USPS going...going...going...

[Grey Fox]

Blackwater made it pretty clear that private military doesn't work so great.

Sadly for the USPS, UPS and Fedex made it clear that private mail and package delivery works just fine.

Honestly, I am just stunned that a federal program run by the government employing tens of thousands of union workers might be having trouble meeting their sweetheart labor deals.

The Postal Service originally sought to close low-revenue post offices in rural areas to save money, but after public opposition, massive union opposition  it is now moving forward with a new plan to keep 13,000 open

Fixed their post.

In small rural area, that's the same people.

[CountDeMoney]

In small rural area, that's the same people.

Yeah, the public couldn't possibly get upset about losing their post offices or loss of services.  It just MUST be the Jimmy Hoffa types.

DELIVERING THE MAIL IS MERELY AN OVERTIME SCHEME

[dps]

In small rural area, that's the same people.

Yeah, the public couldn't possibly get upset about losing their post offices or loss of services.  It just MUST be the Jimmy Hoffa types.

DELIVERING THE MAIL IS MERELY AN OVERTIME SCHEME

My understanding is that a lot of those small, rural post offices aren't run by actual USPS employees, but are run by people who are contracted to do the job.  A lot of them are located within little mom-and-pop type general stores, and are run by the same people who run the stores.  So they're definately not unionized, and I would assume that as contracters, they don't get benefits or pensions, but I'm not 100% sure of that. 

And for the most part, those real little post offices offer very few services--mostly it's just a wall of P.O. boxes inside the store.  Local people might not want to lose their post office, but it's more a matter of local pride than worrying about services.

[Berkut]

Why should the public being upset influence decisions to close post offices that do not do enough business to justify their cost?

Obviously not so many people are using them, hence there cannot be that many people being upset.

Surely the people in the union who would be laid off if they closed 13,000 post offices that are no longer needed don't mind at all, and surely their giant unions have no influence whatsoever.

I really liked that the unions opposed the amendment to the post office bail out act that demanded that the arbitrator for the postal workers contract consider the actual financial reality of the post office when considering their contract.

What? Actually consider whether the post office can afford to pay for their salaries? Sacrilege! That goes against everything unions stand for!

[Grey Fox]

Why should the public being upset influence decisions to close post offices that do not do enough business to justify their cost?
Obviously not so many people are using them, hence there cannot be that many people being upset.

You obviously don't live in a small town. People of small towns will usually oppose anything that will threaten the existence of their city, like school closing & post office reduction.

That's also the mistake, National Post offices shouldn't be run like private enterprises.

[CountDeMoney]

That's also the mistake, National Post offices shouldn't be run like private enterprises.

Once upon a time, it used to be a cabinet position.

[derspiess]

That's also the mistake, National Post offices shouldn't be run like private enterprises.

Well, at least we've avoided that "mistake" by a wide margin.

[Grey Fox]

That's also the mistake, National Post offices shouldn't be run like private enterprises.

Well, at least we've avoided that "mistake" by a wide margin.

So far, it seems that it's coming fast.

Actually, it's going to be way worse. You'll depend on UPS. 

[Admiral Yi]

Actually, it's going to be way worse. You'll depend on UPS. 

What's your beef with UPS? 

[Grey Fox]

Actually, it's going to be way worse. You'll depend on UPS. 

What's your beef with UPS? 

Unreliable at delivering to Domestic addresses. No one is home at 1pm, stop trying!

[Razgovory]

Why should the public being upset influence decisions to close post offices that do not do enough business to justify their cost?
Obviously not so many people are using them, hence there cannot be that many people being upset.

You obviously don't live in a small town. People of small towns will usually oppose anything that will threaten the existence of their city, like school closing & post office reduction.

That's also the mistake, National Post offices shouldn't be run like private enterprises.

Yeah, I imagine it'd be a bitch to drive 30 miles every day to get the mail.

[alfred russel]

Why should the public being upset influence decisions to close post offices that do not do enough business to justify their cost?

Obviously not so many people are using them, hence there cannot be that many people being upset.

The theory is that the country needs to be well connected through communications. No one is going to open a business in a place they can't communicate with, even if there are resources there that are worth exploiting. A low cost postal service covering rural areas is an investment in the development of the country.

This was probably a lot more relevant 100 years ago. Seems it might be better to expand internet access to achieve the same aims.

[Berkut]

Why should the public being upset influence decisions to close post offices that do not do enough business to justify their cost?

Obviously not so many people are using them, hence there cannot be that many people being upset.

The theory is that the country needs to be well connected through communications. No one is going to open a business in a place they can't communicate with, even if there are resources there that are worth exploiting. A low cost postal service covering rural areas is an investment in the development of the country.

This was probably a lot more relevant 100 years ago. Seems it might be better to expand internet access to achieve the same aims.

Indeed. The post office as a public service was a very valid idea for a long time.

Not so much anymore.

And I don't think there has been ANY suggestion so far by anyone to end postal delivery service to anyone in any case. Closing post offices does not mean the mail is no longer going to be delivered.

[HVC]

Can you force UPS to deliver? If they decide that a geographical area just isn't economical to service?

[Zanza]

And I don't think there has been ANY suggestion so far by anyone to end postal delivery service to anyone in any case. Closing post offices does not mean the mail is no longer going to be delivered.

I could imagine this to be a vicious circle though: less post offices might mean less mail, which may then not be enough to cover the operating cost.

That said, I think the days of paper-based communication are over and we need to rethink the concept of a postal service for mail.