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People that keep repeating this conspiracy theory have no idea what they're talking about. While it's true that the PAEA (The bill in question) was passed unan

People that keep repeating this conspiracy theory have no idea what they're talking about. While it's true that the PAEA (The bill in question) was passed unanimously, the PAEA does not require funding retiree health and pension funds "75 years into the future". You can read the bill itself [1] and see that this appears nowhere in it. What it actually requires is that the USPS fund the discounted present value of current employee retirement health and pensions liability. What this conspiracy theory also critically misses is that the Post Office hasn't contributed to the fund in a decade but still pays current retirees out of the fund. With more money leaving the fund than entering it, it is expected to be depleted by 2030 [2]. 1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/6407 https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/6407 2. https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-602 https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-602

wahern 6y ago
> Post Office hasn't contributed to the fund in a decade To be clear, there are two funds: pension and health benefits. AFAIU the USPS has been making progress on fully funding the pension plan. The health benefits fund is a lost cause because health costs are rising far too fast. Also, unlike with pensions most organizations (public and private) are permitted to decrease health benefits for existing retirees as they're not considered vested benefits, but under Federal law the USPS specifically is not permitted to lower health benefits for retirees. The USPS is really over a barrel in that regard, and that's why they don't bother--that and the hope that healthcare reform will have shifted the costs enough that some day the USPS-specific restriction will be lifted. Given their situation what they're doing does make sense--retirees have Obamacare, but nothing exists to replace lost pension income--it's just quasi-illegal. I say quasi because satisfying the health fund mandate is clearly impossible. It's worth repeating that the USPS doesn't control their rates, which are set by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The politics of the PRC are complicated[1] and they can't be expected to mitigate the funding dilemma created by Congress. Only Congress can fix things. But that won't happen anytime soon as the fundamental issue implicates national healthcare policy.
elipsey 6y ago
That's not a conspiracty theory, just someone being wrong. :)

wahern 6y ago

> Post Office hasn't contributed to the fund in a decade To be clear, there are two funds: pension and health benefits. AFAIU the USPS has been making progress on fully funding the pension plan. The health benefits fund is a lost cause because health costs are rising far too fast. Also, unlike with pensions most organizations (public and private) are permitted to decrease health benefits for existing retirees as they're not considered vested benefits, but under Federal law the USPS specifically is not permitted to lower health benefits for retirees. The USPS is really over a barrel in that regard, and that's why they don't bother--that and the hope that healthcare reform will have shifted the costs enough that some day the USPS-specific restriction will be lifted. Given their situation what they're doing does make sense--retirees have Obamacare, but nothing exists to replace lost pension income--it's just quasi-illegal. I say quasi because satisfying the health fund mandate is clearly impossible. It's worth repeating that the USPS doesn't control their rates, which are set by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The politics of the PRC are complicated[1] and they can't be expected to mitigate the funding dilemma created by Congress. Only Congress can fix things. But that won't happen anytime soon as the fundamental issue implicates national healthcare policy.

elipsey 6y ago

That's not a conspiracty theory, just someone being wrong. :)