The U.S. Postal Service is the largest civilian employer in the United States, second only to—wait for it—Walmart. So you can bet that the ripple effect of the USPS going down will be felt across the country. It will not have a positive effect on the U.S. economy, to say the least. And that will not reflect well on the Obama Administration.
More about the USPS in the news:
The Perfect Storm: How everything is coming together to take the Postal Service Apart on www.SavethePostOffice.com
The Plot to Kill the Post Office . . . And Its Union Contracts on Crooks & Liars.
Postal Workers to USPS: Don't Shred Our Contract on In These Times
Please sign the petition at Change.org: Don't Let the USPS Be Destroyed
The "white paper" at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/08/11/National-Politics/Graphics/WhitePaperRIF.pdf
presupposes rescuing USPS only through currently-illegal action against employees, and asks Congress to legalize breach of contract. USPS must raise prices! Other countries' post offices charge significantly more than USPS, for delivery within a smaller area. USPS must stop discounts exceeding costs avoided! Mailers demand ruinously deep discounts for duplicating USPS work, barcoding, presorting, drop-shipping. The costs USPS avoids from such duplicated work are dwarfed by the discounts. By contrast, the principle of universal service at a fixed price has supported US postal service for centuries. If USPS stops overpaying the private mailing industry to duplicate USPS work, and charges enough to cover its costs, USPS can survive well.
The above paper picks up where last year's nearly fact-free GAO report left off:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10455.pdf
GAO admits that it uncritically accepted the foregone conclusions of USPS management and the private mailing industry. GAO follows USPS' lead in downplaying the urgency of raising prices--even after admitting that catalogs and nonprofit flats each lose USPS over half a billion dollars a year. Losing money on every piece, you can't make up in volume!
USPS has never been able to substantiate its claims that it saves money by closing processing facilities. Service always suffers when facilities are closed. Population is growing. When prosperity, population, and mail volume rise, the needed postal facilities will not be available.
TomRW