How to Fix the Postal Service

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Here's a visualization comparing USPS income and expenses>> http://flapjackmedia.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/the-decline-of-the-us-post-office/

Flapjack Media of NC 9:33PM April 13, 2013

I agree about the Postal General and Board..They make a lot more than they should...they are appointed to their jobs and are business men who try to run the post office like a business it is a service organization...never was expected to make money...the Postmaster Gen makes more than the US President!

Jo Cukr of MI 9:56AM April 11, 2013

The USPS has many options available. However, they must get changes through Congress and by their unions. Cutting service is an accounting office idea. What is overlooked is ho that change in service will affect the customer. Cutting too deeply will drive up overall transportation costs and change the way the customer uses the service. Right now, USPS worker is the "Best Loved" of all govt employees (yeah, I know)... People know, trust and wish to keep their carrier.
A focus more on the areas where costs are high-per-unit delivered would be a great start. Contracting these areas to local couriers would add coverage and maintain service. Many small towns have a different courier service every day for medical test specimens, eyeglasses, bank deposits and checks as well as the usual Brown and Purple package carriers.
why does the USPS own so many buildings-? Could soe be sold and leased back-? Many a transportation company has done this and freed up cash for expansions and changes in operations. Perhaps some facilities could also serve as co-locations for franchise services-? Any drive along the interstates will see pairings that would have been unthinkable 10-20 years ago.
As many a politician is fond of saying, about many different problems; "It took a long time to get into this situation. we cannot expect miracles overnight." From the private enterprise view, that is tru only as far as it goes. Unless one commits to changing practices and examining legacy habits the costs will continue to rise... and rise... and rise. This applies to many problems that face our nation not jut this single issue.

Andy Johnson of OR 10:49AM March 21, 2012

Double the rates for bulk mailings.

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Ann of NY 10:24AM March 12, 2012

Commenter JJ is on the right track -- fewer delivery days. But 3 days won't put food on a carrier's table, as the union will rightly insist. Instead, drop Mondays (very little "real" mail, few ads) and drop days off. Every P.O. worker does Tuesday through Saturday, no extra days off, no rotating subs for those days off. In two or three years, cut 5 days to 4. Beats closing down, right?

yankeedam of CT 5:17PM March 11, 2012

This whole mess is a result of the pension pre-funding. Every other reason given is just smoke and mirrors. If Congress hadn't passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, even with the reduced volume, they'd still be making a profit!!!
Just before the recession, they decided that it'd be a good idea to require them to set aside 75 years worth of pensions. Not only did they require them to set aside a pension fund that is absurdly large compared to any other business or government agency, but they gave them only 10 years to do it, no exceptions!
To say that the reason that branches are closing, people are getting laid-off and hours and service are get cut is because they can't keep up with other services is like attaching a trailer with a half-dozen adult passengers to just Lance Armstrong's bike and saying that he's placing last in every race is because he's out of shape.
The Post Office, with few minor exceptions for government activities, gets nothing from taxes, but thanks to government accounting practices, giving them their own money back would "cost taxpayer dollars." Congress doesn't want to fix the artificial crisis they made because it's artificially making their budget look more balanced than it really is.
The money is being put aside under the guise of providing a safety net for their future. In practice, it looks about as sane as someone dying of malnutrition because the money he's investing in building a bomb shelter leaves him no money for groceries.

Dan Ziewa of CO 3:14PM March 11, 2012

Stop bonuses to management. Letter carrier supervisors must cross train as letter carriers to keep their skills up and understand what is going on out in the field. Discontinue sponsoring things like Lance Armstrong (rip off) and race cars. We know what you do, you don't need to advertise that way. Stop focusing on MSP scores and commitment times. Instead focus on delivering the mail. Listen and follow through with letter carrier suggestions such as: don't drive empty truck to processing plant, have large truck available to pick up pallets of parcels.
And add some creativity. Have classes in your building that teaches people the art of writing letters, or sending mail art, or creating fabric postcards. Collecting stamps helps too.
Collaborate with a small business like Kinko's so that people can create and mail their media in one place. Like when you have to process your Flexible Spending Account medical, childcare receipts, make copies, and send delivery confirmation so you know Flexible Spending received it. Instead we have to make copies at the public library, and then drive to the USPS

Paula Grieb of WA 11:55AM March 11, 2012

Given that the USPO mail person daily walks/drives the same routes, going to every door (often with no letters and maybe a piece or two of junk mail), the USPO could easily deliver, at no additional cost to the USPO, hard copies of daily newspapers presumably for less than the publishers pay their delivery people -- thereby possibly making it feasible for newspaper publishers to keep publishing in hard copy form, especially if they combined full online access to hard-copy subscribers at no additional cost....

BRH of MN 1:36PM March 10, 2012

How about Congress forbids the Postmaster General and the Postal Board of Governors from giving themselves outrageous bonuses and retirement plans that they don't pay into. My retirement would be a lot better if I got a $800,000 bonus, plus another million cash up front retirement, plus $40,000 a month. Third class mail (junk mail) has always been the main revenue for the Post Office, not first class mail. With the economy down, fewer businesses advertise through the mail. But this doesn't account for the huge losses suffered by the Postal Service.

stlmaddog5 of MO 5:31AM March 10, 2012