The post office announced that it can't survive past the end of its current fiscal year in October by meeting its financial obligations so it is proposing just not paying them - and it's still asking Congress for help.
It has cut its workforce by about a quarter-million people in the past few years and expects to cut another @2 billion in costs this year to go along with the $3 million in savings last year.
It would seem that there is only so much they can cut and still deliver the mail and staff the mail centers - but there's a lot more they can do.
The root of the issue is personnel costs and behind that is the union - a public union. We sure are hearing a lot about public unions these days. aren't we?
It seems that the reason the post office will be insolvent in November is because it owes $5.5 billion for medical costs for future retirees and $1.3 billion in workers' comp. This is some serious money.
If this were a normal business instead of a government subsidized one, and funding a pension meant that there would be no business, the pension plan would have to go. This plan needs to be scrapped and a new one implemented. No business equals no pension regardless of how much people counted on it.
Maybe we could choose the level of service we want from the post office. Free for so many pieces of mail a month - like minutes on our cell phone. And a sliding scale after that. Pick your plan.
Personally, I don't need or want junk mail. I don't need unsolicited catalogs and magazines. I don't need the grocery flyers. Most of my bills are emailed to me and I pay all of them online. All I need from the post office is my checks. So I'll go with the basic free service, and the carrier will only need to stop when I have mail instead of everyday. Many days, there are just junk and that's it.
Let the people who want the junk mail pay for it.
One thing is sure, the post office can't keep blowing through our money like this.
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Steve Hoffacker - Consultant, Coach, Author, Blogger, Photographer, Motivator, Teacher, & Strategist - for Realtors, Real Estate Sales Professionals, Home Builders, New Home Salespeople, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, and Independent Sales Representatives.
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