# Does anyone really feel sorry for the US Postal service?"



## weebiscuit (Sep 6, 2011)

So they are maybe going to "go under." When over 80% of the operating costs of an enterprise go simply to pay employee's wages, is it any wonder? I don't mean to upset anyone here who happens to work for the postal service, but as a taxpayer I just see red when I consider the salaries these people make. I mean, how much skill does it take to stick a letter in a slot, or put a package on a scale?

This is typical governmental boondoggle. The postal workers' salaries are phenomenal, they get more paid holidays than even school teachers do, and their retirement plans and benefit packages are pure gravy. Wouldn't the nation be better served by totally eliminating this money-sucking entity and letting private carriers take over? Even if we had to pay the same amount for stamps and per-pound packages, we, the taxpayers, would save millions. Probably billions!


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## kaykay (Sep 6, 2011)

I have a lot of family that have or retired from the post office. The walking routes are a lot of hard physical work but they are very over paid. Especially in the old way they used to do time off. My sister in law just retired at 45 and had 2 years of "vacation" time before her retirement even kicks in. Seriously? 2 years of vacation time? This was her surplus because believe me she took vacation days every year. I have been told they dont give that excessive amount off paid time off anymore, but the damage is already done.

Our local post offices here are a joke. You have to insure everything and track everything because chances are it will be lost.

I sent a package to Germany and one to Canada. The one for Germany made it in a week with no issues. The one to Canada got lost for a month even with a tracking number. Pathetic.


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## weebiscuit (Sep 6, 2011)

I don't know about the walking in your area, unless you live in the mountains, but every time I've been in town and seen the postal people walking to stick a few letters in the slot, I always wished I'd had that job instead of teaching! I would have LOVED that daily exercise, instead of being stuck in a classroom!

That story about your sister in law illustrates what is wrong with ALL government jobs. Very little work for very big pay!

Our post office has two windows, and only one is ever open. Usually there are no more than two people in line in front of me so it's not so bad, and I can't really complain about stuff getting lost. But I sure do complain about the salaries they get!


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## SampleMM (Sep 6, 2011)

I absolutely do not feel sorry for them! Don't even get me started with the Postal Service. I am so MAD at them I could scream. I'm not even going to get into the whole situation but lets put it this way, our local Post Office is the most unprofessional group of people I've ever encountered in one building. They do not want to do their work......they want you to do their work. Heaven forbid they find out where my package is. I need to come back and try to track down my carrier. Hey, what's wrong with them leaving a note for my carrier, isn't that part of their job duties.......CUSTOMER SERVICE? I asked to speak with the Post Master and was told that he would call. It's been over a month and you guessed it, my phone hasn't rung yet.

You reap what you sow....... Bye-Bye US Postal Service


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## CKC (Sep 6, 2011)

My Dad works for the post office and is an extremely hard worker. He walked a daily 19 mile mail route for about 30 years(some days he would deliver additional routes). We do not live in the mountains. He now drives a mail truck(he's 64) in a different county that requires driving. The county is too big and too rural for walking. When I was younger I can remember him always having to walk. Even in snow, ice, storms, etc. The mail had to be delivered. oh and dogs.. He has had his fair share of dog encounters. He delivered in an area that the mail boxes are attached to the homes. A lot of these homes had steep stairs. Most of the home owners do not clear their steps during the winter. He was always getting hurt.

If I had wanted what others are considering an over paid job with exceptional benefits I could have applied there. However, after seeing the toll it's taken on my Dad it's not a job for me.

I'm fortunate to have two wonderful post offices around me.


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## bevann (Sep 6, 2011)

In my town there is not enough help-you have to wait forever for service at the window.There is a small office in a little town actually closer to me-better service, less wait time.It will probably close since it has smaller population but many people are using it.My rural carrier is a SAINT.She brings all my packages to the door so I don't have to go into town for them and even brought my mail in the house when I had surgery.I make her candy at Christmas and she takes good care of me.I think cutting Sat delivery would be ok.


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## Marsha Cassada (Sep 6, 2011)

I don't pretend to understand all the economics of the postal system. But I am very pleased with my local PO. My rural mail carriers go above and beyond. My postmaster works really hard to help me resolve postal issues.

I took the test to be substitute rural mail carrier (did not get the job). It is a lot more involved than putting a letter on a scale to weigh it. Substitutes do not receive any benefits, but frequently they work every day, working muliple routes. (I understand that Rural mail carriers' pay is based on how many mail boxes on their route.) How many people do you know would drive EVERY DAY in some of the weather and conditions they do?

Why do you resent postal workers earning a decent living wage?? Holidays and vacations?? Look at all the times banks are closed--I think we should do away with banks!

kaykay, the package to Canada was probably not the fault of the USA. Canada is notorious for their terrible postal system. The norm for mail travel in Canada is at least 4 weeks.

Mail delivery is crucial to a civilized nation. No way should private companies do it. We might end up with another Federal Reserve...


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## chandab (Sep 6, 2011)

Marsha Cassada said:


> I don't pretend to understand all the economics of the postal system. But I am very pleased with my local PO. My rural mail carriers go above and beyond. My postmaster works really hard to help me resolve postal issues.
> 
> I took the test to be substitute rural mail carrier (did not get the job). It is a lot more involved than putting a letter on a scale to weigh it. Substitutes do not receive any benefits, but frequently they work every day, working muliple routes. (I understand that Rural mail carriers' pay is based on how many mail boxes on their route.) How many people do you know would drive EVERY DAY in some of the weather and conditions they do?
> 
> ...














I think we are in the same postal boat. I don't know their wages, but the local post mistress goes above and beyond to help customers. Our rural carrier does a good job. And, I'd absolutely hate it if the PO closed, as my business would probably go under (I have an online business).


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## susanne (Sep 7, 2011)

.

I agree there is no reason to resent those who do an often difficult job and are fairly compensated for it.

The postal carriers in our very hilly, rural community do a great job, even with often treacherous roads. Our carrier frequently brings fragile and oversized packages up our long, dead-end gravel road to our house, rather than cramming everything into the box, as the Portland carriers did.

However, this has nothing to do with whether they "deserve it" -- the US Postal Service is a dinosaur. The world is changing -- computers, electronic bill-paying, email and internet have all but made the US Mail obsolete.

In my work, I frequently use Fed Ex and the like for getting materials to and from clients. They do what they do faster and better, so I tend to agree that the US Mail monopoly should give way to commercial services. I just hope those in remote areas are not left high and dry because these customers are not profitable.

.


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## SampleMM (Sep 7, 2011)

Marsha Cassada said:


> I don't pretend to understand all the economics of the postal system. But I am very pleased with my local PO. My rural mail carriers go above and beyond. My postmaster works really hard to help me resolve postal issues.
> 
> I took the test to be substitute rural mail carrier (did not get the job). It is a lot more involved than putting a letter on a scale to weigh it. Substitutes do not receive any benefits, but frequently they work every day, working muliple routes. (I understand that Rural mail carriers' pay is based on how many mail boxes on their route.) How many people do you know would drive EVERY DAY in some of the weather and conditions they do?
> 
> ...



We have employees who deliver our newspapers in all kinds of horrible weather. Some drive, some walk, some ride bikes 5 days a week for a heck of a lot less pay than the US Postal Service. I'm glad you are happy with yours but I personally feel they are way overpaid for the type of duties they perform.


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## Matt73 (Sep 7, 2011)

That's not true that the norm is 4 weeks for postal service in Canada... Coming from the U.S., maybe (but is that the fault of your postal system or ours?...keep telling yourself it's ours



) I ordered something from across the country and it got here in 5 days. I ordered fly masks from Texas (won't do that again) on May 9th and they got here on August 20th (great for fly season, huh? lol).


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## kaykay (Sep 7, 2011)

The issue with my Canadian package is even though I had a tracking number no one could tell me where it was for weeks and weeks. It showed it left Thornville, went to Columbus Ohio and then nothing. And of course they blamed Canada.

Another time someone sent me a package and Thornville insisted they didnt have it. Columbus Ohio insisted they did. Finally I went up to the PO and low and behold there sat my box that had been there for weeks in a corner. Ughhh.

For months we have been getting the wrong mail. I call and call and yesterday we again got the wrong mail. Who knows where my mail goes.

I do agree that walking routes are hard having had so many family members work them. But the excessive amounts of vacation and sick pay is probably what did the PO in.


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## Minimor (Sep 7, 2011)

> Canada is notorious for their terrible postal system. The norm for mail travel in Canada is at least 4 weeks.


HOGWASH!
We've been getting letters from Toronto (Brandon Manitoba here) in 4 days. I have mailed a letter to Calgary--dropped it in the box on Friday and the recipient picked it up in their mail box on Monday--that is faster than usual, I would have expected it to arrive at the Calgary address on Wednesday or Thursday.

Kay, it's very possible that your package was held up at customs. A lot of times packages go right through; we normally expect a package from the US to arrive in 10 to 14 days. However, if the package happens to get put into the pile to be opened by customs it can take 6 weeks to get here. I order quite a bit of stuff from the US & have had that happen only once in the past 8 years, but it can happen.

Our local mail (as in anything that is being mailed to destinations within Manitoba, other than Winnipeg) usually has next day delivery. If it's going to Winnipeg or one of the eastern towns that has mail routed through Winnipeg then it is likely 2 day delivery.

Mail travel time in Canada most certainly is not 4 weeks.


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## 2minis4us (Sep 7, 2011)

I think it's scary to hear the talk of the Postal Service going bankrupt !! We need it ! Maybe it can be re-structured, or has to be. I don't like paying bills by computer. I shop on the internet and get most of my things via the Post Office. We live in a rural area and have a PO Box for our mail, it's safer.


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## anoki (Sep 7, 2011)

2minis4us said:


> I think it's scary to hear the talk of the Postal Service going bankrupt !! We need it !


That's what all of us in Canada thought too....until Canada Post went on strike a few months ago!





Now many people have figured out how to do most business without it....don't think it did Canada Post much good.

And as much as I get super frustrated with Canada Post, I don't complain often about their delivery. Our mailman brings packages to our door so we don't have to drive into town to pick it up. And *most* times delivery is VERY good! I get letters from BC all the time that arrive here in 3 or 4 days! Even packages coming from the US....very rarely have they been over 10 days!

~kathryn


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## Sonya (Sep 7, 2011)

One thing to consider is the USPS used to be self sufficient, the cost of sending letters/packages paid all their expenses...now that is not the case though with online bill pays, email, etc.


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## chandab (Sep 7, 2011)

2minis4us said:


> I think it's scary to hear the talk of the Postal Service going bankrupt !! We need it ! Maybe it can be re-structured, or has to be. I don't like paying bills by computer. I shop on the internet and get most of my things via the Post Office. We live in a rural area and have a PO Box for our mail, it's safer.



Me, too. Although we do have a mailbox out on the road, and its fine where we are. I have a small internet business and I'd be out of business without USPS. While we do get UPS deliveries, pick-ups are more difficult; same with FedEx; and other carriers don't come out here, they do the last leg via USPS.


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## weebiscuit (Sep 7, 2011)

Marsha Cassada said:


> Why do you resent postal workers earning a decent living wage?? Holidays and vacations?? Look at all the times banks are closed--I think we should do away with banks!
> 
> Mail delivery is crucial to a civilized nation. No way should private companies do it. We might end up with another Federal Reserve...


I don't pay bank worker's salaries through my taxes, (unless, of course, it's Bush or Obama bailing them out with taxpayer money).

I get a lot of packages from Fed Ex or UPS because I do a lot of internet shopping. They deliver to my door, in rain, sleet, hail, high winds, and snow, and I don't pay for that service through my taxes. If these companies can provide a high-quality delivery service at NO expense to taxpayers, then the USPS should be able to do the same.

I have no beef with my local small-town post office. In fact, our rural mail carrier is constantly driving all the way up our long, 800' driveway to bring me a package that won't fit in my mailbox. He's a peach and we always remember him at Christmas. But then again, Fed Ex brings packages up my long driveway and they are not tax-payer subsidized.


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## Pepipony (Sep 7, 2011)

The bad thing is these companies do not save for a rainy day. They dont really put much back for future expenses, ie: employee retirements, healthcare costs etc. They worry about how much money they can make and then how much they can give each other in bonuses. Then a crisis comes along and they gripe about all their expenses and blame it on employee expenses. I am beginning to think that a lot of these companies/states problems while real, are somewhat manufactured so they can go after unions and end collective bargaining rights.

Its the same problem with social security, Presidents have used the money put back for SS. So now there isnt enough money and instead of stating the fact that they have used it as a piggy bank, they claim that the program itself is bancrupt.

Anytime a company has problems meeting retirements etc of employees. Think about how many millions that have given them selves in bonuses , golden parachutes etc over the decades.


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## Jill (Sep 7, 2011)

The private sector would do it better and more efficiently than this quasi government agency. I'm ready to see the free market solve this problem.


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## StarRidgeAcres (Sep 7, 2011)

Jill said:


> The private sector would do it better and more efficiently than this quasi government agency. I'm ready to see the free market solve this problem.



I agree 100%!


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## SampleMM (Sep 7, 2011)

Amen Jill !!!!


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## RockRiverTiff (Sep 7, 2011)

Now is not a good time to ask me how I feel about the USPS, since one of my packages has been MIA for a month. I have family and friends that work for the post office, and while their jobs are more complicated than they seem from the other side of the window, I know from their first-hand testimony that the system is woefully outdated. If the USPS does go under, I will miss the personalized service I get when I stop at our little office, but I won't miss the overall inconsistency.


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## tagalong (Sep 7, 2011)

You can blame Customs for many if not all of the delays when parcels are crossing borders.

A parcel sent to me here in Washington state from Edmonton, Alberta in February disappeared as soon as it hit the border. It turned up here in the beginning of June... looking as if sharks had had a feeding frenzy with it. It was covered with the lime green tape that says that US Customs/ Border Agents had opened it. They had not only opened the box, they had opened each of the gifts within - and then I suspect the opened box had been sitting under someone's desk for a while - the interior was dusty and even had someone's crumpled Mars Bar wrapper in it and an empty little coffee creamer tub.

Going the other direction, a few years ago I sent a friend in Calgary a very nice art print in a large mailing tube. It arrived with orange tape on it saying Canada Customs had opened it. Okay - so having opened it, they could plainly see it was a print/poster and they did not need to take it out of the tube. Someone did - and left a fingerprint on it and ripped the corner when rolling it up again to stuff it back in the tube - the wrong way out with the printed side on the outside. They more or less ruined it.


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## Nathan Luszcz (Sep 7, 2011)

The USPS's hands are tied, they can not make any changes without Congress's okay. I still pay all my bills by check and receive all my statements through USPS and will continue to do so. We need changes, definitely, but I think we still need the Post Office. Its one of the greatest inventions of the modern era.


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## StarRidgeAcres (Sep 8, 2011)

Nathan Luszcz said:


> Its one of the greatest inventions of the modern era.


I think the problem is it is no longer of the "modern era" and just failed to keep up. If it had been run like any other "business" it would have been making greater strides toward the current technologies, better advertising targeted in that direction, and more services geared toward the way most people communicate today, which is trending away from paper. It's a dinosaur that didn't evolve.


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## Marty (Sep 8, 2011)

First off, I don't really feel sorry for anyone that works in the post office. I can only imagine its a difficult job. BUT! That is their chosen profession and they knew going in it would be a hard job. Nobody held a gun to their heads and said they had to work there. It was their choice. As for stuff getting lost and never showing up, youbetcha! I've had plenty of that happen. It is where I have to send just about everything priority mail or it will take weeks to get from the south to northern states. That's not right.

Our post office is very tiny with two girls, usually one at the counter. The problem with them is that they are way TOO helpful and beyond friendly. They take a long time being so helpful and explaining every little thing in such great detail to everyone, that the line is always out the dang door. They talk too much.

As for the mailman, OMG! This man is late! And I mean he is late by HOURS because he VISITS with anyone he wants to visit with. He is often found pulled over the side of the road just yakking away. He comes up here for his lunch break at the General Store, which is fine, you need a lunch break, but then OMG it takes him another hour or so to get from there to here. I'm not kidding. I'm like 5 mintues from there! He's still chatting it up door to door. He's so friendly he loves to engage everyone in conversation and he does just that.


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## disneyhorse (Sep 8, 2011)

My husband works for Fed Ex. He has great disdain for the Post Office. I don't know why, but I personally enjoy the USPS. I ship a lot of my eBay packages thorough USPS. I really should ship FedEx I guess... sometimes I do... but I wouldn't mind either way if the USPS went under or not. Honestly most of what I get in the daily mail is junk mail, I think e-mail has really eliminated a good portion of the volume of actual mail. And I purchase a great deal of things online, but they usually ship UPS or FedEx so it really doesn't matter a whole lot to me personally.

It's not like people who work for the Post Office wouldn't be able to try to get jobs with whatever companies take up the slack? I don't know. They are paid pretty well though, more than I am!

Andrea


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## Minimor (Sep 8, 2011)

Well, if the USPS does go under, I do hope there will be something/someone to replace it. I can just imagine trying to send registration papers, show results, etc to the office without any sort of mail service. Use FedEx? Not likely--not from Canada.

It cost me $10 to mail my judges cards from our June show to ASPC. I think it would have been about $26 if I had to mail in the results sheets as well, but I sent those by e-mail. If I had to send the results sheets and judges cards by FedEx it was going to cost over $100, and that wasn't the overnight option. At that price it wasn't an option at all.


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## Jill (Sep 8, 2011)

OF COURSE private interests would step in and fill the void left if we no longer had the USPS. That's exactly what happens in the free market and when it does, everyone benefits. The free market works.


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## susanne (Sep 8, 2011)

I see a great deal of good coming from such a change, but I worry about those living in isolated areas who won't be profitable for these companies. The CEOs and shareholders will have no qualms about cutting service to those who don't bring a profit.

Perhaps the mail could be handled as utilities are -- profit-driven, but with a mandate to cover everyone, not just those who bring in the bucks.

Free enterprise is a beautiful thing, but not if it's allowed to run amok.


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## Minimor (Sep 8, 2011)

Exactly Susanne!


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## Jill (Sep 8, 2011)

Free enterprise is beautiful and the free market works well when allowed to. I have no worries about solutions being in place, that will work and work well, if the USPS is no longer around. Maybe people in rural areas will have to pay more to mail things but that's the way it goes in the real world. The alternative is to prop it up with tax payer dollars and sorry, but that is a losing proposition when we're talking about something that's broken. Once it shakes out and we all know the score, if it costs more to mail things from rural areas, or takes longer, that will be a known and then choices can be made accordingly (mail, pay by phone, pay over the internet, email a card or a letter, ETC...). We need to understand the meaning of a bottom line and the disaster of always running in the *red* when it comes to the government and quasi government agencies.


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## Nathan Luszcz (Sep 9, 2011)

Except pay by phone and over the internet more often than not come with fees attached, because they know that people will pay them for the convenience. There is no low cost option. Free market works great in the city, out in the country people are forced to live 10 years in the past. I don't even have cable here! Or DSL. And I'm 5 miles from a city. Imagine those who are 20+ miles from the city, or even those who are 100 miles from a city, and 1 mile from a neighbor. Who will help them? There is a reason that the Post Office is a federal entity. Its because its one of the few services that is mandated to be equal access to all. Internet isn't equal access, cable isn't, etc. Oddly enough, in extremely rural areas, land is extremely cheap, so people who can't afford much move farther away. Seems as though you have to have money to do pretty much anything these days.


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## Jill (Sep 9, 2011)

Nathan Luszcz said:


> Except pay by phone and over the internet more often than not come with fees attached...


Not in my experience, and I pay EVERYTHING over the internet unless I'm shopping in person.


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## Nathan Luszcz (Sep 9, 2011)

For routine bills, car payments, loan payments, etc unless you are making a transfer-payment require a fee. It stinks. To pay my phone bill, its $5. To pay my trailer payment, its $6. And with dialup internet, its difficult to make internet payments. Not everyone is as fortunate as you.


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## Jill (Sep 9, 2011)

I pay mortgage and all household bills online and without a fee. I'm not sure if that means I'm exceptionallly fortunate, but I do not think the tax payer and generations after should be saddled with the cost of making something that no longer works keep running. Free market works whenever it is allowed to do so. It will offer better alternatives to the USPS. If it costs some folks a little more, that's just how it goes. Every place a person can decide to live has plus and minus issues to factor jn... But that cost shouldn't be socialized to include everyone else, and we shouldn't continue to pour money into a broken bucket.


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## CKC (Sep 9, 2011)

Nathan--- try this website out... They don't take all bills, but they do have a number of creditors that participate and it's free. Maybe there are some that can help save a few fees.

https://mycheckfree.com


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## StarRidgeAcres (Sep 9, 2011)

Nathan Luszcz said:


> its difficult to make internet payments. Not everyone is as fortunate as you.



Making payments online - either via your checking account or on each provider's site - is no more difficult then getting on LB. If your internet access is good enough to post on LB, it will handle making payments online. And it's free. I can't think of one provider I have (electric, water, lease, heath care providers, cable, trash pick-up, etc.) that charges me. My vets will take payments over the phone using my visa debit card.

I "get" the service that the USPS provides, but it has out-lived its time. Maybe it can be reconfigured and made to work, but I just don't think so. At a minimun, they will need to get somene with real CEO experience at the top. But I'm not optimistic.


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## Minimor (Sep 9, 2011)

I'm on dial up internet & quite frankly I do not pay bill on line. Initially my computer was an older one that did not have all the security updates on it and it was not secure for banking purposes--there were holes where a hacker could have gotten in if he tried...and so I didn't do anything financial on that computer. If someone hacks into my LB account, well, so they do. I was not going to risk someone getting into my bank accounts or credit card. I do bill payment by telephone banking (there is a fee, though not a large one) or in person, or by mail. Now my computer is newer but I still don't do banking on line--I've known a few people with connections they thought were secure & they still got hacked/robbed, so it just isn't something I do. There are plenty of others that are the same--and there are still many people who don't use the internet at all & probably never will. Many people do still depend on the mail service.

I get really tired of the "everyone can do everything via internet"


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## chandab (Sep 9, 2011)

Minimor said:


> I get really tired of the "everyone can do everything via internet"


Me, too. I know plenty of people that don't have a computer, don't have a credit card, don't want to give out personal financial information over the phone.


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## Riverrose28 (Sep 9, 2011)

There is no way the postal service can be dissolved, yes it can be scaled back, even stop delivering on Sat., but this service is needed. I know many who don't even own a computer, or even know how to use one. I don't pay bills online, I feel it's not safe, I use the postal service. We don't get high speed down here, wnen though we have satilite, we have no high speed, only dial up. sometimes it takes forever just to get to LB, and then can't view vedios. My youngest daughter pays her bills on line, great for her, but not us. No, I don't feel sorry for them, and think an over haul is justified. But no civilized Nation can do without a Postal Service. To those of you that say oh well it will cost us in the boonies more to mail if the system is priviatized, well can you loan me the money? We are all tapped out here.


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## Nathan Luszcz (Sep 9, 2011)

ditto


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## Jill (Sep 9, 2011)

Sooo... if there were no USPS because they can't do the job well and cannot run in the black, there's nothing out there in the private sector that would come together and fill that void? _ Oh-okay... _


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## Marty (Sep 9, 2011)

Even though I gripe because my mailman is always so late, I'm still going to give him candy and a card for Christmas.


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## Seashells (Sep 10, 2011)

Husband states: "No tax money at all goes into the postal service, and if they go private, you watch out what for what they will charge...Postal service does not profit off their service, it's designed to keep the service going for the people, not for profit."


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## Minimor (Sep 10, 2011)

Jill, you're missing the point.

We're not saying a private entity cannot/will not take over if USPS folds. We're simply pointing out that it will be a bad thing if some remote areas are going to get charged more or dropped completely because there is no profit in delivering to those areas...even in private enterprise there is no reason why the postal service should not deliver to everyone, all at the same postage cost...charge 60 cents for a stamp regardless if you live in New York City or on some remote ranch in the southwest, 20 miles off the beaten track. If the business has a profit overall, what difference does it make if NYC is subsidizing that remote ranch?

As you said, "Every place a person can decide to live has plus and minus issues to factor in..." so if you don't like paying 60 cents per stamp in the city, move to some out of the way place where you will be paying 60 cents per stamp and getting a real deal!





Canada Post, for instance, had a profit in both 2009 and 2010 (though a somewhat smaller profit in 2010) and they deliver even to Nunavut, which is about as out of the way as you can get. A package mailed between Nunavut and Brandon will take more postage than the same parcel mailed from Brandon to Winnipeg, just as it costs more to mail a package from Brandon to Toronto than the same package mailed from Brandon to Winnipeg...but ordinary postage is the same to all locations. I use the same stamp whether my letter is going to Carberry (15 miles from me) or to Nunavut. Am I upset over the fact that I pay the same postage to mail a bill payment to a local location as someone in Nunavut pays to mail a letter to wherever? No. I wouldn't have thought anyone would care about that but maybe there are a few who believe Nunavut should pay $100 to pay letter postage to/from Nunavut?

Even some stores subsidize some products. I was chatting with a pet food store owner one day and he mentioned one specific product that is so costly if he charged enough to make a profit on it no one would buy it--so he sells it at cost. By selling it at cost people come into the store to buy it and while they are there they buy other products as well--and so overall he makes money on those people, even though he is not making money on that one particular item. Sometimes, even in private enterprise, one thing subsidizes another.


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## Jill (Sep 10, 2011)

I'm missing no point. If it goes private snd costs a little more for remote areas, but stops bleeding money and runs better -- sounds great to me. We surely may not agree but that doesn't mean that I don't understand a set of circumstances



. ...


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## SampleMM (Sep 10, 2011)

If it were privately owned then maybe my problems with missing packages, wrong mail being delivered, rude employees and poor customer service would change. Let's give it a whirl and see.


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## vickie gee (Sep 10, 2011)

I do not know if I really feel sorry for them but in their defense I say that at least they work for a living instead of voting for a living.

I do not feel that they are overpaid either. Like all government jobs you enter into a specific entry pay and over 25 years are so with step raises and hopefully promotions and cost of living raises(this year an exception thanks to obama...guess he has not actually paid for any groceries or gas lately). Postal workers are at least in the segment of government workers who are all working. They are standing, lifting, driving, handling money and putting up with the public. Maybe some are more patient, kind, and friendly at the post office than others but that is the way it is no matter if you are dealing with a waitress, sales clerk, or any person who works with the public.

I work for the government and readily admit that a large majority of the co-workers there are lazy and have no intention of doing anything other than show up and get paid to have a social life. Some will never hit a lick and if they do will mess up and cause more work. Postal workers are working.

With so many of us using the internet the amount of service we need has certainly declined. I still appreciate the postal workers. What really perplexes me is that over the last 10-12 years the number of new rural post offices that were built. They are really nice. Guess folks in DC were not aware that the internet was out there and starting to do the work of the mail service. Heck, maybe Al Gore had already invented the internet but had not notified those in charge of designing and building new government buildings. Guess we will have to close them to "make" more stimulus money.


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## Margo_C-T (Sep 10, 2011)

My husband was a longtime employee of the now-oft-maligned BLM. He was ranch-raised to have a genuine work ethic, which he applied to ALL the work he ever did(in the Navy, as a Western Electric employee on far-off Kwadiejulin(sp?)Island after the Korean War, and in his years as a Range Specialist w/ BLM); he WAS a genuinely-WORKING employee, although I would readily agree that in MANY jobs today, there don't seem to be much by way of 'performance criteria', and in my observation, there are an increasing number of 'employees' at every level of both gov't and business who aren't earning their pay! As a Federal employee, he was eligible for the FEHBP. The USPS may not 'officially' be a US gov't. 'agency', but its employees, thanks I suppose to their unions, enjoy by FAR the best 'deal'of all the FEHBP benefits; they pay about one-third of what the rest of us pay for 'their portion' of their health insurance premiums. It is overly-generous 'deals' like this that are helping take down the USPS, along with the several other serious issues mentioned. JMHO, of course.

Margo


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## Bess Kelly (Sep 12, 2011)

IMO, Sat delivery could be stopped, the door to door could become a bulk delivery station (as most newer apartment/townhouse/single homes areas) now have with a keyed box. Many rurals could be assigned boxes in nearest town and have a "group" of locked boxes, etc. That could save $$ by reducing # of employees, post office buildings, etc. If you want your mail you can still get it. Junk mail needs to stop and by upping the cost to the sender, it would. Give me a lower store price instead of an ad.

Personally, I could get by with 2 stamps a year and have one left over! (maybe 2



) I do use the net and I do have rural postal delivery. I would be happy to check mail at the local building! In most cases once a week would be sufficient. There are still some requirements that "some" things are delivered to you. A private service could do that as well as USPS, maybe a little more cost but, still could do. Wouldn't affect me if they closed & let private take over.


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## Jill (Sep 13, 2011)

I came across these this morning and wanted to share them on this thread.


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## Riverrose28 (Sep 14, 2011)

Bess Kelly said:


> IMO, Sat delivery could be stopped, the door to door could become a bulk delivery station (as most newer apartment/townhouse/single homes areas) now have with a keyed box. Many rurals could be assigned boxes in nearest town and have a "group" of locked boxes, etc. That could save $$ by reducing # of employees, post office buildings, etc. If you want your mail you can still get it. Junk mail needs to stop and by upping the cost to the sender, it would. Give me a lower store price instead of an ad.
> 
> Personally, I could get by with 2 stamps a year and have one left over! (maybe 2
> 
> ...


It's the last line that gets me, "Wouldn't affect me if they closed & let private take over."

That's the problem, it may not affect me either, but what abought the ones it may affect?

What about the cost? What about the elderly that can't drive? I'm sorry but every time a company goes private cost increases. JMO!


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## Jill (Sep 14, 2011)

Riverrose28 said:


> It's the last line that gets me, "Wouldn't affect me if they closed & let private take over."
> 
> That's the problem, it may not affect me either, but what abought the ones it may affect?
> 
> What about the cost? What about the elderly that can't drive? I'm sorry but every time a company goes private cost increases. JMO!


That's such a classic socialistic point of view. It is not the place of the US Government to level every private / personal playing field. The USPS is a quasi government agency that has strongly demonstrated its inability to stop bleeding money. The government can't prop up, fund or give any money to something or someone it doesn't first take from another. I think it's time to see the free market, efficient and viable solution to this hungry dinosaur.


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## susanne (Sep 14, 2011)

If the US Postal System is to continue, the logical answer is for it to once again become self-sustaining. They could do a few things that would make an enormous difference:

Cutting Saturday service and perhaps cutting out another day or two could make a huge difference. Once everyone gets used to it, it would hardly be noticed. They used to deliver mail several times EACH day, but people adapted when that went bye-bye.

Cut way back on urban delivery. Most city residents live within blocks of a post office. They could cut home delivery for able-bodied people living near a post office. (Heaven forbid, city people might start walking!) Save home delivery for the elderly, infirm, and rural customers.

~or~

Simplify urban routes.

A huge amount of time is wasted walking up to each and every house. If every city house and apartment/condo complex had a curbside mailbox (locking, if you prefer), a great deal of time and expense would be saved. There would be fewer dog issues, too.

Good employees should always be rewarded, but pay increases should be based at least in part on merit, not just on number of years worked. Bonuses should be given to those who come up with cost-saving measures. Too many people in such systems (public and private) are afraid to rock the boat or make others look bad.

Cutting out bulk mail will hurt, not help matters, as it brings a fair amount of money in. Too bad the Post Office didn't recognize the value of email and, at the very least, incorporate it into their bulk mail system. Oh well, that ship has sailed!


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## Nathan Luszcz (Sep 15, 2011)

Jill said:


> That's such a classic socialistic point of view. It is not the place of the US Government to level every private / personal playing field. The USPS is a quasi government agency that has strongly demonstrated its inability to stop bleeding money. The government can't prop up, fund or give any money to something or someone it doesn't first take from another. I think it's time to see the free market, efficient and viable solution to this hungry dinosaur.



The post office has no control over its own policies. Any change requires Congressional approval.


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## Jill (Sep 15, 2011)

Nathan Luszcz said:


> The post office has no control over its own policies. Any change requires Congressional approval.


And that contrasts / conflicts with what I said how?


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## Riverrose28 (Sep 16, 2011)

I heard on the news last night that they are considering closing some sorting/distribution centers, laying off 35,000 employees and reducing delivery to three days a week. I don't know if that will help get them back to being self-suffient, but it's better then doing nothing at all. It's a shame about laying off workers so hopefully they will at least get rid of some of the non-productive ones. The news also interviewed a business owner in D.C that stated that Fed-EX and UPS don't deliver his merchandise to some overseas locations, and he needs the USPS to deliver.


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## Jill (Sep 16, 2011)

Riverrose28 said:


> ... The news also interviewed a business owner in D.C that stated that Fed-EX and UPS don't deliver his merchandise to some overseas locations, and he needs the USPS to deliver.


Trust me, if there's business or private need that is unmet due to a line of service being discontinued by the USPS, the private sector WILL step up to the plate. That's how it works. The free market and capitalism are what make the world go around. And for anyone who thinks "capitalism" is a dirty word -- if you own _anything_ or aspire to, it's capitalism that makes it possible


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## Shari (Sep 16, 2011)

All I can say is... the two people I know that work for the USPS... are only allowed to work 39 hours, they work very hard and it is stressful.

Because they can only work 39 hours, they do not get any bennies. No medical or anything else.

Also won't like it if I had to go to town to get my mail though. Not sure what the answer is but something will have to change.


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## Bess Kelly (Sep 16, 2011)

Bess Kelly said:


> Personally, I could get by with 2 stamps a year and have one left over! (maybe 2
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I mean it would not affect "ME"



Because I practically never use the mail. Yes, some do use USPS, count on it, need it, etc. For those I would hope that reduced delivery times, days, location, etc. would work.

They could deliver as needed. Hey, we have situations that restrict use & privilege to certain persons (i.e. handicap parking, food stamps, WIC, employment access needs, assist animals, etc.) as determined they need whatever is being provided/accommocated & I think this could be set up to help with such situations.

I feel several great suggestions have been offered here and maybe USPS should read


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## the pony petter (Sep 18, 2011)

In my town the PO is more than just for mail. Its a way to check on the elderly the sick and to keep in touch. We only have 108 people in town,and I'm not sure how many rural cust there are. They want to close our Po this will be a hardship for many.We don't have a postmaster so wages are a low. The owner of the building cut the rent in half. the bussineses in town aren't sure what there going to do. Many in the area can not afford the internet or a computer.


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## BBH (Sep 26, 2011)

just went thru a mess with a delviery confirmation priority pkg that was sent 9/8 and supposed to be delivered the following day, NOT! it was sent ack to sender.....and I still have not gotten it. It has cost me alot of money to duplicate and then had to hand deliver to client. In talking to Consumer Affairs ....who wer very helpful by the way, this is happening more and more......no one wants to take responsibility for anything or go that extra mile......

nope don't feel sorry for them at all...most of my mail is junk and five days a week delivery would be just fine.


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## Jill (Sep 27, 2011)

The USPS could also do five days a week but also alternate neighborhoods. Like split them 50/50. One week, I get my mail on Tuesday and Thursday and you get yours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then the next week, switch. It would cut the delivery addresses to hit each delivery day by 50%.


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## Davie (Sep 27, 2011)

I'm a governement employee also and I'll be the first to say I wish I got the benefits and salary that the USPS does. Every year at "OPEN SEASON" for health benefits what the USPS pays out of pocket vs. myself is less than 1/3 of what I do as a single person and it is even a great difference for a family plan, they also have a greater number of companies to choose from. They also pay less for their Optional Long Term Health Care coverage if they opt to take that--and it is a privately funded company.

Their GS payscale is not the same as the one I get paid off of--that is for sure. I would be makeing at least $10,000 more a year if I worked for USPS at the same grade and step that I am now.

I live in rural Norman (12 miles from town and 15 miles from the PO) and I get mail probably 3 times a week at most. I could certainly do WITHOUT Saturday delivery. I don't place mail in my mailbox as we have a lot of vandilization from the boxes so I bring mine into work and mail from the on-base po that is just 2 blocks from my office. The base also has and on-site UPS and FedEx office so I have everything I need right here at my fingertips.

I make roadster silks and I can ship through UPS for a lot less than I can the USPS for the same timeframe delivery service.

From this Government Employee it would not hurt my feeling on bit to see USPS go belly up and then our wonderful government might fix what would then be broken or turn it to a private company just like DOD contracts out to the likes of Boeing, McDonald-Douglas, and several others and like DOT contracted out the inputing of Government employee's time and attendance function--that used to be a totally in-house function as I used to have that job or the contracting out of Instructors for various DOT required training--my Father was a DOT engineering instructor for all of his federal career and then when he retired he was asked to stay on as a contract instructor so they would not have to hire someone to take his place--it was more cost effective.


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