Uh... Actually I *Do* Want Health Care To Work As Well As The US Postal Service, Here's Why

[MannyGoldstein]

I placed a small order for some electronics parts tonight. Here were my shipping options:



USPS is cheapest by far. And I have no worries that I won't get the package. Cheap and good.

I guess this illustrates why every other country has less expensive health care than we do - because the government is strongly involved in their health care.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. I love public libraries too

yes we love our dear old post office.

[bemildred]

2. USPS works way the heck better than our current "health care" delivery system. nt

[rug]

3. I enoy driving on a paved road

and drinking tap water.

[valerief]

4. Yep, post office works just fine for me, too. nt

[Richardo]

5. Well and succinctly put - K&R

:patriot:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

6. Of course they lost over a billion dollars last year.

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Revenues Are Plummeting

Something like 10% per year thanks to the Internet. I don't think we'll have to worry about less usage of the health care system...

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

9. Very true. Demand will be up.

[The_Casual_Observer]

12. My reply to this is, what nitwit decided that the postal service was

a business & needed to show a profit? Does the military have to show a profit?

[Hannah Bell]

18. The nitwit who wanted to cream off the profitable bits & use the rest to subsidize junk

mail, of course.

Genius!

[yost69]

15. You are correct. But as health care gets more usage

costs will rise. As costs rise to cover the welfare of u.s. citizens, as with UPS and FedEx costs for whatever they spend their money on, so will the price.

Over the long and short runs, postage costs have increased substantially faster than general prices. In the last 40 years, the cost of a stamp rose at an average annual rate of 5.1 percent, whereas inflation was only 4.5 percent a year, on average.

In the last eight years stamp prices rose at an annual average rate of 3.3 percent. Inflation over the same period was only 2.3 percent per year, on average. If USPS costs had been limited to the increase in the consumer price index since 1969, a stamp today would cost 35 cents, not 44 cents.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/hancock/blog/2009/05/postagestamp_costs_outpace_inf.html

Unfortunately USPS does not have detailed tracking for their packages but they do offer delivery and signature confirmation. Lack of updated equipment funding?

I have no beef with the postal system. I use them frequently. I like having the security of a post office box so I actually pay more than most urban people with a mail box. I can't stand FedEx they are idiots.

On a side note: If the government takes over healthcare how are we going to get care, as all the hospitals will close on Labor Day and other federally recognized holidays. I better put this in here as some people lacking common sense will think I am serious on my last comment :sarcasm:

[Occulus]

21. There are economic factors as well as the internet, but postal management is a huge problem

Here's a question: would you like email that's truly secure, that nobody can get into?

Why hasn't the USPS cashed in on the internet in that manner?

That never occurred to postal managers. They use the net to sell their product, but can't seem to wrap their minds around using the net as their product.

Poor decision-making skills on the part of postal management is the cause of the vast majority of the problems the USPS is currently suffering. It's a vast numbers-on-paper game these days and has very little if anything to do with getting the mail out the door.

The USPS could do very well with half the floor supervisors they currently have. If postal management followed the USPS/APWU contract and provided for designation of senior section leaders in every facility, they could have microsupervision at a lower cost; instead, they create 204-B positions or create new management jobs outright.

Aside from all that, postal supervisors in my experience have never actually done the jobs they're supervising. That alone represents an eventually fatal experience gap.

But here's a truth: the USPS is a bureaucracy, and will never "get" these ideas unless they're passed into law or made into rules "from on high". Such is the malady present in the organizational structure of the USPS.

[yost69]

8. I would rethink that position.

WASHINGTON -- Postmaster General John Potter says that without help, the U.S. Postal Service will run out of money this year.

Potter told a House subcommittee today the lingering question is: Which bills will get paid and which will not.

He said he will make sure that salaries are paid, but also said other bills might have to wait. Potter is seeking permission to reduce mail delivery to five days a week and wants to reduce other costs.

He said the post office is "facing losses of historic proportion. Our situation is critical."

The post office was $2.8 billion in the red last year and is facing even larger losses this year due to the sharp decline in mail volume in the weak economy.


http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/national/article/POSTGAT25_20090325-132404/240590/

[MannyGoldstein]

10. See #7 n/t

[MrsBrady]

11. my understanding

the postal service was moved closer to a profit/loss scenario for some reason.

It's supposed to "break even". Not a bad idea in theory.
I like the idea of not wasting money, of course.
But things cost what they cost...

It should be fully funded, in my opinion.

I just sent a letter to Vancouver, BC, Canada for 75 cents. Such a deal, really.

[girl gone mad]

13. If the PO was shut down, one of my businesses would go under.

UPS and FedEx just don't offer the same level of affordability and convenience.

[bridgit]

19. heard that one

:kick:

[sjdnb]

14. I am so sick of govt employees being dissed .... while

privatization has proven such a failure. From the DOD to voucher schools, IT contractors, etc. They put profit above all else (even the safety/health of our troops). They rarely compete for the millions and billions they are awarded (their bought and paid for representatives present these gifts) ... and, when they f'up they rarely receive more than a slap on the wrist. It's disgusting.

[drmeow]

17. AMEN!!!!

See my post right below.

[drmeow]

16. US Postal service

is some of the cheapest postal service in the world. To send a postcard from some countries in Europe to the US costs well over a dollar (I think it was $1.40 from Spain last year). To send a postcard from the US to Europe costs just under a dollar. For 44 cents someone will pick up an envelope at your house, sort it, and deliver it anywhere in the US ... ANYWHERE! If it is local, it gets there the next day. Across the country has taken as little as 2 - 3 days. The reason the Post Office is not breaking even is same as why this country is falling apart - American's want excellent service but don't want to pay for it and are always looking for ways to get something on the cheap. What if the post office ceased home delivery - you'd have to come to the post office to get your mail. People would scream bloody murder. Just suggesting that the post office will stop delivering on Sat has people screaming bloody murder. If the postage rates go up, people scream bloody murder. In Britain a small letter costs 69 cents to mail - and Britain is a hell of a lot smaller than this country. I get really tired of the American public dissing the post office - yes, there have been some bad postal carriers who have done some horrible things with the mail and mail does get lost (and stolen) but it is downright amazing the volume of mail that the postal service accurately delivers every day (and no, I don't work for the post office nor does anyone in my family).

[jberryhill]

20. You'd be surprised at countries in which the post office is also

The most popular bank