Serious USPS question

[Mr. N.A.Cho]

why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.

[Mr. N.A.Cho]

On Nov 15, 8:07 pm, "Mr. N.A.Cho" <ThisSpaceForR...@mail.com> wrote:
> why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
> For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.

http://news.yahoo.com/post-office-reports-record-loss-15-9b-145003156.html

[Dave Withrow]

"Mr. N.A.Cho" <ThisSpac...@mail.com> wrote in news:2741f936-fd0c-
4e34-b03b-2...@jj5g2000pbc.googlegroups.com:

> why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
> For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.

United States Code, Title 39, Chapter 36, section 3622 -

‘(d) REQUIREMENTS-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- The system for regulating rates and classes for market-
dominant
products shall--

‘(A) include an annual limitation on the percentage changes in rates to
be set by the
Postal Regulatory Commission that will be equal to the change in the
Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers unadjusted for seasonal variation over the
most recent
available 12-month period preceding the date the Postal Service files
notice of its
intention to increase rates;

---
The preceding is courtesy of the Republican Congress of 2006, lame duck
session.

-Dave Withrow

[J.C. Watts]

> http://news.yahoo.com/post-office-reports-record-loss-15-9b-145003156...


Every other day delivery. Hell, I could live with twice a week. Cut
personnel costs considerably.

[Mr. N.A.Cho]

On Nov 16, 3:06 am, Dave Withrow <dcDELwithrow...@gmailTHISdot.com>
wrote:
> "Mr. N.A.Cho" <ThisSpaceForR...@mail.com> wrote in news:2741f936-fd0c-
> 4e34-b03b-21f073798...@jj5g2000pbc.googlegroups.com:

laws are made to be changed to reflect the times.

[Jim Brown]

M-W-F delivery, but I don't see how they can get rid of all the
handling on a daily basis...they would be swamped. And how do you
employ hundreds of thousand of mail carriers for three days per week?

[J.C. Watts]

Cut the carrier force in half. On MWF they do deliveries to half the
boxes...on TThS they deliver to the other half.

I know it isn't that simple, but they really aren't looking at this
kind of stuff enough.

[Mr. N.A.Cho]

> kind of stuff enough.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

did they actually do away with Saturday delivery? If not, they REALLY
need to shitcan that.

[J. Hugh Sullivan]

Two reasons come to mind since our oldest son worked for the PO for
about 14 years.

1. Unions
2. Political appointment of incompetent postmasters.

Our son (a carrier) wanted to be first out and first back to show his
interest and speed. That resulted in his area being enlarged so other
carriers could have more time to dally.

When he was steward, or whatever they call them, I said he should
cooperate with management when they were right. This was unacceptable
to union members.

Bonuses are passed to the favorites of management. Our son got them
until a former union man was made Postmaster.

The PO doesn't need to look at cost of service first. They need to
look at becoming lean and mean in light of e-mail, paying bills online
and other forms of competition. Solve costs and then solve rates and
delivery.

Maybe they could sell the PO to Wal-Mart.

Hugh

[Dennis J]

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:07:35 -0800 (PST), "Mr. N.A.Cho"
<ThisSpac...@mail.com> wrote:

if you wanna pay what UPS or FedEx would charge then the USPS would be
more profitable than Opec.
--

"Beware of the Military-Industrial Complex!!" D.D.E
"iPOD -- I Prefer Other Devices"
"Education is the progressive discovery of our own Ignorance" Will Durant
"One can't have a sense of perspective without a sense of Humor" -- Wayne Thiboux
"the Glass is not only half full, it has been delicious so far!!" -- ME
To reply, SCRAPE off the end bits.

[Dennis J]

We still do SUNDAY delivery on EXPRESS MAIL.

profitability isn't really a problem, it's having a bunch of people
that want to prove the Government can't do anything right....

[Dennis J]

On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:26:10 GMT, Ea...@bellsouth.net (J. Hugh
Sullivan) wrote:

>On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:07:35 -0800 (PST), "Mr. N.A.Cho"
><ThisSpac...@mail.com> wrote:
>
>>why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
>>For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.
>
>Two reasons come to mind since our oldest son worked for the PO for
>about 14 years.
>
>1. Unions

I'll give you a little on that, the guys at the Union HQ make Malcolm
X look like a pacifist.

>2. Political appointment of incompetent postmasters.

Postmasters are no longer political, the last Appointee retired this
year. He was Appointed in the late 80's.

>Our son (a carrier) wanted to be first out and first back to show his
>interest and speed. That resulted in his area being enlarged so other
>carriers could have more time to dally.

there's a fine line between showing Interest and kissing ass.

>
>When he was steward, or whatever they call them, I said he should
>cooperate with management when they were right. This was unacceptable
>to union members.
>
>Bonuses are passed to the favorites of management. Our son got them
>until a former union man was made Postmaster.
>

there's a fine line between showing Interest and kissing ass.

>The PO doesn't need to look at cost of service first. They need to
>look at becoming lean and mean in light of e-mail, paying bills online
>and other forms of competition. Solve costs and then solve rates and
>delivery.
>

Workforce has already been reduced, and there's an offer on the table
for people to get out in January. Mail delivery is still a personal
thing. you can only Automate so much of the process. I could see
eliminating a bunch of suits to streamline everything though.

>Maybe they could sell the PO to Wal-Mart.

great Idea for the Army... subcontract to the Russians...

[Dennis J]

From the Employee Net:

USPS ends fiscal year with $15.9 billion loss

Package business continues growth

Posted 11/15/12 at 1:31 p.m.



USPS ended fiscal year 2012 with a record net loss of $15.9 billion,
compared to a net loss of $5.1 billion for the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the Postal Service continues to grow its package services
business. Revenue from package services increased by $926 million, or
8.7 percent, on a volume increase of 244 million pieces compared to
the same period last year. Higher consumer spending, higher e-commerce
retail sales plus increased marketing efforts drove much of this
growth during FY 2012.

The FY 2012 loss includes expenses of $11.1 billion � the two payments
to prefund retiree health benefits. The Postal Service is uniquely
required by law to prefund this obligation. During FY 2012, USPS was
forced to default on these payments.

The prefunding requirement, which made up 70 percent of the net loss,
and the ability to provide more commercial flexibility to allow the
Postal Service to manage its business are among legislative changes
USPS says it needs to return to financial stability.

�It�s critical that Congress do its part and pass comprehensive
legislation before they adjourn this year to move the Postal Service
further down the path toward financial health,� said PMG Pat Donahoe.

Volume and revenue
First-Class Mail revenue, which peaked in 2007, dropped $1.163
billion or 3.9 percent, while Standard Mail decreased $747 million or
4.3 percent compared to last year. However, the rate of decline in the
First-Class Mail category slowed in 2012.

Other details of the yearly results compared to the same period last
year include:
�Total mail volume of 159.9 billion pieces compared to 168.3 billion
pieces a year ago
�Operating revenue of $65.2 billion compared to $65.7 billion in 2011
�Operating expenses of $81 billion (including the $11.1 billion
expense associated with prefunding retiree health benefits) compared
to $70.6 billion the year before

Expenses
The Postal Service has been successful in reducing controllable
expenses as mail volume and revenues have declined. This year�s
improvement is largely attributable to the reduction in work hours,
which decreased by 27 million, or 2.3 percent, in 2012 from the
previous year. Total work hours continue to decrease despite increases
in the number of delivery points, which rose by approximately 1.3
million over the last two years.

�These work hour reductions reflect our efforts to improve
productivity and to respond to the decline in mail volume,� said Chief
Financial Officer Joe Corbett. �Since 2000, we have reduced work hours
by a cumulative total of 504 million work hours, or $21 billion in
expense savings each year.�

At the end of 2012 fiscal year, the Postal Service reached its
statutory debt ceiling of $15 billion for the first time. �Our
liquidity continues to be a major concern and underscores the need for
passage of legislation that gives the Postal Service a more flexible
business model to improve its cash flow,� said Corbett. �Despite
reaching the debt limit, the Postal Service mail operations and
delivery continue as usual and employees and suppliers continue to be
paid on time.�

Corbett said the Postal Service�s revenue over the first six weeks of
fiscal 2013 is benefiting from the start of the holiday mailing season
and political and election mail from the just completed general
election season.

[The Undead Edward M. Kennedy]

"Dennis J" <drju...@frontier.SCRAPE.COM> wrote

>>why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
>>For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.
>
> if you wanna pay what UPS or FedEx would charge then the USPS would be
> more profitable than Opec.

I have long argued that the price to send a letter to Nome Alaska being
the same as sending a letter to my neighbor is silly.

There was a day when an argument could be made for the social value,
an argument I still disagree with, but it now very e-dated. People in
Hawaii pay a significant amount more for anything that isn't produced
in Hawaii, and there's a damn good reason for that. And we pay more
for pineapples than Hawaiins do. Big fucking deal.

You wanna live in a tropical island paradise? Fine, pay for shipping.
You wanna send junk mail to Alaska? Fine, pay for shipping.

--Tedward

[Mr. N.A.Cho]

On Nov 16, 2:57 pm, "The Undead Edward M. Kennedy" <e...@o.com> wrote:
> "Dennis J" <drjud...@frontier.SCRAPE.COM> wrote

that's a good idea actually - divide the country up into geographic
zones and make costs align with that.

[J.C. Watts]

On Nov 16, 1:57 pm, "The Undead Edward M. Kennedy" <e...@o.com> wrote:
> "Dennis J" <drjud...@frontier.SCRAPE.COM> wrote

>
> >>why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
> >>For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.
>
> > if you wanna pay what UPS or FedEx would charge then the USPS would be
> > more profitable than Opec.
>
> I have long argued that the price to send a letter to Nome Alaska being
> the same as sending a letter to my neighbor is silly.

What's silly is sending a letter to your neighbor.

[The Undead Edward M. Kennedy]

"J.C. Watts" <jone...@charter.net> wrote

> >>why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
> >>For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.
>
> > if you wanna pay what UPS or FedEx would charge then the USPS would be
> > more profitable than Opec.
>
> I have long argued that the price to send a letter to Nome Alaska being
> the same as sending a letter to my neighbor is silly.
<
<What's silly is sending a letter to your neighbor.

Hallmark h8s you! McCarthy prolly would have had you on his list
of un-Americans. Bush would have you on the no-fly list, and Obama
would have a special tax for you.

--Tedward

P.S. What if you neighbor was Valerie Burtonelli?!

[Dennis J]

well... I believe in bulk mail it is just that.
as far as first class letters under an ounce? probably and educated
guesstimate based on the average letter.

I didn't get why we didn't bump up first class postage to all of two
Quarters instead of the 47 cents we'll be charging sometime in
January...

[Dennis J]

dude... BUY KNOCK YOU LARS!!!

[J. Hugh Sullivan]

On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:48:29 -0500, Dennis J
<drju...@frontier.SCRAPE.COM> wrote:

>On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:26:10 GMT, Ea...@bellsouth.net (J. Hugh
>Sullivan) wrote:
>
>>On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 17:07:35 -0800 (PST), "Mr. N.A.Cho"
>><ThisSpac...@mail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
>>>For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.
>>
>>Two reasons come to mind since our oldest son worked for the PO for
>>about 14 years.
>>
>>1. Unions
>
>I'll give you a little on that, the guys at the Union HQ make Malcolm
>X look like a pacifist.
>
>
>>2. Political appointment of incompetent postmasters.
>Postmasters are no longer political, the last Appointee retired this
>year. He was Appointed in the late 80's.
>
>>Our son (a carrier) wanted to be first out and first back to show his
>>interest and speed. That resulted in his area being enlarged so other
>>carriers could have more time to dally.
>
>there's a fine line between showing Interest and kissing ass.

He was more likely to kick ass. Being the best was to satisfy him.

>>When he was steward, or whatever they call them, I said he should
>>cooperate with management when they were right. This was unacceptable
>>to union members.
>>
>>Bonuses are passed to the favorites of management. Our son got them
>>until a former union man was made Postmaster.
>>
>
>there's a fine line between showing Interest and kissing ass.

Not really I passed bonuses and my bias meant nothing. It was based on
contributions to the department. Everyone seemed to get the message.

>
>>The PO doesn't need to look at cost of service first. They need to
>>look at becoming lean and mean in light of e-mail, paying bills online
>>and other forms of competition. Solve costs and then solve rates and
>>delivery.
>
>Workforce has already been reduced, and there's an offer on the table
>for people to get out in January. Mail delivery is still a personal
>thing. you can only Automate so much of the process. I could see
>eliminating a bunch of suits to streamline everything though.

Cut the fluff whoever it is.

>
>>Maybe they could sell the PO to Wal-Mart.

>great Idea for the Army... subcontract to the Russians...

Let's do Obie and Congress first and see how that works.

Hugh

[Michael Press]

In article
<fb0bfae4-fc12-4dfe...@r6g2000yqd.googlegroups.com>,

Exactly. Where will they _put_ all those pieces? Buy warehouses?

--
Michael Press

[Dennis J]

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 11:09:44 -0800, Michael Press <rub...@pacbell.net>
wrote:

we'd also have to buy bigger trucks...

[Mr. N.A.Cho]

On Nov 19, 4:38 pm, Dennis J <drjud...@frontier.SCRAPE.COM> wrote:
> On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 11:09:44 -0800, Michael Press <rub...@pacbell.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >In article

> ><fb0bfae4-fc12-4dfe-b9b3-6ddff37e1...@r6g2000yqd.googlegroups.com>,

> > Jim Brown <jimbrown...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >> On Nov 16, 7:53 am, "J.C. Watts" <jonens...@charter.net> wrote:
> >> > On Nov 15, 7:08 pm, "Mr. N.A.Cho" <ThisSpaceForR...@mail.com> wrote:
>
> >> > > On Nov 15, 8:07 pm, "Mr. N.A.Cho" <ThisSpaceForR...@mail.com> wrote:
>
> >> > > > why don't they just charge what it actually costs to send something?
> >> > > > For damn sure it doesn't cost a mere .42 cents to send a letter.
>
> >> > >http://news.yahoo.com/post-office-reports-record-loss-15-9b-145003156...
>
> >> > Every other day delivery. Hell, I could live with twice a week. Cut
> >> > personnel costs considerably.
>
> >> M-W-F delivery, but I don't see how they can get rid of all the
> >> handling on a daily basis...they would be swamped.  And how do you
> >> employ hundreds of thousand of mail carriers for three days per week?
>
> >Exactly. Where will they _put_ all those pieces? Buy warehouses?
>
> we'd also have to buy bigger trucks...
> --
>
> "Beware of the Military-Industrial Complex!!" D.D.E
> "iPOD -- I Prefer Other Devices"
> "Education is the progressive discovery of our own Ignorance" Will Durant
> "One can't have a sense of perspective without a sense of Humor" -- Wayne Thiboux
> "the Glass is not only half full, it has been delicious so far!!" -- ME

> To reply, SCRAPE off the end bits.- Hide quoted text -

>
> - Show quoted text -

Hi Dennis,
How can I get "in" with my mailman to make sure he knows I appreciate
his service and so he treats my mail with TLC? Is a Dunkin Donut GC a
good tip for the Holidays? How much do people generally tip?

[J. Hugh Sullivan]

On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:41:17 -0800 (PST), "Mr. N.A.Cho"
<ThisSpac...@mail.com> wrote:

>Hi Dennis,
>How can I get "in" with my mailman to make sure he knows I appreciate
>his service and so he treats my mail with TLC? Is a Dunkin Donut GC a
>good tip for the Holidays? How much do people generally tip?

I tried to speak and offer something to wet his whistle a couple of
times a month. I gave the best ones $40 and the others $20. We have
never had a bad one in the 47 years at this house.

Hugh

[Mr. N.A.Cho]

On Nov 19, 5:12 pm, Ea...@bellsouth.net (J. Hugh Sullivan) wrote:
> On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:41:17 -0800 (PST), "Mr. N.A.Cho"
>

> <ThisSpaceForR...@mail.com> wrote:
> >Hi Dennis,
> >How can I get "in" with my mailman to make sure he knows I appreciate
> >his service and so he treats my mail with TLC?  Is a Dunkin Donut GC a
> >good tip for the Holidays?  How much do people generally tip?
>
> I tried to speak and offer something to wet his whistle a couple of
> times a month. I gave the best ones $40 and the others $20. We have
> never had a bad one in the 47 years at this house.
>
> Hugh

I agree Hugh, the front-line USPS people are balls-to-the-wall good
people.

[Dennis J]

On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:41:17 -0800 (PST), "Mr. N.A.Cho"

I don't know, I'm a guy that works behind the scenes.
Gift card at Dunkin' might be good though.

[Dennis J]

Yeah the carriers out of my office are cool people, and the ones out
of the other one in town are nice too.