USPS

[Redmt]

I'm glad you found your barrel and hopefully it shows up soon.
With that said we are in a weird place in time. If a government organization makes any mistakes everyone piles on and tries to dismantle it. I personally like having private and public mail systems.

IMO the title of this thread should be
(Old man has package lost wants usps shut down.)View attachment 362875


Push for improvement not dismantling.

I didn't find it. The USPS got a jolt from higher up after being able to file a formal tracking request including the serial number.
I don't want the USPS shut down. I would like to see all of the people replaced that were given jobs because they fit the check list.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

Heres a wild thought, require USPS to operate at minimum of break even or even slight profit. Stop taking contracts at a loss such as Amazon. If you can't break even or better pass on it. Moving the loss to taxpayers is bull shite. Fix the damn retirement funding.

 

[Redmt]

Heres a wild thought, require USPS to operate at minimum of break even or even slight profit. Stop taking contracts at a loss such as Amazon. If you can't break even or better pass on it. Moving the loss to taxpayers is bull shite. Fix the damn retirement funding.

USPS is a perfect example of no checks and balances. It's nearly impossible to fire someone and you don't have to do your job with any sort of proficiency. It sure isn't what it used to be.

 

[Archer86]

I had a package recently go 1500 miles in the wrong direction before they found it and they had no idea where it was until someone finally scanned it at a warehouse where it wasn't suppose to be still have not received the package but it is heading in the correct direction now.

fingers crossed it makes it to the correct state by the end of the week

 

[Elkmagnet]

Heres a wild thought, require USPS to operate at minimum of break even or even slight profit. Stop taking contracts at a loss such as Amazon. If you can't break even or better pass on it. Moving the loss to taxpayers is bull shite. Fix the damn retirement funding.

I'm sure that's what is being discussed here

 

[MTGomer]

Mailed a letter on March 5 from Absarokee to Billings. As of today it has not been delivered.

We should defund/privatize the USPS and use the pensions of the higher ups that are mismanaging it to fund the transition.

 

[noharleyyet]

Our longtime postman is a great dude...poor bastage's been putting off hip replacement for years, never complains, always congenial, regular as a clock. If I want to see real entitled attitude and ennui I go to the main post office customer gate (oh man, they hate customers). The worst there is/was a lifer passport clerk...that dude is/was a miserable p#ick.

 

[Redmt]

Mailed a letter on March 5 from Absarokee to Billings. As of today it has not been delivered.

We should defund/privatize the USPS and use the pensions of the higher ups that are mismanaging it to fund the transition

I'm sure that the Trump/Musk alliance could run it much more efficiently with fewer people at 1/2 the cost while increasing profits.

 

[SAJ-99]

Our longtime postman is a great dude...poor bastage's been putting off hip replacement for years, never complains, always congenial, regular as a clock. If I want to see real entitled attitude and ennui I go to the main post office customer gate (oh man, they hate customers). The worst there is/was a lifer passport clerk...that dude is/was a miserable p#ick.

 

[Green Hunter]

I don't agree with shutting it all down; there is a reason FedEx and UPS don't offer standard mail service. Plus things are about to get a whole lot worse:

https://www.savethepostoffice.com/u...nal-districts-and-states-will-be-hardest-hit/

 

[RookieSeason]

I'm sure that the Trump/Musk alliance could run it much more efficiently with fewer people at 1/2 the cost while increasing profits.

Very true, let's keep putting our eggs in the"hope it gets better" basket. This is a 6 page thread of dissatisfied customers add in the fact the USPS loses billions annually and we are all left wondering what can we try differently?

 

[Bonasababy]

View attachment 362472

Both USPS and other carriers that they are forced to partner with make good use of their Colonel Klink "I know nothing" response. Forget that tech is there to track when a package transfers hands, it sure seems convenient for them to blame each other!

 

[Bonasababy]

Very true, let's keep putting our eggs in the"hope it gets better" basket. This is a 6 page thread of dissatisfied customers add in the fact the USPS loses billions annually and we are all left wondering what can we try differently?

Some of the solutions are political--meaning we have known about solutions for years, but it's politically expedient for some to keep the problems rolling.

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

Very true, let's keep putting our eggs in the"hope it gets better" basket. This is a 6 page thread of dissatisfied customers add in the fact the USPS loses billions annually and we are all left wondering what can we try differently?

I'm not sure it's the right characterization to say the USPS "loses" money. It's a public service, not a business. It would be weird to say that the Pentagon loses money.

And I'm not sure we want the cost of mail delivery to be dictated by the market. Sure, it's gotten up to a whopping 75 cents to send a letter, but it's pretty remarkable that I can send a letter across the country for that.

 

[SAJ-99]

Very true, let's keep putting our eggs in the"hope it gets better" basket. This is a 6 page thread of dissatisfied customers add in the fact the USPS loses billions annually and we are all left wondering what can we try differently?

USPS pension has a $120B unfunded liability. That is why they "lose" money.

 

[RookieSeason]

I think loses is an appropriate term, The cost to operate is greater than the revenue generated resulting in a negative net worth at the end of the year. The USPS generated 79.5B in 2024 however reported a net loss of 9.4B.I am not sure the pentagon comparison is completely fair. The USPS masquerades as a business, exchanging services for goods.

Is the Postal Service a business or a public service?

www.uspsoig.gov

It would be an interesting exercise to calculate the true cost of sending a letter if we included the bailout cost!

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

The USPS masquerades as a business, exchanging services for goods.

I'm not so sure that was the choice of the USPS...

 

[RookieSeason]

I'm not so sure that was the choice of the USPS...

Yet here we are... Do you believe the USPS is operating as efficient as it can be or could changes be made to improve the USPS? What changes do you have in mind?

 

[Laszlo Cravensworth]

Yet here we are... Do you believe the USPS is operating as efficient as it can be or could changes be made to improve the USPS? What changes do you have in mind?

I don't have many problems with the USPS. It's worked reasonably well for me for the most part. I also think many Americans have a bias towards gov services, and often they aren't any less efficient that the private companies I've dealt with, but they aren't sheltered by the same lack of transparency. Fix their pension system and treat them like regular government employees.

DeJoy argued that all of his sorting/ routing consolidation would save money and make the USPS more efficient. Sure doesn't seem like it's improved things. It's almost as if his appointment and his actions were antagonistic towards the mission from the start...

 

[Bonasababy]

USPS pension has a $120B unfunded liability. That is why they "lose" money.

Exactly. The only pension required by law to be funded by revenues the agency produces. It occurred in a series of laws, each adding more burden to the USPS, and NONE OF them required of ANY OTHER government agency. For others, the US Treasury covers the obligations the USPS is required to fund themselves.

Again, a political choice, for political reasons. Sure doesn't help their bottom line and is far from normal.

This can easily be changed by the current administration--as could have others before it--advocating for the change back to the norm.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Doesn't fit the political goal.

Last I knew (someone can correct me) USPS employees also pay a lot more out of their pocket to fund their own pension than any other government employee has to. 20 percent or so I seem to recall--so asking that to go up isn't reasonable and probably would further harm recruitment to the job.

Another important isssue is that it is a SERVICE that the country has committed to providing, not a business. UPS and FedEx and others are free to choose--and often do--who they do NOT serve.

The post office doesn't have that luxury and the simple fact is delivering mail to many rural areas in the country is a money loser. Just the way it is, cannot fix that.

It really shows up when USPS tries to close a rural post office. People don't care whether they are red or blue then--they come out with pitchforks in a hurry.