been so much about the post office that the public has never been aware of.
Never understood that even being an employee, that’s why there is so many idiots making comments here that don’t have a clue about what it takes to do this job. Lets strap a 30 pound bag on your back and you walk 6-8 miles every day in all kinds of weather and then let me know how your holding up. Oh they drive in your neighborhood well most of those carriers have been working in the PO for 20 years or more to earn that right.
It upsets me that the suits that have been making the decisions for the people in blue all these years did not make adjustments and cut backs when they knew technology and automation was coming down the pike.
If most of high management that spends their time sending reports out about how poorly we’re doing were let go and Saturdays were cut out of delivery (they generate the most overtime and sick calls) we might have a chance of pulling through this crisis.
It seems the public has 3 choices cut out Saturdays, increase the price of stamps or bail us out like you were nice enough to do for the banks. So what’s your pick????
If I chose to enter a career that required jumping through flaming hoops, I can hardly complain when my employer expected me to actually do so. The same goes for postal work, which requires working in bad weather, walking, and carrying bags of mail.
Management doesn’t have as much control over the situation as many people assume. The American Postal Workers Union has severely limited management’s ability to respond to changing dynamics of the economy. Why you ask? Because there is a surplus of postal workers and employees would be laid off left and right if not for the APWU. In other words, the APWU has chosen to pursue a higher level of employment over the health of the business. And since the APWU is a representative for the postal employees, both management and employees are to blame for the current mess.
An employee should do their job regardless to earn their check. Army we carried more weight into some serious areas, I’m RA & those that work for the PO are enlisteed too. Take Tues & Thursday off. I’m on call 24/7.
An interesting article appeared in the Federal Times two days ago titled “Paid to do nothing:
11,000-plus postal workers idle at any given time,” which outlines USPS’s practice of paying employees to literally do nothing.
http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=4265826
“Mail volume is down 12.6 percent compared with last year, and many postal supervisors simply don’t have enough work to keep all employees busy. But a thicket of union rules prevents managers from laying off excess employees…”
this is rediculous im 14 and i have been on many debate teams and i have searched for many topics that i was suppose to debate on and i keep finding that every government owned company is well sucking and loosing money it scares me because when im 16 and have a job obviously taxes will be up even more then they are now to pay for this crappy service that looses 8 billion dollars annually its time that americans stood up and fought for there right because really its the tax payers that run america!!!
So how much mail have you received this week? How much of it was junk? Is it worth this many days delivery?
I’ve been living with about three times a month for as long as I’ve had my current letter carrier. I guess they can’t be bothered to actually deliver mail more than once every week or two. Complaining fixed it for a couple days until it rained and my mail was ‘delivered’ to the lawn instead of the mail box.
I’ll say for you great door to mailmen, a day off might not be a bad idea…