Privatize the U.S. Postal Service?

[ishtat]

The P.O. is neither insolvent nor non-functional.

It is insolvent. It has 700 000 retirees (40% more than its current employees) and has annual pension payments in excess of $10 Billion) Unusually for a US Federal agency the Postal services have no federal guarantee with regard to their pension funding. They are required to meet those liabilities from current revenue. They cannot do so to the tune of many billions of $. They are therefore insolvent.

Ironically this is one of their greatest protections because any reform would require as a pre-requisite that these liabilities be brought to account. So much easier for politicians of all parties to do nothing, and just kick the can down the road.

 

[jomar]

The US PS has 626,000 employees to service 330 million people. The India postal service has 440,000 employees to service 4.5 times as many people. Reasonable efficiency- possibly not?

The biggest problem the USPS has is the need to generate sufficient cash flow to fund ongoing pension liabilities from the fairly recent past when it had 750,000 employees

Are those workers part of a government union?

Where both sides of the labor negotiating table sit on one side negotiating among friends what to do with someone else's money? You want how much? You want your mail? *laughing* Okay. Here it is! That was tough. Drinks? What do you say, we keep the negotiations going for a week? It's close to election...

What ishtat is referring to is that, IIRC, and probably by law for some reason, the USPS had to front load pensions instead of deducting money from pay along the way to retirement.

 

[BAstoicguy]

What Ishtar is referring to is that, IIRC, and probably by law for some reason, the USPS had to front load pensions instead of deducting money from pay along the way to retirement.

You select a piece of the entire sausage referred to reenforcing the original error, I am assuming, by honest partisan judgement.

I am an atheist Libertarian rooted philosophically in the Austrian School of Economics.
That is school of thought is my Koran.

I am not SPYVSPY


Make that, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

 

[jomar]

You select a piece of the entire sausage referred to reenforcing the original error, I am assuming, by honest partisan judgement.

I am an atheist Libertarian rooted philosophically in the Austrian School of Economics.
That is school of thought is my Koran.

I am not SPYVSPY


Make that, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Firstly, thank you for quoting

Secondly, it seems you’re missing the point

Thirdly, and this goes for all: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

 

[RobDownSouth]

What ishtat is referring to is that, IIRC, and probably by law for some reason, the USPS had to front load pensions instead of deducting money from pay along the way to retirement.

In 2006, Congress decided to cripple the United States Postal Service to benefit Fedex, UPS and other carriers. They passed, and feckless President Dubya signed into law the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA; P.L. 109-435).

This shitty piece of legislation required the USPS to PRE-FUND their ENTIRE pension plan for SEVENTY FIVE FUCKING years, guaranteeing the USPS would run a deficit for the foreseeable future. The aim, I suspect, was to bring the quasi-public USPS to heel and abandon pensions for employees, which they've had since the Post Office was created. It should be noted that Libertarians in particular hate pensions.

No other state, local, public or private entity was required to pre-fund their pension for a ridiculous 75 years, EVER. Over time, even Republicans came around to admitting they had fucked up royally (a rarity). Bi-partisan joint legislation was passed by the House by a 3:1 margin but was killed in the Senate single handedly by "Ratfucker Ron" Johnson, senator from Wisconsin, who hates America.

The bill was reintroduced when voters sent President Joe Biden to the White House and the stoopid 75 year pre-funding mandate was removed from the law after swift approval by both Senate and Republicans.

 

[Politruk]

I am an atheist Libertarian rooted philosophically in the Austrian School of Economics.

The Austrian school is pure pseudoscientific crankery.