You ever wonder what Tom would be like if he were black?

[fightingquaker13]

This is too good to miss. Felonious Munk on BO and the debt. Its a must watch. And Tom, did your old man ever stray?
FQ13

[JLawson]

I think he's talking about stuff like this...

Postal Service to default on second $5B payment
Published September 28, 2012
Associated Press

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/28/postal-service-to-default-on-second-5b-payment/?test=latestnews#ixzz27qzjxws4

If it didn't mean more unemployment I would say just close the USPS... close the doors, sell the assets to pay the debt, and let private companies provide the service.  I haven't mailed a letter or a bill payment in years.  I use email exclusively and enjoy problem-free online banking.  The only thing I receive in the mail is junk - and tons of it that I just throw away.  Really, what product or service does the USPS provide that couldn't be provided more efficiently by a private company at no cost to the taxpayer?

[santahog]

FQ, I like this guy!
The Post Office.. We NEED the Post Office. We don't need the postal workers union..
The P.O. is necessary and Constitutionally mandated, just like national defense.
I think we need to do whatever needs to be done to keep it, and keep it affordable. It it takes .75 cents to mail a letter, that's fine. It runs Four Bucks in some parts of the world, and without the guarantee of privacy..
The privacy laws regarding (snail) mail and (land line) telephone are important.
I think .gov would be running the price through the roof if they thought it would impede freedom, and we had no other choice. Still, we need the Post Office..

[tombogan03884]

To young to be my brother and to old to be my son .   

[jnevis]

I think he's talking about stuff like this...

Postal Service to default on second $5B payment
Published September 28, 2012
Associated Press

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/28/postal-service-to-default-on-second-5b-payment/?test=latestnews#ixzz27qzjxws4

If it didn't mean more unemployment I would say just close the USPS... close the doors, sell the assets to pay the debt, and let private companies provide the service.  I haven't mailed a letter or a bill payment in years.  I use email exclusively and enjoy problem-free online banking.  The only thing I receive in the mail is junk - and tons of it that I just throw away.  Really, what product or service does the USPS provide that couldn't be provided more efficiently by a private company at no cost to the taxpayer?

You don't think that a private company is going to charge you to deliver mail too?  It would only change the direction the money went, not the cost.  Not defending the USPS at all, I think it needs to be streamlined and reorganized.  Our house is less than a mile from a Post Office but we have to go across town to get large packages or Certified mail since the close one is another zip code. 

 Just because you don't mail out something doesn't mean the rest of the country doesn't have some use for the service.  You still recieve stuff.  Depending on the size and destination Priority Mail is still cheaper than FedEx for some of the hobby stuff I send or recieve.  Once a private company was to take that over all bets are off.  I'd say the cost to send a paperback sized package to the west coast woould triple in cost.

[Sponsor]

[fatbaldguy]

You don't think that a private company is going to charge you to deliver mail too?  It would only change the direction the money went, not the cost.  Not defending the USPS at all, I think it needs to be streamlined and reorganized.  Our house is less than a mile from a Post Office but we have to go across town to get large packages or Certified mail since the close one is another zip code. 

 Just because you don't mail out something doesn't mean the rest of the country doesn't have some use for the service.  You still recieve stuff.  Depending on the size and destination Priority Mail is still cheaper than FedEx for some of the hobby stuff I send or recieve.  Once a private company was to take that over all bets are off.  I'd say the cost to send a paperback sized package to the west coast woould triple in cost.

I don't think he meant that we wouldn't have to pay to have something delivered either across town or across country.  I took it to mean that taxpayers wouldn't be throwing good money after bad.  The local USPS counter service is slow, rude, and unhelpful.  They can be this way because they (the USPS) hold a monopoly on mail service.  They didn't receive the nick-name snail mail for no reason.  Competition would mean efficiencies only present in the nightmares of postal employee's.  Competition would also mean lower prices.

Laid off or terminated USPS employee's could/should work for a private service.  They, of course, wouldn't have the overly generous pay scale and pension benefits  that non-governmental employee's don't have the opportunity to enjoy either.

Won't happen though.  Federal employee's account for around 30% of voters.  Think they would knowingly/willingly vote themselves out of an fairly easy well paying job with outstanding benefits?

[jnevis]

Not disagreeing that the Postal Service has issues but the pension and attitude you mention has more to do with being union than being gov't.

[Ichiban]

Government worker = union member.  Pretty much anyway.

[fightingquaker13]

The USPS is a matter of national security. It was true when Franklin designed the thing, and its true now. We don't expect the Army to make a profit and we shouldn't with the post office (it'd be nice if it broke even, but I can live with it losing money).
FQ13

[Solus]

The USPS is a matter of national security. It was true when Franklin designed the thing, and its true now. We don't expect the Army to make a profit and we shouldn't with the post office (it'd be nice if it broke even, but I can live with it losing money).
FQ13

I don't understand about it being a matter of national security?  

Getting Christmas Cards delivered on time can't be very critical to national security?

If it is needed as a means to deliver critical government communications, couldn't one of many government agencies have a courier service for the critical communications?

If the private corporation that delivered non-critical correspondence faltered during a crisis and mountains of junk mail stacked up, I don't think the effect would be drastic?

Just like we don't use the Military for Rent-A-Cop security details, we don't need to use the critical USPS to deliver catalogs or birthday cards.