USPS

[speedysst]

So the companies that send that "garbage" have no blame? Really? The USPS delivered what was SENT and paid for by another company. They didn't print out junk mail then decide to give it to you. Then you blame Obama because the USPS delivered what was sent by some company to your address??

Bullshit.

The USPS has been in a deficit for years to the tune of billions. They lost $5 billion last year alone. The only reason it's still operating is the Federal govt.

Most of what the USPS delivers to me is junk mail. They obviously don't charge enough for the 50-100 lbs. of it that I get every year. They deliver garbage (...and then I pay Waste Management to take it away). They keep increasing the cost of 1st class postage to stem the flow, but they're just encouraging the citizenry to find a cheaper way and the USPS continues to reduce their revenue (it's a disincentive, like higher taxes). They could charge more for bulk mail and make more money for moving less volume, but then they wouldn't need so much infrastructure to move the profitable mail around. That won't happen, because they wouldn't need as many personnel and the union just can't have that.

Hey, I'm not surprised, this is yet another failure of the Executive branch of the Federal govt. under Obama.

[RblDiver]

I think the point is that the USPS is hemorrhaging money with neither Congress nor the President working to find ways to correct the issue. If the USPS were split off and turned into a fully private company (rather than the public-private nature of it now), they'd be able to take actions to correct the issue, such as close tiny offices, fire negligent workers, make changes to their pension, etc. As it is, about the only thing they can do is raise stamp prices and beg Congress to allow them to cut delivery days.

[clodhopper]

So the companies that send that "garbage" have no blame? Really? The USPS delivered what was SENT and paid for by another company. They didn't print out junk mail then decide to give it to you. Then you blame Obama because the USPS delivered what was sent by some company to your address??

Bulk mailers aren't paying the same rates as the rest of us. USPS negotiates these rates. Why should they get a big break on postage to send me something I don't want anyway?

[centrarchidae]

It's worse than bulk mailers not paying.

Back in the 1990's, the Direct Marketing Association more or less bought and paid for Congress to directly forbid USPS from studying or publicly releasing how much they make for handling junk mail, vs. how much they spend on handling it.

Now, why would DMA want that information to be hidden from light of day if they're not ashamed of it?

[RblDiver]

Bulk mailers aren't paying the same rates as the rest of us. USPS negotiates these rates. Why should they get a big break on postage to send me something I don't want anyway?

Because they do things like pre-sort their mail etc, saving the post office from having to do it. The original concept came from "You're sending carriers on those routes anyways, if you give us a preferential rate we'll give you more mail, have it presorted and ready for the carriers, etc."

[Gman]

I think the point is that the USPS is hemorrhaging money with neither Congress nor the President working to find ways to correct the issue. If the USPS were split off and turned into a fully private company (rather than the public-private nature of it now), they'd be able to take actions to correct the issue, such as close tiny offices, fire negligent workers, make changes to their pension, etc. As it is, about the only thing they can do is raise stamp prices and beg Congress to allow them to cut delivery days.

You and clodhopper get it.

The USPS is run as effectively as Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac (another public-private endeavor). Lots of cushy politically appointed higher-up positions for political favorites, but no real accountability to the people.

The USPS makes the lions share of revenue through first class postage, but their volume is low-paying bulk mail.
From the Wiki posted earlier;

The USPS operates the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world, with an estimated 218,684 vehicles...
<snip>
For every penny increase in the national average price of gasoline, the USPS spends an extra $8 million per year to fuel its fleet.

The number of gallons of fuel used in 2009 was 444 million, at a cost of US$1.1 billion.

It doesn't make financial sense to spend the resources they do moving around so much that pays so little. Less volume means letter carriers could hit more stops with the same vehicle load. Bulk commercial mail really isn't what was intended in the duties specified by Article I, section 8, Clause 7 of the US Constitution.

...and yes, yet another rate increase for first class postage has been approved.

[crashdown]

Because they do things like pre-sort their mail etc, saving the post office from having to do it. The original concept came from "You're sending carriers on those routes anyways, if you give us a preferential rate we'll give you more mail, have it presorted and ready for the carriers, etc."

This and many other factors.
If it wasn't for "junk mail" I would bet stamps would be 20-30 bucks each and packages would cost more in postage than the contents of the box 99% of the time.
"junk mail" keeps the USPS alive, and it hardly feels like a break when you see 20-30K going to the post office every week.... oh, and "junk mail" just got hit with a 7% postage increase this month.
"junk mail" is also delivered to the local post office, not picked up at the printing facility.

[rbeau30]

This and many other factors.
If it wasn't for "junk mail" I would bet stamps would be 20-30 bucks each and packages would cost more in postage than the contents of the box 99% of the time.
"junk mail" keeps the USPS alive, and it hardly feels like a break when you see 20-30K going to the post office every week.... oh, and "junk mail" just got hit with a 7% postage increase this month.
"junk mail" is also delivered to the local post office, not picked up at the printing facility.

I believe in this so much that I send the Junk mail right back to them in the prepaid envelopes to give the Postal service more money.

[Gman]

This and many other factors.
If it wasn't for "junk mail" I would bet stamps would be 20-30 bucks each and packages would cost more in postage than the contents of the box 99% of the time.
"junk mail" keeps the USPS alive, and it hardly feels like a break when you see 20-30K going to the post office every week.... oh, and "junk mail" just got hit with a 7% postage increase this month.
"junk mail" is also delivered to the local post office, not picked up at the printing facility.

If that were the case, bulk mail would be the majority of the USPS revenue, which it has been documented is not the case. You might wish it to be so, but it simply isn't true. 1st class postage is also going up 5% this month.

The increase in postage this year is supposed to generate an extra $2 billion in annual revenue. The USPS lost $15.9 billion in fiscal year 2012. Doing away with Saturday delivery is estimated to save $1.9 billion/yr. Do the math. This isn't going to save the hemorrhaging patient.

[ben4372]

I believe in this so much that I send the Junk mail right back to them in the prepaid envelopes to give the Postal service more money.

I've been doing this for awhile too. Sometimes I add stuff to it.