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Can we please calm some of these wild theories about election sabatoge please? It seems unbelievably unlikely to me that there is not a more obvious reason why

by blhack 6y ago

Can we please calm some of these wild theories about election sabatoge please? It seems unbelievably unlikely to me that there is not a more obvious reason why mail sorting machines are being removed. Just some thoughts that seem much more realistic than crippling the post office to steal an election: 1) Bulk pre sort mail is down due to reduced marketing budgets during covid. 2) Paper bill volume is down due to adoption of online payments. And also: why save the USPS? It’s current form seems completely and totally broken to me. The VAST majority of what I get is bulk pre sort literal garbage. We’ve got thousands of trucks driving around every day delivering trash into peoples homes. Why? We need a postal system (obviously) but that doesn’t mean that this specific iteration of the postal system is the right one. We are a bunch of hackers. How would you improve the postal system if you had the power to do it?

GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
A great "hack" to improve the postal system: Fully fund it. It's been death by a thousand cuts for decades now.
- blhack 6y ago
  What would fully funding it mean to you? Does that mean subsidizing junk mail?
  - GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
    The USPS relies on sending junk mail because it's treated like a business and not a service. We spend billions on investment in infrastructure like roads / bridges / power, yet those are never treated like a failing business. The solution is simple, fully fund the USPS then stop relying on marketing mail income and focus on delivering packages and letters like it's the 21st century. Have the most cutting edge routing equipment / IT staff for package tracking ever.
    - blhack 6y ago
      Okay! Does that mean that the employees can still negotiate their wages, or should they go on the GS schedule? And who determines if it’s junk mail or not?
      - GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
        As someone who was on the GS for the better part of a decade, it leaves a lot to be desired. IFAIK the USPS uses banded GS which allows some wiggle room. Fully funding would allow the USPS to attract more logistics talent as well. As far as junk mail, just stop providing marketing mail contracts. Any sufficiently large mailing campaign needs approval and it’s fairly easy to create guidelines prohibiting marketing material.

by blhack 6y ago

GaryNumanVevo 6y ago

A great "hack" to improve the postal system: Fully fund it. It's been death by a thousand cuts for decades now.

blhack 6y ago
What would fully funding it mean to you? Does that mean subsidizing junk mail?
- GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
  The USPS relies on sending junk mail because it's treated like a business and not a service. We spend billions on investment in infrastructure like roads / bridges / power, yet those are never treated like a failing business. The solution is simple, fully fund the USPS then stop relying on marketing mail income and focus on delivering packages and letters like it's the 21st century. Have the most cutting edge routing equipment / IT staff for package tracking ever.
  - blhack 6y ago
    Okay! Does that mean that the employees can still negotiate their wages, or should they go on the GS schedule? And who determines if it’s junk mail or not?
    - GaryNumanVevo 6y ago
      As someone who was on the GS for the better part of a decade, it leaves a lot to be desired. IFAIK the USPS uses banded GS which allows some wiggle room. Fully funding would allow the USPS to attract more logistics talent as well. As far as junk mail, just stop providing marketing mail contracts. Any sufficiently large mailing campaign needs approval and it’s fairly easy to create guidelines prohibiting marketing material.