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The USPS has had nearly a decade straight annual operating losses in billions. My guess is, as per politics-as-usual, the current administration, and opposition
by kfrzcode 6y ago
The USPS has had nearly a decade straight annual operating losses in billions. My guess is, as per politics-as-usual, the current administration, and opposition thereof, are using the issue as a political wedge in this election cycle, but the issues are real.
I'm no expert but I recall the USPS acting like a bank, making money from savings accounts and other financial services. Would be interested in some of the various arguments for or against privatization/funding.
- intortus 6y agoThe decade of operating losses is also due to sabotage by a Republican Congress under a Republican President: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Accountability_and_Enhancement_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Accountability_and_Enha...
- sukilot 6y agoNot true. It was a passed by a unanimous bipartisan vote, and cosponsores bipartisan.
- grecy 6y ago> The USPS has had nearly a decade straight annual operating losses in billions The USPS is not a business. It does not lose money. The USPS is a service. It costs money to run, like other services in the country (Medicad, the military, the EPA). If you're upset about the USPS losing billions here and there, wait till you hear about the military losing 750 Billion each and every year!
- chiefalchemist 6y agoWhat unfortunate is the how much junkmail is responsible for those losses.
- btgeekboy 6y agoOr how much transit funding comes from ticket sales vs. government budgets.
- leesalminen 6y agoA pretty crappy service, at that. Not unlike almost every other government service I’ve ever experienced. I live in rural America and let me tell you the USPS is a complete joke here. Everyone knows it, and we choose to use UPS/FedEx instead. I don’t have a mailbox anymore nor do I have a P.O. Box. Many neighbors are going this way, too. We don’t want or need their services anymore. They’ve become too unreliable.
- geofft 6y agoAnd the military is a pretty crappy service too! I've been paying huge amounts of taxes for it and it's never once kept me safe from enemy soldiers. Frankly, as someone who works in an office tower in lower Manhattan, the US military has probably put me more at risk of dying, all things considered. We don't want or need its services anymore. Right? Or is the Post Office a special case?
- leesalminen 6y agoLike I said, "Not unlike almost every other government service I’ve ever experienced.". So, yes, we largely agree.
- ghthor 6y agoI know you wont believe me, but Trump is helping with this. The Abrahan accord and returning troops from the middle east should help with this.
- geofft 6y agoNo, I do believe you. There's a lot I don't like about his approach, but if he's decided the "bring the troops home" is a populist plank, I'm certainly not going to complain about saving both their lives and the lives of civilians in the Middle East. And honestly I could probably be convinced that there is no responsible way to get ourselves out of the mess we put ourselves in over the last several decades and the only solution is a commander-in-chief willing to be irresponsible.