USPS warns it might have to shutter by June

[InuYashaCrusade]

There's always UPS and FedEx for packages.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by InuYashaCrusade

There's always UPS and FedEx for packages.

but if it's not a package - ??

and for those that have mail sent to a P.O. box how would that work out? Why DO folk have P.O boxes, I've never understood that?

[Jr7936]

I look at it like this. In this pandemic amazon fed ex, ups and smaller services actually want to deliver packages and get their job done while sometimes delivering packages ahead of estimation
Usps sometimes delivers the only piece of mail for the day a day or two late as well as sits on packages instead of just actually delivering them

Based on what i see fed ex as well as ups and smaller services actually want to work for their money while postal wants to do the least amount possible and get bailed out while probably rasing rates again once this is all said and done

For instance it looks like usps will sit on a package that is 10 min or less from me instead of just delivering it
Such great work ethic

[MrHT]

I don't know how the USPS could be doing so badly when most people today are shopping online. How are people getting their packages? I seriously doubt most are using UPS or FedEx as their rates are significantly higher.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by MrHT

I don't know how the USPS could be doing so badly when most people today are shopping online. How are people getting their packages? I seriously doubt most are using UPS or FedEx as their rates are significantly higher.

Congress has required the USPS to prefund healthcare benefits for future retirees which is a significant amount per year.

https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/fi...2010_4_002.htm

https://ips-dc.org/how-congress-manu...how-to-fix-it/

[tehthomas]

The op did not link to any source.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by tehthomas

The op did not link to any source.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/comp...O5w?li=BBnbfcL

[Scoot79]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

but if it's not a package - ??

and for those that have mail sent to a P.O. box how would that work out? Why DO folk have P.O boxes, I've never understood that?

I don't exactly know why we have always received our mail at a P.O. Box, but I'm glad we do. I don't have to worry about someone walking by and stealing things out of a mailbox on the road or destroying the mailbox. Knowing that our mail is behind lock and key gives me peace of mind.

[Raven_Sky]

Originally Posted by tehthomas

The op did not link to any source.

The OP clearly stated that the info was obtained from Fortune Magazine website and Business Insider. A simple Google search will provide you with the info.

[voltz]

I read yesterday that the bailout request was rejected and it was also rejected from the first draft signing. What's even more bothersome is Trump has it out for Jeff Bozos, so I don't know how this is going to pan out.

If this is a sign of things to come, getting your orders out by June may have just become a top priority. I don't know how we're going to do online shopping beyond this point once all this bs shuts the system down. Gonna have to do Walmart pickup or something.

[hockeyshark91]

Originally Posted by voltz

I read yesterday that the bailout request was rejected and it was also rejected from the first draft signing. What's even more bothersome is Trump has it out for Jeff Bozos, so I don't know how this is going to pan out.

If this is a sign of things to come, getting your orders out by June may have just become a top priority. I don't know how we're going to do online shopping beyond this point once all this bs shuts the system down. Gonna have to do Walmart pickup or something.

If anything, it's a mutual feud. And their feud has zero to do with the government not wanting to bail out the USPS. And like someone mentioned above, the PO should still be going full steam. What might be causing them to lose money. I still use them at least three times a week to get parcels out to ebay customers. Likewise, I still purchase everything online due to the virus shutdown. There's plenty we don't about what exactly is going on with the PO.

[Lee A Stewart]

Best to expand the photo so you can read the years on the bottom line.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

yeah, I don't know how some folk who get checks, important notices, etc., that are done exclusively via the USPS would be received. The distribution of physical mail is pretty key and important facet of day to day life.

Agree completely. Yes, physical packages could be handled by UPS/Fed Ex, but regular mail which includes checks, bills (if you're not paying these all online), updated drivers licenses, vehicle registration renewals (again, if you're not doing these all online), etc. need to be handled via USPS.

[voltz]

My question now is how will the government handle the service once it's no longer operable? It's not run by a private firm, plus it is considerably essential for business.

This comes all down to Trump due to the fact he has it out for Jeff Bozos and doesn't like him using the service as their personal delivery boy. If he's willing to put a halt on critical business operations, then he's got a real problem coming and people need to wake up.

[Steedeel]

I’m guessing this doesn’t bode well for my Blu-ray package that is supposed to be shipped to U.K. it’s been in Chicago for 4 weeks now.

[thecalm_7]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

but if it's not a package - ??

and for those that have mail sent to a P.O. box how would that work out? Why DO folk have P.O boxes, I've never understood that?

PO Boxes have multiple purposes but I have used them in the past for the following:
-mail carrier won’t deliver to the area directly. Lake Gaston NC didn’t have mail delivery to your residence for many years.
-my first landlord would not relinquish a key for the postal box designated for our address. For cosmetic appeal, the neighborhood wouldn’t allow individual mailboxes and only had communal boxes. Problem is the homeowner/landlord claimed the box.
-privacy when family/room mates are an issue or during marital disputes.

I know a few of the 55+ communities near me rely on PO Boxes because they are so crowded and they refuse to get communal boxes. Sugar sand roads here are almost a guarantee of no mail service.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by InuYashaCrusade

There's always UPS and FedEx for packages.

Both of which rely on USPS for much of their last-mile delivery (surepost/smartpost).

Also, people and businesses mail letters, cards and legal documents.

[Dubstar]

^ correct ... anything that isn't a package suddenly is in jeopardy of not getting routed through USPS - UPS/FedEx aren't going to pick up the slack here, far from it.

[Dollar Colonel]

I'm a huge USPS supporter and a functional mail system is one of the best things about America. They deliver a letter from one end of the country to another for less than a dollar! Their greatest asset is their monopoly but it's also the greatest prize for politicians to raid for private interests.

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Best to expand the photo so you can read the years on the bottom line.

I hate graphs like this in a discussion because they have the appearance of proof but it's actually quite misleading. Correlation doesn't prove causation. To tell people to make their own guesses about what happened based on data points and what they think they know about a year is at best misguided or biased.

Here's a relatively succinct summary of the USPS's woes at the hands of Congress. UPS and FedEx have huge lobbies to kill the USPS, which is not funded by tax dollars but has a mandate to provide mail service to every American.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/am...ostal-service/

Originally Posted by Dubstar

^ correct ... anything that isn't a package suddenly is in jeopardy of not getting routed through USPS - UPS/FedEx aren't going to pick up the slack here, far from it.

I'm cynical, so my guess is that they'll provide a cheap quote to prove "see, private business can do it better!" and then jack prices up, reduce service to nonprofitable rural areas, and/or demand a bailout. This happens every time politicians privatize public functions.

Originally Posted by Jr7936

I look at it like this. In this pandemic amazon fed ex, ups and smaller services actually want to deliver packages and get their job done while sometimes delivering packages ahead of estimation
Usps sometimes delivers the only piece of mail for the day a day or two late as well as sits on packages instead of just actually delivering them

Based on what i see fed ex as well as ups and smaller services actually want to work for their money while postal wants to do the least amount possible and get bailed out while probably rasing rates again once this is all said and done

For instance it looks like usps will sit on a package that is 10 min or less from me instead of just delivering it
Such great work ethic

USPS is still cheaper than other options. So much so that UPS and FedEx depend on USPS for last mile delivery in many instances. I can't speak for your specific package but it probably depends on their route...they can't spend 20 minutes roundtrip for every package just because you can't wait another day.

---

If I ran the USPS I would:

• lobby hard (are they allowed to lobby?) to get rid of that stupid pension funding rule and any other Congressional intervention/choking regulations
• close any rural post offices that can be serviced by the next town over (sorry rural Americans dependent on govt pork)
• stop picking up mail from every single mailbox every day (if it's so important you can drop it off at the post office)
• reduce package delivery and/or raise prices, especially to UPS SurePost/Fedex Smartpost (let's see them try to match coverage)

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by Dollar Colonel

I hate graphs like this in a discussion because they have the appearance of proof but it's actually quite misleading. Correlation doesn't prove causation. To tell people to make their own guesses about what happened based on data points and what they think they know about a year is at best misguided or biased.

The graph shows how much each year, from 1960 to 2016, the USPS has either made money, broke even, or lost money. In the 56 year time frame, a long enough time period to take into account the hills and valleys in the economy, the USPS made money 10 of those years. It went 32 years (1960 to 1992) showing no profit - only losses

So what did the USPS do in those 10 years that it hadn't been doing prior to and afterwards?