D’oh! USPS Stuck With 682 Million Unsold Simpsons Stamps - Bloomberg
Not nearly as popular as the T-shirts were circa 1990. Didn’t even know these existed. :/
POSTAL WORKERS GO HUNGRY ON CAPITOL HILL — Postal workers staged a hunger strike outside the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington Monday to protest a prefund requirement they say is bankrupting the U.S. Postal Service. A 2006 law requires the Postal Service to pay $5.5 billion annually toward retiree health benefits.
The Postal Service Protection Act of 2011 seeks to eliminate the prefund requirement and place restrictions on postal office closures. Some, however, are opposed to refunding what the USPS calls “overpayments.” Instead, the Heritage Foundation says Congress should make comprehensive reforms to adjust to the new realities of the organization, which could be in danger of defaulting if action is not taken.
— Simone Del Rosario/Medill News Service
This is actually a longtime issue; we’ve covered it a few times ourselves.
buntsfromaleftcoastgirl asks: Regarding the Postal Service announcement yesterday about slow-downs, my local Oregon NPR station noted this morning that the slow-down would effect Oregon's vote-by-mail as ballots have to be returned--not just postmarked--by election day. Oregon officials are pushing to get voter's pamphlets and ballots to Oregon voters sooner so they can be returned with enough time to slog through the USPS.
» SFB says: Good to know. Here’s the story, for the curious. This is another example, to us, about how a one-day delay in receiving mail will cause a ripple effect far beyond the Postal Service. To put this in Netflix terms: This is the U.S. Postal Service’s Qwikster. — Ernie @ SFB
8bitian says: “Bad” and “worse” should be flipped. Somehow I think losing 250 mail-processing centers and 100,000 employees across the board is worse than MY NETFLIX IS SLOW.
» SFB says: Disagree, because, well, think about it this way — if that Netflix is getting to you a day slower, that also means bills will get to people who owe money (and payments will get back) more slowly, paychecks will get to workers more slowly (not everyone has direct deposit), and so on. That Netflix is the tip of the iceberg. It’s a ripple effect that will be felt across the entire economy — especially among older or less tech-savvy Americans. Basically, we’re talking about the difference between infrastructure and engine. A damaged infrastructure is bad, as is the job loss. However, if the engine gets damaged, it has the effect of hurting a lot of other infrastructures far beyond the U.S. Postal Service. And that’s a heck of a lot more dangerous. — Ernie @ SFB
(Source: shortformblog)
Say goodbye to Saturday mail? That’s the Obama administration’s plan, at least. Issued alongside their much more ballyhooed one on debt reduction, the White House has endorsed ending Saturday mail delivery nationwide. The U.S. Postal Service is in quite dire financial straits, owing to a more digital age of communication as well as issues with financial management. The Democratic position is to try to minimize layoffs, while Rep. Darrel Issa’s plan would allow the USPS to break contracts and cut jobs, but on one thing both sides agree — no more mail on Saturdays. Shares of eBay dropped nearly 6% on the news, as it could make life tougher on their smaller, independent sellers. source
heshallfromtimetotime-deactivat asks: Wasn't the Postal Service thing already debunked, insofar as pointing out that USPS does in fact have a large amount of capital put aside for future use, but it's simply not permitted to use that money yet?
» SFB says: The Businessweek article actually covers this: “The USPS and its employee unions are lobbying for the least painful remedy: They want the agency to be relieved of its requirement to build a health-care trust fund for its future retirees.” The fund, a part of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, has hurt the organization’s bottom line for a while. But make no mistake: They’re not exactly doing well these days. Here’s their most recent financial statement. The first four pages of the PDF are really the important part. But they tell a clear story: The postal service’s bread and butter — first-class mail — is struggling. A complex issue for sure. — Ernie @ SFB
The real question: Can the mail system bail itself out? The mail system, unlike many government organizations, is explicitly spelled out in the Constitution.
Copyright 2009-2013 Ernie Smith • Ask us stuff! • E-mail us • Follow us on Twitter • Follow us on Facebook
