RSSPostal Service needs to cut to stamp out deficit
Yakima Herald-Republic
This editorial was published in the Yakima Herald-Republic on Aug. 14, 2009.
Politicians often will make a solemn pledge while campaigning that if elected they will run government as they would a business.
Somehow that pledge of treating public agencies with an eye toward productivity and a robust bottom line gets sidetracked after they take office.
Right now the U.S. Postal Service demands that kind of business acumen from lawmakers in Congress.
If any government department cried out for better business practices, the Postal Service is it. Facing a record $7 billion deficit in 2009, the service is desperately seeking ways to cut services, slash personnel and close or consolidate some of its 3,200 postal stations and branches.
Yakima County was one of six areas in the state, including Spokane and Seattle, where postal stations were being considered for closure. Last week, Postal Service officials arrived in Union Gap to ask residents what they thought about possible plans to shut down the city's post office at 3514 Main St.
The answer was a resounding no. More than 100 people attended that meeting and spoke with a singular voice.
Few at the meeting had anything good to say about their neighbors to the north. Several complained that the postal workers in Yakima were rude and that they would sometimes have to wait in line for as long as 30 minutes.
Not so in Union Gap, they argued. "This is a wonderful post office," summed up one loyal customer.
In the case of Union Gap, it may be the city's lone post office, but it's not as if there aren't others in close proximity. Within a radius of less than five miles from the Union Gap station -- 4.4 miles to be precise -- there are four other post offices. Yakima's main station at 205 W. Washington Ave. is two miles away.
Several days after the Union Gap meeting, the Postal Service decided against closing the city's post office and backed away from shuttering others across the state. The reason? Officials said the post offices were too important for their communities.
If closing post offices are not an option, what is? Something has to give.
Postmaster General John E. Potter says his department has to do something to staunch the hemorrhaging. The current trend lines are not favoring the Postal Service. Fewer people are affixing stamps to envelopes these days. The Postal Service is expected to handle at least 27 billion fewer pieces of mail this year than in 2008. With more Americans using e-mail and making payments online, it's only going to get worse.
That's why the Postal Service is seeking approval by Congress to pay health benefits from a retirement fund. That would save $2 billion a year from its operating budget.
In the last decade alone, the Postal Service -- this nation's second largest employer -- has shed more than 160,000 jobs through attrition, and offered this spring early retirement for 150,000 more workers.
Even more drastic is a proposal to cut Saturday postal service and go to five-day-a-week delivery. That would save as much as $3 billion a year.
Now you would think this effort to slash expenses by ending delivery on Saturdays would be greeted with approval by those politicians in Congress who have loudly advocated a desire to run government as a business.
Not a chance. Strong opposition greeted the proposal early in the year. Some termed the response from lawmakers as a "chilly reception."
But $7 billion in the hole is no way to run an independent agency of the federal government. Do you think its competitors in the private sector, Federal Express or United Parcel Service, could carry that enormous debt on their balance sheets for long?
As we have seen, running deficits -- even if they total in the billions -- has become business as usual for Congress. That has to change, and for the Postal Service it has to happen soon.
* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.
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and there are many people in America who want these same people to run a trillion dollar health care system!
Report ViolationI second the fear that the idea of these same people running our health care system. I wonder if the congress appointees who are going to decide our health care will have to pay their own malpractice insurance? Or will they even have to answer for bad, damaging decisions?
As for the post office not having Sat deliveries. We should have delivery on Sat. but like the role model we have in UPS and FedEx, a premium should be charged for the delivery. Heck, maybe zones should be established for determining the rate of postage. Yakima to Kennewick - $.30, Yakima to Union Gap - $.20. Seattle to Yakima $1.00 (take advantage of the volumn). Just a thought.
I had friends who walked away from college and productive careers because they could go to work for the post office and make about double minimum wage.
It wasn't the money that attracted them it was the fact that they could grow their hair long and stay high all the time with no recriminations from the government.
What a waste of lives! One additional benefit was full coverage for any and all health issues and no possibility of ever getting fired.
Well, unless they went postal.
These unskilled government jobs should all be privatized and all the pensions in place should be discontinued.
What a mistake!
What a waste of human potential!
Yesterday the YHR editors complained about citizens' anger at the idea of the government taking over our healthcare system.
Today they complain about the inefficiencies of government and how they're rationing services.
Connect the dots YHR!
Editorial stated: "Do you think its competitors in the private sector, Federal Express or United Parcel Service, could carry that enormous debt on their balance sheets for long?"
It was probably lobbyists from businesses such as these that want the USPS to continue operation at a snail's pace so their business/delivery status continues to look better to customers.
I'm waiting for a FedEx delivery as we speak. ;-)
People seem to want everything for nothing today. I want the best service you can give me, but I do not want to pay for it. I am assuming many think this money grows on trees. Or else they watch the federal reserve just print money without having the fiscal ability to back it up. As stated before, the same people who voted for Obama change do not want thier post office closed. I am not saying this about Union Gap. because I feel as fast as this city is growing that they need their post office. But, when you have small communities such as Outlook, Mabton, Granger where the mail could be ran thru Sunnyside. That they could close these small post offices. The funny thing is they have postmasters at every little joint across the entire USA. Let one postmaster run some of these satelitte post offices. As stated before, if they were private businesses. They could not afford toilet paper for their emplyees! The post offices are a scam on the taxpayers as will be a national health bill!
Report Violation"People seem to want everything for nothing today."
RIGHT, LIKE FARM SUBSIDIES.
I JUST FOUND OUT THAT SOME OF MY HARD WORKING FARMER NEIGHBORS HAVE RECEIVED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN FEDERAL TAXPAYER MONEY FOR DOING NOTHING.
REAL CONSERVATIVES. REPUBLICANS ON THE DOLE. PICKING EVERYONE'S POCKETS.
THERE IS A WEBSITE THAT LISTS ALL THE MONEY THESE PARASITES HAVE STOLEN OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. I'LL POST IT LATER. YOU JUST ENTER THE COUNTY AND THE NAMES POP UP. WHAT A REVELATION!!
countryvet- I agree with you on the farm subsidies. And the sham on these is that these huge corporate farms are receiving millions. Sam Donaldson has received millions. This is a total taxpayer ripoff. And the thing is that the ones needy it, cannot get it. Just like welfare. But, remember you are eating cheap food because of subsidies. Plus you are eating cheap food because of imports. Imports from countires who can still use DDT on vegetables. The American farmer has to use the higher cost of labor and higher cost of production because most the time people such as yourself do not understand no want to understand the high cost of production. Sure there are organic foods. But most people do not realize that organic plants produce high amounts of poisons within. So, is organis the way to go. Organics do cost much more than subsidized food. One thing I have found there is no way of pleasing a liberal.
Report ViolationThe rates for postage adjusted for inflation have remained pretty flat from about 1980 to today - slightly lower than 1880-1920 and 1930-1940. If we don't need the service that is one thing, but complaining about the price is a little hollow. If a person looks objectively at the PO's statistics they are pretty efficient - I know that won't mean much to those trained to growl and snap at anything label government.
While the Post Office was once the only vehicle for long distance communication, that role has gone away. The primary beneficiaries of the postal service is business (commerce) and government - they like those bills going out and those checks coming in. Add the bulk mailing which is the bane of the public but a favorite of both business and politicians.
I could get by just fine with twice monthly mail service and bulk mail shoved where the sun don't shine and be perfectly happy, but good luck on getting it. Every year or so we do through this charade of threats to cut delivery days or close smaller post offices and almost immediately the idea is withdrawn. The politicians, business community and government units complain about how the little guys will be hurt - when what they mean is they will be impacted.
Just once while they are talking like this, I wish they would ask us for a show of hands.
Just Bob - very well said ! But many of the politicians cannot count, thus it would be frutal for a show of hands. Remember the governors race where dead people voted democrat. How would dead people be able to raise their hands so the liberals would count?? Don't forget the illegals, they have hands that they can raise and the liberals WILL count them.
Report ViolationJust Bob - very well said ! But many of the politicians cannot count, thus it would be frutal for a show of hands. Remember the governors race where dead people voted democrat. How would dead people be able to raise their hands so the liberals would count?? Don't forget the illegals, they have hands that they can raise and the liberals WILL count them.
Report ViolationJust_Bob
"Just once while they are talking like this, I wish they would ask us for a show of hands."
A show of hands??? What good would that do? The government is going to do what it wants to do with or without a show of hands. You raise your hand in protest or show up anywhere to protest, you are labeled a racists, angry mob, tea bagger, un-American, etc, etc. America is getting what they voted for..."bigger government" and it's growing bigger every day. Sorry Bob...this is the new "Hope and Change"...aint it great?
Why don't they stop delivering junk mail instead of cutting services? That would cut their workload by about half, giving them time and money to do the things they say they can't do now, and save millions of trees while making the rest of us immensely happy at the same time.
Oh, darn it, I forgot: that would make sense so it's out of the question. Never mind.
DerekTyler: "Why don't they stop delivering junk mail instead of cutting services"
This makes no sense at all. I agree about making us happier and saving trees mind you, but the junk mail is what is keeping the postal service from being in debt even further. Sending junk mail is not a free service, someone is paying the post office for it. I am not defending junk mail, I just don't think what you wrote makes any sense.
What if you said, "Why don't people use email and pay their bills online, that would cut the post office's workload in half"?
Okay, I'll try to clarify.
As I understand it, most junk mail uses bulk postage rate. It costs less to mail than a regular letter does but takes the same amount of work to deliver. Because there is so much of it more people have to be hired to sort, transport and deliver the mail--but they are doing it at a loss compared to "normal" letters. If junk mail weren't around, the post office could be streamlined and cut costs--maybe they could use 3 mailmen where they now need five or be able to afford to keep Saturday deliveries, etc.
If junk mail is the thing keeping the P.O. from sinking, it's a problem that needs to be addressed: we are effectively supporting junk mail with our taxes by offering a bulk mailing rate--I doubt anyone wants to do that, especially during hard times.
I agree about paying bills online. I have done it for years. I probably only mail about two letters a year because it's so fast and efficient to pay bills, write letters, check bank statements, etc online. It's possible that someday the post office will become redundant and unnecessary just for that reason.
Ah! Thanks for clarifying Derek, totally makes sense now what you said.
The post office keeps claiming they are in trouble because people are not mailing letters because of the Internet, yet millions of people are mailing packages, 10 times the cost of a stamp. Items are bought and sold on the Internet, eBay being one of the biggest sources. Not only the Internet stimulates sales, but mail order is still a viable business for those that do not have computers. Publisher's Clearing House? So, please spare me that excuse.
And I saw that the USPS was sponsering the ABC World News.
What? They have the money to advertise?
USPS is still the best deal in town for packages that weigh less than 4 or 5 pounds. The savings in gas and time to use the more conveniently located USPS offices can outweigh the sometimes lesser cost to mail a larger package thru Fed Ex or UPS. FED EX and UPS are not exactly convenient for many Yakima customers and I have found their customer service to be slower.
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