Stop Postal executives from destroying our Postal Service

[KamaAina]

http://www.jimhightower.com/node/8615

When a big-name retailer finds its sales in a slow downward spiral, the geniuses in the executive suite often try to keep their profits up by cheapening their product and delivering less to customers.

To see how well this strategy works, look no further than the declining sales at Walmart and McDonald's. When the geniuses in charge of these behemoths applied the cut-back strategy, their slow decline turned into a perilous nose-dive. You'd think their experience would keep other executives from making the same mistake, but here comes an even bigger – and much more important – retail behemoth saying, "We have to cut to survive."

That's the pronouncement last year by the honcho of the US Postal Service, which has been eliminating employees, closing facilities, and reducing services for years. Each new round of reductions drives away more customers, which causes clueless executives to prescribe more cuts. In a January decree, USPS virtually eliminated overnight delivery of first-class mail, and it's now planning to close or consolidate 82 regional mail processing plants. This means fewer workers handling the nation's growing load of mail, creating further delays in delivery. The answer to this, say the slap happy executives, is – guess what? – to cut even more "service" out of postal service. They want to close hundreds of our local post offices and eliminate Saturday mail delivery (which is one of USPS' major competitive advantages).

This is Jim Hightower saying... Fed up with the deliberate degradation of this vital public service, postal workers themselves are putting forth a vision and innovative plan not merely for USPS to survive, but thrive. With more than 70 other national groups, they've forged "A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service." To be part of its actions, go to: AGrandAlliance.org.

[lapfog_1]

1. One has to look no further than Congress

and the fully funded pension requirements designed to kill USPS and leave everything to FedEx and UPS.

Privatize everything. Kill all unions. Kill all government services (Education, postal service, social security, health care, veterans benefits, helping the poor, law enforcement and prisons, etc, etc).

[Hestia]

2. The ONLY saving grace is that it ends in 2016 - not sure how the fiscal year runs. After that they

will be back in the black. I can't believe the law hasn't been changed by now but we are now coming to the end of it.

[tclambert]

5. It's that "Free Market Fundamentalism," practically a religious doctrine with some on the right.

"The private sector can do everything better than government." If they take that as an article of faith, I don't even want to talk with them. There are whole classes of things government does better, and I would like to discuss how to define those classes. One of them is things that are natural monopolies, like mail delivery. Nobody wants to have five mailboxes. It makes perfect sense to have one agency deliver mail to every address every day (I would add Sunday delivery). I would think packages below a certain size would fall to that agency, as well. Larger packages, more sporadically delivered, maybe to one in a hundred addresses per day, yeah, I could see a private UPS type company doing that.

Some natural monopolies, like electric service, are provided by private companies regulated by a Public Service Commission that has to rule on every rate increase. A few communities have their own power companies. From what I hear, they work pretty well.

Another class is things that have concentrated costs but diffuse benefits. Think infrastructure. Everyone benefits from the interstate highway system. Converting them all to toll roads would be a major pain in the butt, and would confine the cost of supporting them to the few who actually drive on them. (I suppose the toll payers could pass those costs on to their customers. But the convenience of being able to freely hop on and off of taxpayer supported roads increases the efficiency of using such roads tremendously. And voters have a say on maintenance standards.)

Another class is anything where health and safety concerns are paramount. Private enterprise will always, always try to skimp on such costs, in order to fatten their bottom line. There's even a kind of secret rule in economics about this, that if companies aren't polluting and aren't injuring a few customers and employees, and don't pay any legal settlements for the damage they cause, then they are spending too much on anti-pollution and safety measures.

[Angry Dragon]

6. I agree one hundred percent

[appalachiablue]

3. K & R. GOP Starve the Beast policy at work- kill govt. services, jobs, unions, & people.

[Maynar]

4. That's it, in a nutshell.

eom

[erronis]

7. Not at all clueless. Just totally evil.

That's the pronouncement last year by the honcho of the US Postal Service, which has been eliminating employees, closing facilities, and reducing services for years. Each new round of reductions drives away more customers, which causes clueless executives to prescribe more cuts.

[appalachiablue]

12. Evil and intentional. Yes, cutting govt. budgets, services, programs & staff causes people to

complain, blame government & seek businesses like Fed Ex, UPS. Butchering govt. 'cuz business runs things more efficiently' is the set up. There are major cutbacks now with DMVs, Social Security Admin., NPS (National Park Service); govt. agencies at all levels- national, county & local. Even getting rid of govt. School Boards is in a recent post here. Netflix, Discovery, other entertainment companies are contracted by privatized charter school cos. (instruction by Amazon ?).

Govts. now contracting out 'debt collection' functions to private companies is predatory & appalling. The cos. handle fines & fees for traffic violations, truancy charges, outstanding credit owed, other trivial offenses. Administrative, court & jail costs can be added to the offender's tab.

Eliminating the Commons for profit marches on- charter schools, parks, roads, hwy. rest stops, parking meters (Chicago), utilities water & trash, fire & rescue/EMT- & likely for community & senior centers, libraries. Zuccotti Park in NYC, site of OWS is privately owned.
Prisons are mostly corporate & many hospitals which used to be state run or non profit. Chase Bank handles EBT- Food Stamp cards I think. Social Security hires general workers now, few phone handlers & specialists & is converting to online service to reduce (human) cost.

We may pay Walmart, Staples, Disney & Citibank soon for library materials, park passes, driver's licenses, passport renewals & voter registration cards. Low wage, no benefits, overworked & minimally screened & trained employees in jobs is the standard of late. Profit is King $$!

[erronis]

13. Many kicks - you are listing items I haven't even considered. Thanks and keep on keeping on!

[byronius]

8. This is the big canary in the coal mine.

Conservatives want the US dead, dead and gone. And destroying the USPS is but one clear example.

Pay-to-play, purchasing politicians, legalized bribery -- what, me worry?

[Omaha Steve]

9. Thanks for posting

K&R!

[d_legendary1]

10. Wonder who appointed these executives who want to kill their own business

And hand it off to UPS and Fedex.

[erronis]

14. Let's take a guess - it isn't the taxpayer, it isn't the agencies - it must be:

For profit corporations!

And for profit congress-critters!

And for beltway bandits and lobbyists!

And for wannabe presidents and congress-critters!

Lowest common denominator: $$$$

Non-existent denominator: Giving a shit about this country.

Best friends: Other scumbags from the USA and money-suckers from around the world.

Best mode of travel: Yacht, then First Class Airline

Best tanning salon: I don't know, ask Boner. Best turtle sweater: you know

Best way to show you care about the real people:

Best way to live a life like you care:

Best religion to pretend to follow to get the most votes:

I'm sure they have lots of things like best country club in DC: Congressional
but I give at this point.

[totodeinhere]

11. And this is the result of the cutbacks. Sometimes I have to wait until 4 PM to get my mail.

And it's not the carrier's fault. She tries her best. It's the damned cutbacks that have resulted in fewer carriers out on the street and thus longer waits to get your mail. And at my local post office there is usually only one window open and often the line is excruciatingly long. They are too cheap to hire enough employees so they can have more than one window open.

[GoneFishin]

15. Typical Republican anti-democratic behavior. Complain that government can't do anything

right. Then install your shills into various agencies to sabotage them, especially the agencies that excel at providing efficient and economical services that benefit Joe Average.

[MrMickeysMom]

16. It's one of the most dasterdly uses of power...

In the pockets of FedEx, UPS, forgetting the better service of labor in the country as far back as I can remember.

Support Your USPO. Boycot the others.

K&R