Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Post Office... Peak of Efficiency

When they privatize the Post Office, stamps will go to a buck and a half at least and customer service won't get any better.

. . . My pet peeve is those who show up with packages totally unprepared to ship. The clerks help these dolts pack (using P.O. supplys) while the line of those waiting stretches out the door. Why can't customers like that be required to step to the back of the line while preparing their packages?

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) faces a serious financial situation that is putting its mission of providing prompt, reliable, and efficient universal mail services at risk.1 It reported a net loss of $5.6 billion in fiscal year 2016—its 10th consecutive year of net losses. Additionally, it continues to face unfunded liabilities that have grown from 99 percent of USPS revenues in fiscal year 2007 to 169 percent of revenues in fiscal year 2016. These unfunded liabilities—totaling about $121 billion at the end of fiscal year 2016—consist mostly of retiree health and pension benefit obligations for which USPS has not set aside sufficient funds to cover. For example, since September 2010, USPS has not made almost $34 billion in required prefunding retiree health payments, which has led to an unfunded liability of about $52 billion.2 USPS's ability to make payments to cover its unfunded liabilities is challenged due to (1) continued expected declines in mail volumes; (2) growing expenses; (3) expiration of a temporary rate surcharge3(which generated $4.6 billion in additional revenue from its January 2014 inception to its April 2016 discontinuation); and (4) no planned new major cost-savings initiatives. As a result, it is not likely that USPS will be able to make all of its required health and pension payments in fiscal year 2017.4
USPS's inability to make these payments may ultimately place taxpayers and the health care and pension benefits of USPS employees, retirees, and their beneficiaries at risk. Funded benefits protect the future viability of USPS by not saddling it with bills after employees have retired. USPS retirees participate in the same health and pension benefit programs as other federal retirees. Thus, if USPS ultimately does not adequately fund these benefits and if Congress wants these benefits to be maintained at current levels, funding from the U.S. Treasury and hence the taxpayer would be needed to continue the benefit at the same levels. Alternatively, unfunded benefits could pressure USPS to reduce benefits or pay for postal workers. In July 2009, we added USPS's financial condition to the list of high-risk areas needing attention by Congress and the executive branch to achieve broad-based restructuring.

A new report profiling the U.S. Postal Service's tenuous financial situation finds it "unlikely" that the government body "will be able to fully make its required retiree health and pension payments in the near future," and its mounting debts and liabilities could threaten its existence and taxpayers' wallets going forward.
A report published Thursday by the Government Accountability Office suggests the postal service's expenses "began consistently exceeding revenues in fiscal year 2007," which ultimately contributed to a net loss of $56.8 billion over the subsequent eight years.
"USPS is a critical part of the nation's communication and commerce, delivering 154 billion pieces of mail in fiscal year 2015 to about 155 million delivery points, and with more than 620,000 employees," Lori Rectanus, director of physical infrastructure issues at the GAO, said in a statement Thursday presented to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. "USPS, however, faces a serious financial situation and does not have sufficient revenues to cover its expenses, putting its mission of providing prompt, reliable, and efficient universal services to the public at risk."
Rectanus said the service's "unsustainable" deficits are likely to prevent it from providing adequate compensation to retirees going forward. In fact, the GAO found that the USPS only paid $6.7 billion of the $12.6 billion in retiree health and pension payments that were due in fiscal 2015. In last year's 10-K report, the service cited "declines in mail volume" and "statutory and regulatory restrictions" as reasons for defaulting on billions of dollars due to a USPS retiree health benefits fund.
"Moreover, at the end of fiscal year 2015, USPS had about $125 billion in unfunded liabilities and debt, most of which were for retiree health and pension benefits," Rectanus said Thursday. "These unfunded liabilities and debt are a large and growing financial burden, increasing from 99 percent of USPS revenues in fiscal year 2007 to 182 percent of revenues in fiscal year 2015."

Agents with the inspector general's office are trying to identify the woman caught dumping hundreds of pieces of mail into a Lee County dumpster.

What's even more shocking is that woman is a postal worker. The entire incident was captured on a surveillance camera.

It happened Saturday behind Luigina's Pizza & Grill off US-41 in San Carlos Park.

In the video, the postal worker is seen driving her truck right up next to the dumpster before dumping an entire bin full of mail into the trash.

"I called down to my wife. I said check the garbage can, I just saw something really bizarre," said Louie Rondao, the owner of Luigina's Pizza.

"Sure enough, she confirmed there was mail here from people and a lot of postcards," he added. "Somebody's missing checks and payments. There were bills, and I think there were some personal letters."

Also among the dumped mail were about 400 business fliers belonging to local realtor Hudson Warren.

"It's not free, it's not cheap, and it's a big part of my business. And so it's pretty frustrating to know that they're not getting to people," Warren said. "We're doing everything we can do to keep ourselves busy, and somebody's literally throwing our money in the trash."

Rondao says he reported the incident to the postal service on Saturday, but special agents didn't show up to investigate until Monday morning.

The postal service told us they've already contacted the intended recipients of that mail. The letters will be processed and then placed back into the regional mail system.

PLEASANT GROVE — Most people don't think twice when mailing a letter. The deal has always been if you put the proper postage on it, the government will deliver it to the address you put on the front.

There’s a good chance, though, no one has ever addressed their mail to a Pleasant Grove dumpster.


A Pleasant Grove woman got a big surprise last week when she discovered hundreds, if not thousands of pieces of unopened, undelivered mail dumped inside a dumpster in her neighborhood.

“Oh, I was totally shocked. When I first looked in, I first saw a package on the top, and underneath a big clack rug was all the mail,” said the woman who asked not to be identified because she said she doesn't want the man suspected of trashing the mail to know what she saw.

That man was a mailman.

“I looked outside and saw the mail truck parked by the dumpster and thought it was really odd because our mail had already been delivered for the day by a complete different mail carrier and mail vehicle,” the woman said.

Once he left, she went over and peeked to see what was inside. She saw much more than plastic bags, cardboard, and other trash.

“There was mail from the state of Utah, personal cards, checks, utility bills — and it was addressed to people in Pleasant Grove and the Lindon area,” she said.

She took pictures of the stacks and stacks of mail she took out of the dumpster. Then, she put them in bags and delivered it all back to the Pleasant Grove Post Office.

“One of the guys that talked to me said he has worked there for 36 years and has never seen anything like this before,” she said. “Lots of people in this area have been complaining about missing mail for months. One lady I know is a business owner and she told me she’s been missing mail for up to six months.”

For most things, USPS is still a bargain.

I agree. I like the USPO over them all. I've been paying my bills via the mail for 40+ years. Never had a problem with the check getting there on time.