Concept “Worthy of Consideration” in Postal Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C.- The authors of a recent proposal to implement a hybrid public-private postal system released the following statement regarding the recommendations about their proposal from the National Academy of Public Administration. The authors of the postal reform paper include: John Nolan, former Deputy Postmaster General, George Gould, former National legislative and Political Director for the National Association of Letter Carriers, Ed Hudgins, Director of Advocacy, the Atlas Society, and the Honorable Ed Gleiman, former Chair of the Postal Rate Commission.Today, the National Academy of Public Administration (pdf) released a report studying a postal reform concept we outlined in a white paper earlier this year. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a distinguished organization to review a concept that we think should be part of a comprehensive solution to ensure the long term success of the nation’s vital postal delivery network.
The concept we advocate is a network where the USPS simply sets a delivery charge and delivers mail and packages “the last mile” to a home or business, but is no longer burdened by the need to operate extensive upstream mail collection and sorting infrastructure. We are pleased that NAPA found this concept worthy of consideration as part of a postal reform effort.
When we first met to discuss the best options for ensuring the long term viability of the postal delivery system, we soon realized that despite our varied background in postal management, labor, regulatory agencies and academia, we believed this concept and the promise of innovative service and product initiatives it could offer was politically realistic and was important to help preserve universal, affordable mail service.
The NAPA report also called for further study as to how the concept would work in practice. Although not examined in detail in the NAPA report, we believe much of the answer can be found in the extremely successful model that currently enables the USPS to deliver packages the last mile for UPS and FedEx.
In FY 1993, (early in the evolution of the last mile model for parcels), the Postal Service delivered about 100 million parcel packages for other carriers. In FY 2011, the Postal Service delivered 381 million. That same model can be expanded to other deliveries, especially letters, magazines, and direct mail advertisements.
This last mile delivery model offers much more than just a change in who does the existing work of the postal service. It is a model that creates a market that invites and encourages creative ways to use the universal delivery network, improve efficiencies, and expand the types of mail that can be delivered by our local Postal Service letter carriers. Of course, the Postal Service will continue to ensure the safety and sanctity of the mail.
Under this model, the USPS could conceivably perform much more of the last mile delivery for FedEx, UPS and DHL packages than it already does plus provide additional deliveries for any number of companies including small, local businesses that get items to the final sort facility and pay the delivery charge. Rather than having multiple delivery trucks visit a home or office, many of those deliveries can be accomplished through the USPS carriers – ensuring maximum volume through the universal delivery network.
By setting a simple delivery charge by the Postal Service, we can unleash the creativity of the American public to find new and better ways to utilize our national delivery network and make it more productive, less expensive and available for decades to come.
We appreciate the work of the Academy panel in outlining areas for additional review and research. We look forward to working with our colleagues from across the postal policy spectrum to help find new and creative ways to keep the mail bags full, the prices low and the service reliable.
We offered this paper as a very high level concept paper recognizing that numerous difficult issues would have to be addressed before it can be implemented. It is not surprising that a concept that calls for significant change to the status quo would cause many to have some reservations about its viability, especially if they had an interest in maintaining the current structure. It is certainly true that any serious reform will involve substantial issues of political will, change management, integration, management challenges and other issues associated with a transition of this sort. While the depth of those issues were beyond the scope of our paper, with significant preparation and proper policy and administrative approvals, we are confident those issues are all able to be resolved.
Thought Leaders for Postal ReformJohn Nolan, 202-262-5355 George Gould, 202-374-0846
Source: Thought Leaders for Postal Reform
Privatize and deregulate,,,,,,,,next words………more productive, less expensive.
Let’s see….oil futures market, banking, electric companies, airlines………my next words………run companies into the ground, reduced public service and ceo’s lining their pockets.
The people be damned… business as usual….buy off Congress again.
Idk, if i were running a company and somebody came up with a plan to take away my company, I’d be ticked not grateful.
Remember when a bunch of EXPERTS at big banks thought it great to sell home mortgages like stock. Remember when Goldman Sachs EXPERTS said the Dow would be 15000 in 1997.. (They only missed it by 15 years) Go ahead trust the EXPERTS, how much mail you think these guys delivered?
So what is proposed is that it is unionized government employees that is the problem with the Postal Service? No wait! What is proposed is that it is every unionized government employee in the Postal Service except the Letter Carriers who are the problems in the Postal Service!! LOL A person of even below average intelligence would surmise that if the premise put forth by NAPA had merit then it would call for the complete contracting out of ALL work in the Postal Service. Each and every newspaper in the Nation proves each and every day that boys, girls and adults of all walks of life can and do deliver door to door throughout the great nation. Oops! I see that the paid hack George Gould along with the keeping of Letter Carriers is meant to be the old “divide and conquer” angle of the privateers.
Let’s see USPS to continue to ensure the sanctity of the mail?? Yeah like Pitney Bowes would care if someone making $7.75 an hour was stealing. Private company how could the USPS OIG or USPS Postal Inspectors intervene?? This is the root of the problem, USPS needs to be placed back as an Executive Agency. What company would treat lower cost product better than a high cost product?? A government agency with it’s head in the sand. The USPS would delivery medicine at the standard rate while first class mail sits and waits to be delivered?? This makes no sense, unless you are TRYING to make sure no one uses first class mail. It is sad that the USPS, ISSA and all the rest seem to think doing less will get you more. Seems to me any company who has tried downsizing in this manner have eventually faded, montgomery wards, circuit city, off into the sunset.
Good idea!!!
Private companies can charge what ever they want. Make the profits and then the government non profit agency (The USPS) can deliver and still be losing money. Every address, every day at a loss while costing the customer more.
These guys should be working for NASA, Oh I forgot they are in the same pocket Darrell Issa is in. Screw the public, there’s money to be made.
More horse shit from the Conservative GOP privatizers…. funny how they want the US Government to “retain” the “last mile”…. you know… THE PART THAT COSTS THE MOST AND WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GENERATE A “PROFIT”.
“PRIZATIZE” THE PROFIT….”SOCIALIZE” THE REST.