New post office rates - unbelievable

[pfsthib]

I don't have a copy of the exact article they gave us. Just do a search. The Postal Service had to get $3 billion in a trust to help with the war or as stated in many articles..."use of the funds to be determined by Congress at a later date."

 

[Winter_123]

I don't have a copy of the exact article they gave us. Just do a search. The Postal Service had to get $3 billion in a trust to help with the war or as stated in many articles..."use of the funds to be determined by Congress at a later date."

Okay well we disagree. Just do a search.

Winter

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

I don't have a copy of the exact article they gave us. Just do a search. The Postal Service had to get $3 billion in a trust to help with the war or as stated in many articles..."use of the funds to be determined by Congress at a later date."

As I previously mentioned....proof is not Internet gobbledygoop. Show me a specific government report...not an Internet blog.

 

[midwestbroker]

My $.02 cents…

Are we really surprised that the postal rates went up?

If the government needs more funds, they will raise something somewhere. Why reallocate funds when you can just raise taxes or rates on something. Reallocation takes time, skill, and know-how. Our government wants it right now with out effort. If our government was a private business, it would have been out of business a long time ago.

So, when rates / taxes go up, just sell more. That is the advantage we have over most. We can earn more if we want to. Something happens that is unexpected, or a raise in taxes / gas / postal rates, sell more.

I really feel for the people who have salaries that do not have that option.



Are they funding the war...does it really matter?

 

[Winter_123]

The postal service is no longer a federal agency. It is run as a quasi-independent governmental agency. The enabling statute from Congress requires it to operate on a break-even, self-funding basis.

When it became an independent corporation it picked up the retirement obligations of the federal government. Many of the employees had picked up a lot of retirement years in the military which counted toward their federal retirement- an obligation that was transferred to the independant corporation. There has been a debate about whether the post office should have to pick up the retirement obligations related to years in the military or whether that should come out of the military's budget. Hence, the uninformed have turned this into "funding for the military" and from there into "funding for the war." It all makes sense unless you confuse the issue by mixing some facts in.

Winter

 

[Winter_123]

The postal service is no longer a federal agency.
Winter

Meant to say quasi-indendant corporation (like FANNIE MAE etc).

Winter

 

[WBunch]

I personally use DHL. They by far have the best rates out of FedEx and UPS. If you ship it ground as long as it stays in state it is next day. Also I've had some out of state packages get there next day on ground, just depends. There Next Day service is also cheaper than USPS, UPS, and FedEx. You can order supplies and print your labels online and drop it off a location or box and you are done. Just my $0.02...

 

[arnguy]

Winter has got it right about the U.S. Postal Service (formerly known as the U.S. Post Office Department when they were a true government agency). Outside my post office there sits a FedEx box. I guess USPS must have some kind of a deal with FedEx.

 

[Winter_123]

Winter has got it right about the U.S. Postal Service (formerly known as the U.S. Post Office Department when they were a true government agency). Outside my post office there sits a FedEx box. I guess USPS must have some kind of a deal with FedEx.

The Post Office has a deal with DHL as well. It may vary by region but in my rural area the Post Office delivers for DHL sometimes anyway. It gets goofy because the post office wont deliver mail to my door because I have a P.O. box. However when DHL sends something and they use their contract with the Post Office to deliver it, the post office has to bring it to the door because DHL wont, for the most part take a P.O. box as a delivery address. You need a scorecard to tell the players.

People assume that because the Post Office is raising rates that it is bureaucratic waste driving it. We don't know. Sometimes it is the opposite. The post office was on the government tit for so long and was being subsidized by general fund taxation that the price was held artificially low. That is why it is good to have ups and dhl type players on the landscape so that there will be some competition. I know we don't have competition yet on first class mail but ,on the other hand, email and fax save a little postage these days which helps a bit, eh? Maybe not for policy delivery.

Winter

 

[arnguy]

Doesn't DHL stand for the initials of the guy who founded the firm? I believe he had a proclivity for young Asian maidens (virgins) and did get into some hot water because of that. Also, I think he has since left this mortal coil. Didn't DHL merge with airborne Express (the latter no longer exists)?A