U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and co-author of the Postal Reform Act of 2013 released his annual oversight report “Wastebook 2013” highlighting 100 examples of wasteful and low-priority spending totaling nearly $30 billion. Coburn listed the Postal Service’s contract with self-styled futurist “Faith Popcorn’s Brain Reserve” at number #47 and Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway at #54:
47. Postal Service pays “Futurist” Faith Popcorn for advice on stamps – (USPS) $566,000
Hoping to divine the future for stamps and how to keep “relevant, interesting and integral,” the Postal Service contracted with “Faith Popcorn’s Brain Reserve.”
Faith Popcorn is a futurist perhaps best known for her outlandish business predictions in her 1992 book, “The Popcorn Report.” The Library Journal panned the novel in 1991, “While at times she exhibits a woeful ignorance of business history (e.g. Popcorn anchors the roots of consumerism belatedly in the 1970s), her thoughtful book is guaranteed to stimulate creative thinking.”
In 2006, she predicted “[m]echanized ‘hugging’ booths will take the place of pay-phones in many cities.” “[C]uddle parties” marked the beginning of this trend, she noted. She also said genetic “engineering services will be able to create pets from scratch and pepper your future companion’s DNA with your own. The result will be a unique representation of you: a pet that looks and acts like you.”
To assess the future of stamps, Faith Popcorn’s Brain Reserve planned to hold several internal “BrainJams” as well as call in outside experts. Ms. Popcorn herself, the “Creative Director,” expected to bill 62.5 hours of work at the rate of $836/hour.
Her firm is also doing other work for the Postal Service: “Innovation: A daily in-home visitation service for the elderly and ill.” In this service, mail carriers would offer to ensure people are taking their prescriptions or need any help. Ms. Popcorn’s firm is also studying whether the mail carriers should offer a “daily personal visit and brief chat” for a fee. Apparently, she has predicted the future of the USPS to be a health care provider.
Given its extensive in-house resources, the Postal Service should focus on its core competencies rather than paying for interstellar predictions. The Postal Service does not currently use taxpayer dollars for its operations, but Congress continues to bail out its many losing operations.
A futurist might say that this doesn’t portend well for the taxpayer.
54. Globetrotting Postal Regulator – (PRC) $19,000
Ruth Goldway, the Chair of the Postal Regulatory Commissioner (PRC), has been flying high on the taxpayer dime.
Since 1970, the PRC has overseen important facets of the U.S. Postal Service’s operations. The 2013 calendar year has been a particularly busy for the regulator given the complex challenges facing the Postal Service as mail volume declines.Despite these responsibilities, Goldway took six trips totaling $19,000 this year.Compared to 2012, her travel costs have increased by $4,000.
Goldway’s travel costs are rising despite coming under fire for excessive international travel in the past. In February 2012, Senator Tom Carper, requested detailed justifications and itineraries for all official trips taken by Goldway and those of her past two predecessors.565
Senator Carper stated that, “A significant increase in the amount of travel by the commission chair — or any member of the commission — raises legitimate questions. This is a time when the leadership of the Congress, the Postal Service and the Commission should be focused like a laser on the Postal Service’s financial problems.”566
At the time, Goldway was urged to limit trips to what was only truly necessary.Goldway has pushed back on critics, stating: “I know that travel is an easy mark for people, but I really think that what we do is well within the bonds of responsibility and I make a special effort to make sure that any travel I take is extremely frugal. I’m a small person, I can get on a plane easily, but I think it’s important to travel.567
Nevertheless, Goldway’s travel costs increased this year, despite such pleas, and the majority of costs were incurred from international trips. The other reason this raises concerns is that, under law, the State Department is the de facto lead of international postal matters.568 Despite this, Goldway’s international travel persisted and outpaced that of other PRC commissioners. In 2013, only one commissioner reported any travel – a solitary trip, totaling $3,100, to San Francisco for the National Postal Forum.569
Documentation of Goldway’s travels also reveals a habit of adding personal days to PRC trips. While personal days are paid for with her private funds, documentation detailing Goldway’s trips raise questions about the business importance of the trips.
For example, during Chairman Goldway’s April 2013 trip to Bern, Switzerland, she was gone for 11 days to attend a technical meeting of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) for which two PRC staff would also be in attendance. However, for this trip, more time was spent on personal days and travel then in an official capacity. What’s more, the UPU was conducting business on the 17, 18 and 19th when Goldway was on travel and personal time.
April 17
Travel to Zurich, No Meetings
April 18
Personal Day
April 19
Personal Day
April 20
Personal Day
April 21
Travel to Bern, No Meetings
April 22
PRC Staff Meeting, meeting from 3-6
April 23
Conference Meetings and Diplomatic Dinner
April 24
Conference Meetings and Diplomatic Dinner
April 25
Plenary
April 26
“prepared notes on plenary,” Diplomatic Dinner
April 27
Travel home, No meetingsGoldway’s questionable use of PRC funds extends beyond travel and to conference sponsorships. Under Goldway’s leadership as Chair, the PRC has sponsored $30,000 worth of international postal conferences since June of 2010.
Kaiser – Looks like Retired1’s post was deleted. He is a long time whiner and union basher from way back. People like him love cashing that union paycheck, taking that union negotiated annual/sick leave, and the COLAs, seniority, no layoff protection, bidding rights and all other things gotten by the union. They take all the benefits, but claim they don’t need the union.
Joey:
I don’t see Retired 1’s comments on this blog stream. Am I missing something, or is Retired 1 someone I should know from former blogs?
That said, Congressmen are political animals. Their survival depends on press exposure, and I expect such a “list” to appear occasionally. I remember Sen. Proxmire’s “Golden Fleese Award,” but I cannot remember a single recipient with any certainty. [Seems Lockheed had an expensive hammer and the Air Force had an expensive toilet seat, but after 30 years, it makes no difference whatsoever.]
Maybe you can start a monthly “What a dumbass” award. Folks can submit nominations and you can pick the monthly dumb ass award. Just a thought.
Senator Tom Coburn should concentrate on his own Health Issues like his reoccurring Prostate Cancer then trivial matters that only pander to his Tea bagger Base. You would figure a Medical Doctor would comprehend that he has “bigger fish to fry” then Posting Blogs and Tweets in his Fantasy Wastebook 2013 Edition! Just curious, is Coburn keeping his “Cadillac” Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan or his he opting in to “RomneyCare”?
@ Joey Jo Jo
Well said. Facts are stubborn things. $ 19K is a drop in the bucket compared the other items you mentioned, and more. Goldway’s trip however, did look like a personal European vacation wrapped around a BS meeting. Bet she wasn’t flying coach, either.
Senator Coburn excellent job in revealing wasted cost created by wasted spending by political appointed PRC group. Headquarters STAPH created from the same mold as their salaries and positions give them a free rein to create fairytale reasons to create wasted cost.
Who pays for the wasteful spending as Congress spends taxpayer dollars in covering the billions lost by USPS in the 21st century as well as the political appointed PRC group. Popcorn is needless wasted expense.
Retired1, you are an idiot!
It is not incompetent union slugs that passed the PAEA in 2006 which created this crisis.
It is not incompetent union slugs who sustain and promote 47+ do nothing Vice President jobs in Headquarters.
It is not incompetent union slugs who do not know how to manage employees and mailflow resulting in countless hours of overtime which should not be needed.
It is not incompetent union slugs who spent over $2 billion on an FSS system that doesn’t work and never truly showed any promise of being effective.
It is not incompetent union slugs who contract out transportation and vehicle repair work to friends, relatives and cronies.
Get your facts straight before you show your ignorance!
From the article: “The Postal Service does not currently use taxpayer dollars for its operations, but Congress continues to bail out its many losing operations.”
Senator Coburn, please name one of these alleged congressional “bail outs.” I’ve certainly never seen any reported in the news media.
Why is Mr. Coburn’s name not on his list for wasting time and money on a list that nothing will be done about, instead of pushing a bill through that will eliminate the wasteful spending on delivering junk mail on Saturdays ? Just how many resources are wasted on the Saturday delivery, fuel, wear and tare on vehicles, pollutants, and the facilities cost? How about stop the BS and DO YOUR JOB D—-A–!
An uproar over $19,000 in travel expenses (just over $3,000 per trip).
Where is the outrage over the $1 million spent by the USPS to attend the mailers trade conference?
Where is the outrage over the $$$ spent by Congressmen travelling to and from their districts everytime Congress is in recess?
Speaking of recess; Where is the outrage over Congress being on “vacation” for more than 1/2 of the year? (156 days in session for 2013; 113 days in session scheduled for 2014)
Where is the outrage over the fact that Congress has done NOTHING to forward postal reforms in over three years?
And there will be zero accountability for any of this.