"UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. It's the Post Office that's always having proble

JustOneWay · #21 12th August 2009, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by visionary

Then why does my mail box still have the same amount of junk mail?

Because companies want you to buy their stuff!

The USPS loves junk mail because it is revenue. They don't care if you want it or not.

kermit · #22 12th August 2009, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by visionary

Then why does my mail box still have the same amount of junk mail?

Both of my parents are USPS retirees. I can tell you for a fact that volume has been steadily declining for years. The reason is that mail used to the primary form of long distance communication both for personal use and for commerce. The telephone enabled people to instantly talk over long distances, but they still enjoyed writing letters and sending cards. Businesses still had to use mail to send business documents (POs, invoices, etc). The fax machine took some of that business away from mail volume, but businesses still relied on mail to send bills to consumers. Today email has almost completely replaced letter writing, and e-Cards are serverly cutting into card volume. Many businesses are doing their business transactions electronically and even a large number of people are doing their bills online.

When I was a kid my dad used to work 50-60 weeks with mandatory OT during Christmas. Between the lower volume and better sorting machinery his last few years OT was voluntary.

One of my duties at work is to administer our EDI system that literally saves us and our customers hundreds of thousands in postage. Currently roughtly 50% of all our business transactions (PO, POA, ASN, BOL, Invoices, etc) go through my system.

Trust me if there was a physical way to eliminate shipping businesses would jump on it.

I want all the USPS "haters" to try something. Make 3 identicle letters and 3 identical packages. Send a letter and package through each using standard delivery. See which gets there first and which is cheapest. The fact is that the USPS is cheaper and quicker, especially with letters.

Kid Fish · #23 12th August 2009, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by kermit

I want all the USPS "haters" to try something. Make 3 identicle letters and 3 identical packages. Send a letter and package through each using standard delivery. See which gets there first and which is cheapest. The fact is that the USPS is cheaper and quicker, especially with letters.

It doesn't matter because they are $7,000,000,000.00 in debt, and project another SEVEN BILLION in 2010, which of course means it will likely be more like 10 or 12 billion.

I happen to live in a town where the mail delivery is and always has been atrocious. I can't count how many times I have gotten aonther recipient's mail, nor how many time I took that mail myself to the PO and complained, and yet it went on and on. Our PO just reduced their hours, from 8 to 5, down to 9:30 to 4:30.

The current federal budget is unsustainable, so this administration continues to spend borrowed Chinese cash and toss it down rat holes which cannot sustain their own viability.

I don't understand how this is unseen (or discarded) by people who just want what they want. This is how our economy collapsed to begin with.

trunks2k · #24 12th August 2009, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by Risen Tree

I very rarely experience problems with USPS. About the only inconvenience I ever encounter is long lines at the post office, something that could be alleviated by the hiring of more workers. But that would mean more guv'munt fundin', and we all know how bad that is. Unless, of course, it's used to buy Army rifle bullets or useless fighter jets.

USPS doesn't get funding from the government. Its money comes from what it makes on postage. Part of the reason that USPS is hurting for money is because there are limits on how much they can raise they price of postage every year. The number of letters being sent is dropping off drastically because the way we communicate is changing, and the USPS can't raise the price of postage quickly enough to adjust.

If you think about it, the USPS is a marvel. It delivers a mind boggling large amount of mail every day and does so pretty darn quickly and for under 50 cents per letter, you can't really complain. Given the sheer amount of mail, yeah there's going to be problems, but really it's a minuscule percentage of the total amount.

jayem · #25 12th August 2009, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by HerbieHeadley

RealClearPolitics - Video - Obama: The Post Office Is "Always Having Problems"

Could someone loan me an IRONY meter?..........

“What I see is a bureaucratic nightmare, Medicaid is broke. Medicare is broke. Social Security is broke. And you want us to believe that a government that can’t even run a Cash for Clunkers program is going to run 1/7th of our U.S. economy?”

Wisdom from ordinary Americans.

Since it still hasn't seemed to have sunken in, the current plans in Congress don't eliminate private insurance. The public option is designed to compete with other carriers, and provide coverage to those who our esteemed private insurance companies won't insure.

BO's obvious point was why should you be afraid of losing private insurance if you think the government can't do anything right? What you're saying is that the government plan will so underprice private insuors, that we'll all sign up--even though we know what incompetent service government provides. It's a wrong-headed assumption on 2 levels. 1) That the vast majority of consumers will automatically buy the cheapest product with no thought to quality. If that were true, you'd never see a Lexus or Mercedes on the road. 2) That private isurors will just roll over and die. They won't compete to keep their business. I don't buy this at all. As BO said, there are private enterprises that successfully compete with the government. Health insurance can be kept out of government's clutches simply by the private carriers providing better service at a competitive price. And that's the whole point.

HerbieHeadley · #26 12th August 2009, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Risen Tree

Question. Are you required by law to use the USPS to send mail, or can you legally choose to use UPS, FedEx, or other private shipping companies?

If the latter, do you exclusively use private shipping? Why or why not?

1. The U.S. Post Office is the only entity allowed by federal law to deliver first class mail to your mailbox. In fact, Fedex and UPS are strictly prohibited from delivering “non-urgent” letters. If the government can fairly compete and is setting fair rules, wouldn’t the post office be open to competition at your mailbox?

Obamacare: The “Post Office” of Health Care Plans The Foundry

2.) If Americans were offered “free” postage paid for by massive government spending and tax hikes, would Fedex and UPS still exist?

6.) But the most important question is this: if you have an urgent piece of mail you need delivered, life or death, who are you going to call? Everyone saying the government…please raise your hands. (crickets)

JustOneWay · #27 12th August 2009, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by HerbieHeadley

6.) But the most important question is this: if you have an urgent piece of mail you need delivered, life or death, who are you going to call? Everyone saying the government…please raise your hands. (crickets)

You have never heard of certified mail? I trust the USPS.

kermit · #28 12th August 2009, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Kid Fish

The current federal budget is unsustainable, so this administration continues to spend borrowed Chinese cash and toss it down rat holes which cannot sustain their own viability.

That is beside the point. The USPS is not cost center.

kermit · #29 12th August 2009, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by JustOneWay

You have never heard of certified mail? I trust the USPS.

Agreed. FedEx and USP are notorious for misdeliveries and late deliveries.

Also, certified mail is still cheaper than either UPS or FedEx standard rate.

TheGuide · #30 12th August 2009, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by HerbieHeadley

RealClearPolitics - Video - Obama: The Post Office Is "Always Having Problems"

Could someone loan me an IRONY meter?..........

“What I see is a bureaucratic nightmare, Medicaid is broke. Medicare is broke. Social Security is broke. And you want us to believe that a government that can’t even run a Cash for Clunkers program is going to run 1/7th of our U.S. economy?”

Wisdom from ordinary Americans.

The post office is having problems because they are not use to competition. As is the insurance industry. They have tried to adjust to the onslaught of competition without mass layoff, but they are top heavy and, unfortunately, are getting ready to layoff postal workers and close some shops throughout the country. Then they will be able to compete.