Saturday delivery update
Latest proposal would help highway fund
House Republicans last week proposed allowing the Postal Service to stop delivering most mail on Saturday and to use the savings to keep the federal Highway Trust Fund from going broke.
In a statement, USPS said, “Allowing the Postal Service to implement a five-day mail/six-day package delivery schedule is one of several legislative requirements that are included in our request for comprehensive postal reform legislation. With declining First-Class Mail volume, there isn’t sufficient revenue to sustain six-day mail delivery. If the proposed five-day mail/six-day package delivery schedule were to become law, it would provide the Postal Service with some financial relief.”
The statement also noted that the Postal Service’s liabilities exceed its assets by approximately $40 billion. “Comprehensive legislative reform would still be necessary to restore the Postal Service to profitability and put the organization on a stable, long-term financial footing,” the statement concluded.
USPS estimates it would save approximately $1.9 billion annually by switching to a new delivery schedule.
A Gallup poll last year found that 63 percent of Americans favor ending Saturday mail delivery. The concept has bipartisan support in Congress, although Senate Democrats oppose the idea of stopping Saturday delivery to help the highway fund. House GOP leaders say they’ll offer more information on their plans this week.
It is totally wrong to rob the USPS since it’s a (supposedly) financially independent entity. If the USPS were still subsidized, like a lot of stupid people still think it is, that’s one thing, but this is the same as taking shares of stock from one company and giving it to another unrelated company without the receiving company having to pay a penny for it. That wouldn’t work in business, now, would it?
But this is the GOP Congress, and sense is a rare commodity indeed. It’s even more infuriating that Donohoe is so eager to let the bastards steal from the USPS just to get his coveted five day week. How is it Congress and Issa can justify stealing from the USPS when, as the article states, liabilities exceed profits by 40 billion dollars? This is bizarro world, and the real goal here is the death of the Postal Service and downgrading to a minimum wage business, with the same quality work. Republicans can’t see the future because their greed clouds everything, but it stands to reason that the mail service should it fall into private hands one day will be so bad it could and probably would go bankrupt in a hurry. Some jobs just aren’t meant for twenty-something idiots who can’t count change or know the capital of their home state. Delivering mail is one of them.
What does the highway trust fund have to do with the Postal Service? Just increase the trust fund’s tax rate! Instead the want to destroy the Postal employees jobs, and retirement, and health benefits! To save funds, get rid of the Postal limousines, executive only gym, and don’t forget how much the Postal Service pays out every year in arbitration awards each year! ! 100 million in 2012. Make Donahoe take the subway, or the bus! We can thank the Ratpublicans like ex president Forrest Gump, And congressmen J. Boner, and E. Canter, and the rest of the clowns.
Since USPS uses the Highway and pays Motor fuels tax when they purchase gas to fill LLV ( regular gas ) large trucks (diesel)
If you notice the price of a gallon all tax included. There is a motor fuel tax applied. As a rural carrier that use to use my own vehicle I had a Motor fuels tax ID and received a refund of 13.5 cents per gallon used from State of NJ And States get Money From the Omnibus bill within this bill is the Highway trust fund used for infrastructure . Diesel I believe is about 24.5 cents per gallon. I am pretty sure that the Post Office also gets this break as well. And if you have a large fleet such as the Post Office this could add up to large amount of money. If they do not have to deliver Saturdays less gas purchased less of a refund less use less wear and tear on fleet. It is a win/win for the Post Office. Saving the Highway Trust But, looks like we are the losers.
Need Inspector Gadget on this one lol
Can anyone tell me what does the highway bill have to do with USPS? Especially since the USPS doesn’t take tax payer dollars. How does the money from ending Saturday delivery benefit the highway bill since the alleged savings is segregated from the budget? I take it that just like they conspicuously failed to disclose that the $40 billion liabilities is the outstanding balance of prefunding and $15 billion loan the USPS was forced to take out as a result of the bogus prefunding legislation the alleged savings too will be used to fund the government. In other words the highway bill doesn’t provide subsidies to the USPS to do Saturday deliveries. Rural America needs to wake up because you are the ones that will be priced out delivery. One other piece of news. Donahoe wants to end Saturday delivery but entered into a contract with Amazon to open on Sundays to deliver their mail. Even more insulting is the USPS is delivering these products at regular premiums while Amazon gets to charge an upcharge or higher premium for the service. We can’t deliver on Saturday but you are willing to open facilities, pay utilities and employees’ salaries on Sunday? GO FIGURE!!!
There we have it in black and white.
Donuthole’s rabbit is out of his hat now.
Let there be no more doubt of his intentions to ruin the USPS, for his, and others, personal gain.