Quote:
Originally Posted by ploughman
(Post 739742)
The benefits shortfall is due to a Congressional requirement in 2006 to pre-fund 75 years of benefits in 10 years. Totally ridiculous and something no government agency or private company is required to do.
Even though first class mail is down (that being a money loser anyway), there's plenty of opportunity to operate based on e-commerce + other services, such as some types of banking. They actually had that until the late 60's and still do in countries like Japan.
Congress has been the biggest enemy of USPS viability so far. There's always some special interest trying to block the USPS from getting into their line of business, even though large banks aren't serving large chunks of the population, anyway, and UPS and FedEx have always been cream-skimmers with no intention to serve unprofitable areas like bush Alaska.
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Everyone says that the postal service should be run like a business, instead of relying on taxpayer money. But the TRUTH is that the USPS almost never gets ANY taxpayer money. By law, they have to be self-sufficient. They cannot run deficits the way that government can.
And for the person running it, the Congress is the problem. Because about the only things the USPS can change without Congressional approval is to lay off employees or raise rates. It they want to stop Saturday delivery, that requires an OK from Congress. Closing unprofitable post offices is also something that requires Congress to sign off on it.
So, in other to make any operational changes, they cannot simply make a BUSINESS decision, it becomes a POLITICAL decision. And politics and profitability do not mix.
As Ploughman pointed out, the Congress decided to require the USPS to pre-fund 75 years worth of benefits in 10 years - something that no other unit of government and no corporations are required to do.
Some people say this is because the Congress was worried that the USPS would underfund their pension system year after year, requiring an enormous government bailout down the road. Others say it is a ploy by conservatives to choke off their ability to serve their customers at a reasonable price, thus laying the groundwork for the postal service to be privatized.
As sellers who use the USPS, it really does not make a difference to us as to WHY the USPS is having these issues, the fact is they ARE having these issues and there is little we can do to change it. So, we have to deal with it.
The GOOD NEWS is, all of your fellow sellers are in the same boat. All have to remain profitable and pay the new rates or find a less expensive way to ship our packages. I have TRIED this and I can tell you, there is NO cheaper service that I have found. If anyone DOES find one, please share!
So, at the end of the day, sellers who calculate shipping separately will charge more for shipping. Sellers who offer free shipping will have to increase their prices to make up for the added costs. This will take time. Because on eBay, sellers are always hesitant to raise their prices, so it will take time.
