USPS to default on $5.5 billion on pensions by the end of the month

Originally posted by dawnstar
there is still a large part of the population that don't have internet access....
how many times have you seen a conservative come back on someone complaining how their income doesn't meet their financials needs and condemn them for being on the internet????
can't have it both ways ya know, either the "poor" are using their money unwisely if they have internet access, and thus need the post office to mail in the bill payments, or well, we are all so rich, we have the internet!!!

it's the healthcare system that's killing us!!! no one can afford it!! add to that, many of the pensions plans got burned by the real estate scam, some of the insurance companies did also.....
well, I think most of us can forget about retirement!!!

no, we don't need a post office, the rich need their tax breaks!!! since they're TOO BIG TO FAIL!!!
okay, but.....
I am getting too small to care!! whatcha gonna do when I refuse to spend three times as much to send my payment in to you???
foreclose on my home???

the too big to fails were too dumb to realize that without the note, they have no collateral for the loan!!

no, we don't need a post office, the rich need their tax breaks!!! since they're TOO BIG TO FAIL!!!
okay, but.....
I am getting too small to care!!

I love that..."TOO BIG TO FAIL....IM TOO SMALL TO CARE"

Originally posted by gimme_some_truth
The USPS is something that is doomed to fail no matter what... Technology will see to it. As everything becomes wireless ( Email, online bill pay, direct deposit etc...) there will be less and less need for the USPS.

Sure there are always packages that need to be delivered.... But that is what Fed Ex and UPS are for.

Both of whom, will be around long after the USPS.

and then the big solar flare comes, and wipes out the technology......
and, well, you bank account has no records, the electric company can't confirm your payment....
and, well, the business sector is just too big to fail, so eat your loss!!!

technology is a great tool, but it's a mistake to depend too heavily on it...
I love ebooks, but well, would feel rather uneasy if they started closing down the libraries and burning the printed versions of them...
something, or someone, just one day might pull the plug to all that technology, and not having a backup could send humanity back to the dark ages!!!

Responses so far have been illuminating if not entertaining. Just now on my local news they say postal service may not exist by christmas. Pretty bold statement I think. Still plausible imo. I enjoy the global reaction to this thread. By no means the end of the world as change is constant for any growing organism. But certainly highlights the 'yay me, screw you' mentality that the mental midget exhibits here. Compassion isn't exactly given out with the xmas bonus, is it?

My thoughts are for all the rural residents whose only contact with the outside world is the mail service. Especially those who rely on receiving their medications/checks etc. Fortunately the majority of people 'do' care for their neighbors and something beneficial will fill the vacuum should the usps be dismantled. Instead of dog eat dog competition a more constructive approach perhaps.

Only old people still use the USPS, normal people just use email.

reply to post by Rockdisjoint


I went to visit a friend this weekend, first time I've been to his new place, loved it there...
lots of open land, few houses, nice and peaceful....
there is no internet access there.....not yet....too far out in the boonies.....
gee, he's younger than I am and while I was there, she was going through her mail lookng for some very important paperwork that was mailed to her.....

so, well, what can I say.....
I am so glad that those better offs find that having a mail delivery system is just so unimportant...but well, their tax breaks, oh ya, they are the most important things in the world, why the whole world will stop if they are taken away from them!!!
some conservatives are screaming that fema shouldn't be funded to help with the huriicane cleanup on the east coast....unless money is found somewhere else to pay for it!!!
well, ya, let's do that, right after we start paying for all these danged wars, or bring all the troops home, and let the world run their own affairs for awhile!!!

allowing the poor to vote is unamerican, since they will always vote for their individual interests....
but well, let's see the rich vote for someone who openly states that they will remove the bush tax cuts!!!
hmmm......maybe it's unamerican to allow the rich to vote!!

this country is gonna be crap till the people in it start putting the country's welfare above their own!!!

I'm a big fan of reducing the size of the federal government. There are many things the federal government does that I believe should be handled by states OR done away with entirely.

That being said, I think the USPS is something that SHOULD be handled by the government. It's even authorized by the Constitution:

The United States Postal Service (also known as USPS, the Post Office or U.S. Mail) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution.

en.wikipedia.org...

Roads, police departments, fire departments, the postal service...these are government services that it makes sense to provide through taxation.

My mother (in her 60s) does not have internet access (nor does she WANT it). She still relies on the USPS to receive her bills and to pay them. If we were to eliminate the USPS, then she would have no method of communication (other than the telephone). It's easy to say she SHOULD get the internet, because our society is more and more technologically driven....but why SHOULD someone be required to have a computer and internet services if they are not interested?

I DO, however, think the post office needs to make some changes. Cut service days, for example. While people should have access to the mail, they do not require it 6 times per week. I've heard of how the mail used to run twice per day years and years ago. We survived that cut, and personally, I'd be fine with delivery only 2 or 3 times per week. It would be enough to get the job done.

Originally posted by Rockdisjoint
Only old people still use the USPS, normal people just use email.

I just sent something by mail (actually it is sitting in my mailbox right now waiting to be picked up tomorrow.) I got a book of coupons for the local metro area (buy one get one free type coupons for restaurants, etc), and pulled out all of the ones for a town I never go to. I popped them into an envelope and am mailing them to someone who lives in that town.

I'm 42...maybe I am old. YIKES!

I only mail things every now and then...once per month, perhaps? But there are STILL things that can't be sent electronically.

reply to post by MentalGiant


*********
MentalGiant.
Sounds like you have a problem with anger.

Well at least that’s what my wife tells me when I speak of issues involving our Country. SORRY Giant I just wanted to see how it felt to say that. It didn’t feel good by the way and I don’t recommend trying it. .

Fu(&!n A right my brother let the free market determine the success or failure of all entities (Govt included).

Our system (Govt) as a whole is showing itself to be a bloated failure. The USPS, IRS, FDA, EPA and USDA to name a few contribute nothing; however these institutions consume a tremendous amount of our national resources.

When an entity has a business model that does not require itself to be self supporting, it will not be innovative and will not advance and should die.

In my business as in yours we need to not only work hard but work smart. Unfortunately the above entities prey on the small business owner’s hard work, skill, intelligence and ability to take risks to which they subsidize their leaking coffers with holes made from bad judgment, incompetence and outright failure

The fruits of the successful business owner are distributed by our failed system to those entities or persons that cannot or will not contribute to society. The USPS is a noble institution with many fine people which has been corrupted by apathetic, politically appointed failures of the free market system. Unfortunately with our failed federally controlled educational system and multi generational, malt liquor drinking, porch sitting, entitlement program recipients, we as a nation will follow the same delivery rout and will be delivered first class and overnight to the same destination as the currant USPS

Originally posted by MentalGiant

I havent mailed a letter in years. my postal delivery lady just recently begged me to mail letters so she wont lose her job.....Sounds liberal, and socialist...Begging me to support her to keep her job.

Yes, you are so awesome.

Bet you are handsome as hell to boot?

reply to post by dawnstar

........What are you rambling on about?

I don't see what your post has to do with me.

reply to post by MentalGiant


I would have hoped a private education would have taught you how to spell "the".

Your post is a flat out lie, you use roads, the government provides those.

reply to post by Rockdisjoint


you stated that only old people use the mail system, I spoke up and informed you that that isn't true...
there are many people who live in areas of the country still no connected to the internet, I went and visited some this weekend......nice area.....
but no internet!! they are relying on the mail system to get their bills, and a whole lot more!!

and then I rambled.....
kind of hinting as to why so many are willing to throw the postal service under the bus...
it isn't that it isn't needed, it's more that they don't want their money being used to support a service that they don't themselves use!!!

They shove crappy shopping circulars in my mail daily. LET IT FAIL!!!

reply to post by GeorgiaGirl

I just sent something by mail (actually it is sitting in my mailbox right now waiting to be picked up tomorrow.) I got a book of coupons for the local metro area (buy one get one free type coupons for restaurants, etc), and pulled out all of the ones for a town I never go to. I popped them into an envelope and am mailing them to someone who lives in that town.

That makes no sense, I can only imagine 10 years from now when Walmart stores are going out of business because everyone does their shopping on line people will beg for the govt to prop Walmart stores up too......

You people just need to realize that times change and certain things, like the USPS just aren't needed anymore.

I'm 42...maybe I am old. YIKES!

I only mail things every now and then...once per month, perhaps? But there are STILL things that can't be sent electronically

Only once per month..... to send coupons?

What do you send in the mail that can't be send through the UPS?

The biggest problem with the postal service is that it is a monopoly.

Back in the 90's when the rate for first class mail was raised from 29 to 32 cents, that same day UPS announced that they could deliver a letter for 13 cents. That's less than half the price.

The reason we can't enjoy these low rates, is that it is a CRIME to compete with the US Postal Service.

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by Flyer
reply to post by MentalGiant

 

I would have hoped a private education would have taught you how to spell "the".

Your post is a flat out lie, you use roads, the government provides those.

Wrong....the citizens paid for those roads via taxes and the citizens of the United States built those roads with their labor and hard work.

The government may have facilitated or organized the oversight of building said roads, but either way i dont look at them as my savior just because we have a highway system. I see it as one of 2 scenarios, either we have roads because the citizens NEEDED roads for viable transportation and demanded that need be met, or we have roads hinged off of back door deals and corruption. (Did Ford Motor Co. or Henry Ford pay elected officials off to make the car more appealing with having nice roads to drive on ~extreme hypothetical example, not verified by any facts, just a thought~) The latter part of this is still irrelevant due to the fact that the government has no money unless taken from the people, and therefore no means to provide anything without direct intervention of the US Citizenry's dollars. Now HOW they spend that money is what they ARE responsible for and theyve been pretty much screwing that up for awhile now. Wasted money on wars and social programs that dont really help anybody or the underlying problems.

On a side note, whats with all the Grammar Nazis? havent yall figured out that not every one, nor every thing is perfect? Whats with pointing out a small typographical error in an otherwise well written intelligent post? Obviously that person had the intellectual capability of forming a structured thread and responses. I understand if their whole writing style is screwed up and filled with errors to the point of being incomprehensible, but geez guys, everyone makes mistakes.

Originally posted by Rockdisjoint
reply to post by GeorgiaGirl

 

I just sent something by mail (actually it is sitting in my mailbox right now waiting to be picked up tomorrow.) I got a book of coupons for the local metro area (buy one get one free type coupons for restaurants, etc), and pulled out all of the ones for a town I never go to. I popped them into an envelope and am mailing them to someone who lives in that town.

That makes no sense, I can only imagine 10 years from now when Walmart stores are going out of business because everyone does their shopping on line people will beg for the govt to prop Walmart stores up too......

You people just need to realize that times change and certain things, like the USPS just aren't needed anymore.

I'm 42...maybe I am old. YIKES!

I only mail things every now and then...once per month, perhaps? But there are STILL things that can't be sent electronically

Only once per month..... to send coupons?

What do you send in the mail that can't be send through the UPS?

The coupons were an illustration. They are the MOST recent thing I have sent. Did you REALLY think that is all I have ever sent????

Sometimes I mail a birthday card to a relative. Invitations to events. Christmas cards. A mail-in rebate. Whatever. Use your imagination.

While I do online bill-pay through my bank, I REALLY don't like getting e-bills, because they become buried in my email in-box. I prefer getting paper bills which I can toss into a basket and sort through later. I tried the whole e-bill thing, and I couldn't get myself organized with them.

Your Wal-mart example is a big FAIL. Show me where Wal-mart was authorized in the Constitution and we can talk. Sheesh. Also, I DO order things online whenever possible. But what about when you need something right that minute and don't want to wait a couple of days? The internet won't replace you going to a store to pick up a necessity.

I used to think 42 was old, too. Talk to me when you are in your 40s and see if you feel old.

reply to post by Rockdisjoint


yes, and I can imagine all our taxes skyrocketing when the gov't decides that it needs to extend internet service to all americans, because the bills can't be sent in!!!
of course, is they did that, they might as well teach our kids online also, and provide them all with nice computers...free internet,
heck, would even make college cheaper in the long run!

Originally posted by MentalGiant
reply to post by Rockpuck

 

Yea...That will fix everything....Good to know your here, adding the intelligent argument to every side.

Erm, thank you mentalmidget for that enlightening response.

reply to post by eldard

If those two were smart, they wouldn't bother with USPS.

Without the USPS Fedex and UPS would loose a significant amount of income. The USPS leases cargo room on their aircraft, at a premium so the USPS does not have to manage a massive fleet of her own. Take away the lease agreements and force private companies to profitably deliver mere birthday cards and paystubs and then they too will go out of business.

Keeping in mind Fedex and UPS are both unionized and receive nearly the same benefits. Only they handle larger and more expensive packages than the USPS.

EDIT: Note as well people, this issue with health benefits is not only a problem with the USPS, it's a problem for nearly every state, every municipality, and every major corporation .. the issue at hand is not whether the USPS is profitable (it's a government agency, I wish Republicans remembered it's there to SERVE not make money) it's all about benefits. And benefit costs have soared at 20-40% yearly inflation rates and nothing has been done to halt the growth. Because it's the fastest growing "industry" in the country. A bubble. Nothing more. It needs fixing, and the only thing even attempted, Obamacare, only exasperated the underlying problems.

Originally posted by dawnstar
heck, would even make college cheaper in the long run!

Which would simply prompt employers to hire graduates that came from brick and mortar schools.