Pffffffft

From the Washington Post:  Officials:  United States Postal Service (USPS) likely to go broke in 20100.   Who are they trying to fool, it is already broke and has been for years.  Do away with it, save money.  Privatize.  Let the market decide.

The cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service delivered more bad news Friday, announcing it lost $8.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended in September. Without congressional action to change its obligations, officials said, the Postal Service likely will go broke at the end of fiscal 2011.

Letter carriers delivered 170.6 billion pieces of mail in fiscal 2010, a drop of 6 billion pieces from the previous year, with a significant drop in first-class mail deliveries, officials said. Financial losses also came from about $5.4 billion in obligations to pre-fund future retiree health benefits and about $2.5 billion paid to the federal government's workers' compensation insurance fund.

Outgoing Postmaster General John E. Potter said last month that he anticipated at least $6 billion in annual losses, but cautioned the number would likely go higher once the mail service tallied its workers' compensation contributions. All federal agencies and the Postal Service, a quasi-federal outfit, have workers' compensation obligations to help fund four major disability compensation programs.

The Postal Service also announced Friday that it plans to deplete its $15 billion line of credit with the U.S. Treasury by borrowing the remaining $3.5 billion available. Though the Postal Service does not use taxpayer funding, it has tapped the credit line since the early 1990s. Depleting it means the Postal Service likely will go broke at the end of fiscal 2011 unless Congress takes action, officials said Friday.  (continue)

  

Comments

[Brian]

According to the Government Motors Model...the CEO of the USPS will be replaced by a board comprised of the leaders of the postal union. All Offices in areas that voted republican will be shut down which means that only the high entitlement areas (read this as Metro areas) will retain the USPS traditionally. Mail from recognized Muslim communities or countries will routinely be delivered without question or inspection, but industry packages and mass mailers to these areas will be asked to foot the bill for the inspection of business, Non Profit and religious literature that is non-Muslim. The bulk of the special mailing contracts will be awarded to Chinese firms and Indonesia workers from the tourist inidustry will be offered jobs as Mail Porters to speed up the delivery and cut cost as they will be paid by gratuity only. Meanwhile the new Obama, Pelosi, Reid Frank version of Mt Rushmore will be the next commemorrative issue by the USPS. Yes, you ask, the sun will be a crescent on the east side of the stamp's view. Can anybody spell "Homey" Express ?

[Skunkfeathers]

Guess I'd better buy a sheet of those Three Stooges stamps quick ;)

[GoneWithTheWind]

Go to every other day delivery; i.e. three home deliveries a week. Keep the PO boxes and businesses could pick up their mail daily as most do already. This would allow cutting the postal employees delivering mail in half.

[Brian]

Here's a pipe dream also...sample the taxpayers returns before credits and see how far income has regressed, divide by the number of unemployed to reach a figure of what the actual mean income is and then adjust federal and state wages to that level if higher and porportionalize them down if lower. Then we need to eliminate the unemployment taxes on all businesses. Unemployment tax is an entitlement that reduces the drive to become employed while costing employers money for no productive reason which is the general definition of taxation by the Demoncrats.

[MK]

"...cautioned the number would likely go higher once the mail service tallied its workers' compensation contributions."

Ah yes, behind many a government run service/business going belly up is an intransigent union unwilling to bend to keep the bloody thing running.

@#$% taking a pay cut or benefit cut, much rather run the thing into the ground making sure everyone goes home with a nice fat 0.