US Postal Service warns it could default...

[Copper Catcher]

Oh well...so much for those forever stamps!

US Postal Service warns it could default

The US Postal Service warned on Friday that it could default on payments it owes the federal government, just days after the US government itself narrowly averted a default.

The government's mail service said it lost $3.1 billion in the period from April to June, blaming "the anemic state of the economy" and the growing popularity of electronic communications over old-fashioned letters.

As a result of its mounting losses, the US Postal Service said it would not be able to make a legally required $5.5 billion payment in September to a health-benefits trust fund.

"Absent substantial legislative change, the Postal Service will be forced to default on payments to the federal government," it said in a statement.

Dating back to 1775, the US Postal Service was once a crucial branch of the federal government, but in recent years it has come under increasing fire from critics who consider it bureaucratic and inefficient.

In July, it unveiled plans to identify nearly 3,700 under-used post offices around the United States for possible closure. The Post Office has been hemorrhaging billions of dollars in recent years.
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/us-postal- ... 59453.html

[shinnosuke]

Wow, forever is a lot shorter than I thought it was.

[Cerulean]

Funny, for a long time the USPS said their biggest revenue stream came from bulk mail. Last I heard, bulk mail was WAY DOWN due to the Recession, which just entered it's fourth year (don't let anybody tell you otherwise). I guess the USPS couldn't handle a multi-year dry spell in junk mail volumes.

It is time to end the government-granted monopoly on carrying first-class envelopes. Problem solved. We already trust other carriers with parcels... why not everything else?

[barrytrot]

Bring back the Pony Express.

Those guys made a tidy profit and they got the babes.

[shinnosuke]

Bring back the Pony Express.

Those guys made a tidy profit and they got the babes.

Yeah, how cool would it be to pull into a gas station and have a gassed up and ready to go Mustang or Charger or Pinto -- well, not a Pinto -- waiting for the next leg of the journey?

[Rodebaugh]

Oh well...so much for those forever stamps!


The government's mail service said it lost $3.1 billion in the period from April to June, blaming "the anemic state of the economy" and the growing popularity of electronic communications over old-fashioned letters.

As a result of its mounting losses, the US Postal Service said it would not be able to make a legally required $5.5 billion payment in September to a health-benefits trust fund.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/us-postal- ... 59453.html

Does anyone really believe it's cheap stamps, high gas, to many store fronts, or that new "e-mail" thing causing this? Think again.

[Treetop]

Does anyone really believe it's cheap stamps, high gas, to many store fronts, or that new "e-mail" thing causing this? Think again.

Is it the 69# boxes of pennies?

[IdahoCopper]

It is actually the the IMF's standard currency is the SPR, Special Drawing Rights.

That is the currency of the International Postal Union. As the dollar falls against that standard, the Postal Service ( not the Post Office), must raise its prices, especially for international mail rates.

if you don't know the difference between the Postal Service and the Post Office, you need to do more research. Also look into the US/USA differential. They are also two different political things.

[Know Common Cents]

Cost of mailing a letter in Canada and Mexico is much higher than the US. Their rates better reflect the true cost of the service provided.

A one ounce airmail letter I drop in my neighborhood mailbox to a European relative costs me $0.98. They live in a remote part of Germany and have no internet access and sometimes unreliable phone service.

A bag of peanut M&Ms cost me $1.25 from a vending machine. Which is the better deal? The USPS is a victim of its longevity. People who still use the mail EXPECT (and more likely DEMAND) the rates to be low. I doubt whether the true cost of delivering a letter in the early 1960s was a scant 4 cents. Of couse, subsidies played a part of that, but they have to be paid by someone. It's imperative to include that in the actual cost of the service.

First, the Postal Service should can their advertising. What purpose does that serve? A reliable consulting firm should be hired to calculate the true cost of delivering a letter nationwide as well as parcels, etc. I'm sure that'd be scary. All the more reason to place the USPS in the history books where it can proudly be a part of our nation's legacy.

Commonly referred to as "snail mail," the USPS is actually "dinosaur mail."

[avidbrandy]

Wow, forever is a lot shorter than I thought it was.

Thank you for this.


So the internet ruins letters. I dont' know the numbers but don't ebay, and amazon help compensate for this. I mean how much crap gets purchased online now?

[blackrabbit]

I personally like the postal service and am happy to use there subsidized services. It is usually the cheapest way to ship stuff especially on the smaller items like coins. If they go under shipping coins is going to get a lot more expensive!

[Rosco]

Lets start a face to face chain across the USA Or at least the Redoubt States