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I had no idea it had been part of the cabinet! Wow, thank you for posting that and the link. > If the post office’s bank account is empty, I don’t believe it c
by jimkleiber 6y ago
I had no idea it had been part of the cabinet! Wow, thank you for posting that and the link.
> If the post office’s bank account is empty, I don’t believe it can get a loan, sell bonds, or borrow money in any other way.
Is it close to being empty? I guess I just assumed there was at least a few year runway, enough to get through the pandemic and election, but maybe there's not.
When so many other things are being bailed out by stimulus packages, I just find it odd that the USPS wouldn't be. Again, the urgency confuses me.
- maxlybbert 6y agoI don’t know what the post office’s account looks like. They claim they haven’t made a profit in years (e.g., “The agency has lost nearly $70 billion over the previous 11 years, including nearly $9 billion last year alone. The agency’s total debt and unfunded liabilities are now twice the size of its annual revenue” https://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/calling-president-trump-s-demand-that-postage-rates-be-quadrupled https://kuster.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/calling... ).
- jimkleiber 6y agoAh ha. Seems it could be struggling more than I had thought. Still, doesn't seem to me like it's in such an urgent, dire state that it needs to be addressed before the election. Thanks for the back and forth :-)
- maxlybbert 6y agoWhile looking for the post office’s financial information I discovered that Congress doesn’t literally have to approve rate increases. Apparently, that’s now handled by the Postal Regulatory Commission ( https://www.prc.gov/about https://www.prc.gov/about ). So I learned something from the back and forth.
- jimkleiber 6y agowoohoo, HN mutual learning :-D