Wrong....post office was forced (in 2006 by REPUBLICANs) to fund its pension for the next 75 years....only government agency that is required to do it...$5.5 billion annual payment.this is why it is brook...Congress could save it tomorrow by reversing this insane requirement and refund billions in overpayment....this is another scam to destroy a good goverment program so private companies can take over....soon this country will be physically controlled by a few giant corporations with a few very weathy people and the rest serfs.....the czars have arrived in America

Philm,

I'd go the other way and require all government and GSE's to fully fund their pension programs - just like private industry has to do. Right now we talk about a $15 Trillion debt, but the reality is, it's over $100 Trillion if we used the same pension accounting stands that private industry uses. All we're doing now is sticking our heads in the sand about pensions - it may relieve some stress now, but avoiding the issues today is just going to make it that much worse when the bills come due over the next few decades.

Phil

You beat me to it. My thoughts exactly.

Ryan in Texas "their job is no more difficult than fast food"

Next time I see my friends who are postal workers, I remember to share this with them.

I know they already think people like you are idiots, but this will just prove it.

Thanks for the good laugh, I enjoy reading idocracy from people who have no clue what their talking about, but delusionally think they do have a clue.

Fake Media and Ryan - where do you guys work? I can tell you're overpaid...so im gonna give your boss a call and let them know to cut your pay. I mean, surely you cant be working too hard if you're spending so much time here...right?

My postman runs all day always on the edge of being behind, in all weather. They appreciate their job and work hard at it. I think they are very top heavy, consintrating on creating and keeping managment jobs and forcing the labor to make up the difference in their efficiency. Maybe once again managment\overhead will be the fall of a company with a good labor force. Just an opinion but I see them quick walking miles everyday and being nice but no extra time.. Yes mail is on the decline, remove a delivery day or 2, seems right, but a lot less overhead would save a working man's job. Bet it started out with good workers..

What - instead of fully funding the pensions, why dont we move those funds into Social Security - like they should have been in the first place?

It would make social security more solvent automatically, and it would put them on equal footing with the rest of americans...and more improtantly, republicans can stop bitching about those "overpaid govt workers and all their bennies"...and actually discuss real issues, real problems...and gasp, REAL SOLUTIONS.

Capn-1 - I don't know where you are getting your numbers from. I only pay between $8-$15 for a priority overnight letter with FedEx, depending on where it is being sent (that does include my company's discount). Our company gets an additional 10-20% off of that depending on how high our volume is for the month. Without my company discount it would still only be about $34 for a letter, not $65. And that is shipping all the way across the country. The problem with the Post Office is that they tell you up front that they don't guarantee overnight delivery. FedEx does. So yeah, if I want to send something overnight, I am not going to waste $19 on the off chance that my package may or may not get there.

What??? That's exactly what I said when I read your post, so, good name.

The libertarians are the ones that want us in the horse and buggy days. I think you'll find (if you were to actually ask one) that "Libs" would say that their benefits are way over the top, when compared to the rest of the workforce, and they could be brought in line. They might also say that forcing a business to make congress pass their every move is a recipe for disaster, and that needs to change to streamline the organization. Finally, they would probably say that while they are looking at mailcarrier's pay, they should start at the top and get rid of any administration job that's not doing anything critical, and cut pay at the top to make the organization solvent. "Libs" might say things like this. I'm a progressive, so I can't be sure.

On the other hand, they are doing exactly what Repubs would do: Not touch the pay at the top of the pyramid, and cut services. So if you are getting your mail late, remember, this is the republican way.

Jessica-1170252

What - instead of fully funding the pensions, why dont we move those funds into Social Security - like they should have been in the first place?

I'm a fiscal conservative, but I don't want to steal the pension fund postal workers are relying on for their future - that would not be right. I'm in favor of fully-funding the pension program - otherwise the money won't be there when people retire (or, more likely, the taxpayers will have to pay it).

If it absolutely positively NEEDS to arrive overnight..the Post office will lose it.

I guess I don't understand...why are people trying to turn this into a party issue? Why can't we just ignore party affiliation and focus on solutions?

It shouldn't matter which party someone is in, or who made the suggestion - the only thing that should matter is the merit of the idea.

Sending a letter via Priority Mail for $5.20 is nuts considering that you can send a letter First Class for $0.44 - and the two services move at exactly the same speed.

"It shouldn't matter which party someone is in, or who made the suggestion - the only thing that should matter is the merit of the idea." - Ron-1861300

Truer words have never been spoken. We should form a party based on this principle.

Philm,

a couple of alternatives.

I would let them eliminate all contributions to the pension fund, if they would set payments to the retireres based on the amount of money in the fund, and they would not be allowed to ask taxpayers for a bailout. If the fund goes broke they get nothing, oh well. Another solution would be to put all the funds and add it to social security and they could become just another sucker on that program. let the Post Office go bankrupt and rework the contract and retirement program. Your choice.

Of course when I referred to Libs I was talking about Progressive Liberals not Libertarians. The Progressives in the California Legislature just passed a bill banning automated checkouts at the grocery stores. They are upset that they were losing Union Jobs because of the machines. Their way to end the New Non-union Fresh and Easy Franchise which cuts costs to consumers by solely using automated checkouts. Computers have made the Post office obsolete. The Union agenda to take us back to the dark ages so we are forced to employ their members for busy work is too. I wouldn't miss the daily heaping of junk mail.

"Sure, ask them what they do that is so difficult."

They walk four to six miles a day "putting mail in a box", carrying twenty pounds of paper in sack at a time. When that load is done, they go get more. Usually four to six sacks worth. For eight hours. In blistering heat, freezing cold, biting wind and miserable wetness. They know their routes, their neighborhoods, their customers. They are unfailingly polite, friendly and responsive. They work in the some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. Slums, corporate parks, estates. And still their managers ask more. Faster delivery times, larger routes. And now 35,000 face losing their jobs and joining the ranks of the unemployed.

Before you ask, no, I am not a postal worker. Thank god I have a better job. Because I for one couldn't handle it.

The bill does not ban automated checkouts; it just requires a real person for those who are unable to complete the task provided by automated checkouts.

Just think of the positive environmental impact of ending junk mail!! (seriously...I really do hate all of that wasted paper going to the landfill...I wouldn't mandate ending it, but I won't lose any sleep if it stopped)

Having worked at the post office several years ago, I find it laughable that so many of you clowns are able to discount the job of a postal worker. Maybe somebody needs to consider your jobs and, even though they have no idea what you actually do, decide you need a pay cut and maybe eliminate benefits for you.

I remember delivering mail in over a foot of snow, or nearly getting hit by lightning while getting mail out of a corner box. Or the numerous times I was bitten by dogs. Yeah, just like fast food workers...

You people have absolutely no business judging others - constant spew from you folks about how we are "haters" or some other such nonsense, when the fact is, you are the most judgemental, hating people on the face of the earth. It seems you people take every opportunity you can to denigrate others.

Just wait until you get what you THINK you want, and simply mailing a "first class" letter costs you several dollars. Won't that be wonderful? Yeah, maybe you don't send personal letters, but just wait until you see what it does for your utility and other bills. But why bother with actually thinking everything through, right?

Capn1: Sending an overnight letter costs $42.78 with UPS (Next Day Air), $65.03 with FedEx (Priority Overnight) versus $18.30 from the postal service (Express Mail). Priority Mail is even less ($5.20)

Not really a fair comparison. Those overnight options from UPS and FedEx can't be compared to Express Mail, which I've used on a daily basis for over a decade. Express Mail almost NEVER reaches its destination overnight anymore, even in the same state; and Priority is almost always three days now unless you live within the same region as the recipient.

What?-3106699

Let's face it. The Post Office has gone the way of the pony express. If the Libs could they would have taxpayers subsiding travel by horse and buggy rather than get rid rid of union jobs that have no place in modern society. Computers have arrived Progressives. Embrace it and Move On.

I agree with you on 98% of this comment. The computer age is here and email is the postal service of a new era. This is why the congress needs to pass a law regulating emails and requiring a fee on all email transactions. All going and all opened incoming emails. They also need to assess a fee to use online bill pay instead of postal services and also assess a fee to the companies for each online bill pay they receive. Also add a postage fee to online Ezines, Enewspapers, Ecatalogs and so on. All these fees should be collected by the Internet service provider for emails, financial institutes for bill pays and paid to the USPS. The ezine,ecatalogs, and enewspapers should be assessed a fee on the provider as an email. If each email is assessed a fee of 10 cents and each bill pay a fee of $1.00, this would collect millions, possibly even billions, a year. People use these emails and bill pays to get around paying postage and now it is time the post office, with the Governments help, steps in and put an end to this circumventing of the postal system.

The post office could also raise postage on mail but in order to do this, congress would have to overturn the law that only allows the postage to increase accordingly to the cost of inflation. UPS and FED EX can charge whatever their finances require of them. The USPS is not allowed to because it is only half privatized and the other half is still government. If government is not going to fund the postal system, then they need to be more laxed on the regulation of the postal service so they can make the revenues needed to operate effectively. Also remove the NO FIRING agreement with the APWU and remove the fund that congress imposed on them. I still feel that the trust fund was a tactic to break the USPS so that private business could overcome the USPS and eliminate them because the USPS goes against the GOP view of capitalism. No USPS means more money in the pocket of business owners while placing a greater burden on the American people who can't afford to use UPS and FedEX, so once again lets take away from the middle and lower classes and keep everything including mail only for the wealthy.

Left Wing Nut Job

#1.27... Awesome post. Thanks.

If we announced every Postal Job was now open for applicants at half the current pay, the jobs would be filled in a week.

Most of us are in the private sector. If someone can do our jobs for less, they will.

Compare that to the Gov't Postal Worker. Protected jobs. We have all seen them move the same speed as DMV workers. We are literally talking about people that may not be able to handle a fast food job.

And no surprise, their business is about to collapse.

It's time to end the mailbox monopoly.

I thought liberals didn't like monopolies.

Face it, Postal Workers are overpaid. You don't need a union to protect your job from people that would do the job for less if you were not overpaid.

@Ryan in Texas

They literally have a monopoly on your mailbox, but still can't make it work.

Of-course, they have a monopoly, as long as you do not count FEDEX, UPS, DHL, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail etc.

This is just the way Gov't works. You usually don't see it because it's behind closed doors. We don't examine the books of Gov't agencies and programs.

USPS is NOT funded by the government. You should read the full article before you open your stupid mouth

There is this concept of "some one else" paying for Gov't inefficiency.

Inefficiency? For 44 cents, you can send a letter anywhere in the US. Last time I checked, Fedex charges 10 times that.

On a separate note, I think we should invest more money in education. If all people are like Ryan In Texas who has reading comprehension skills of a second grader and critical thinking skills of a first grader, then this country is doomed. I say let's kick retards like him out of this country and not let them enter again.

Ryan, do you know what a postal worker makes? How are postal worker jobs protected? Are all postal workers slow? I have seen plenty of slow fast food workers - maybe you missed that? Are all righties as short-sighted as you appear to be? Do you typically lump everybody into one little box?

Hey, I'll be there are people that would do YOUR job for less money...if you even HAVE a job, that is. What kind of simplistic garbage is that?

Wow.

The proposed ban would force stores like Fresh & Easy to change their business model to hire more clerks or give up their money-making alcohol sales.

"The underlying motive, whether they deny it or not, is UFCW organization," said California Grocers Association President Ron Fong, whose organization opposes the bill. "They're trying to get rid of the automation and put in more clerks so they can organize (at Fresh & Easy)."

United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents roughly 250,000 grocery clerks statewide, has lobbied extensively for the bill, testifying at committee hearings and spending $12,000 in the first three months of the year to fight for the measure's passage. The union, which honored its former political director, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, with an award earlier this month, has also contributed to Assemblywoman Ma and in March wrote a $100,000 check to the state Democratic Party.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/22/3718297/proposed-california-booze-ban.html#ixzz1Y2dZ5ua0

So Mr Apple...According to you then our Military should get paid much more than the postal workers?? If you want to go by how far and how long they "walk" and how mcuh they carry..I mean have you ever strapped on 100lbs of gear and walked 25 miles in the blistering heat or freezing cold??

And not many walk anymore and don't have to go back and keep getting bags.....

That said I know a few that work hard, but get ton of money working overtime..

But here is a way to stem the loss of money...STOP ADVERTISING! We know you are there, we know what you do so why spend millions upon millions on telling us you mail stuff......

MR Apple, I would love to have your mailman. Ours rides in a truck, eats when he wants and is in no rush. He doesn't have to carry anything. I live in NV, it was the same, except, if I had an overnight letter sent to me, he wouldn't bring it. I would get a little yellow paper in my box telling me to drive 12 miles to get it. I HAVE worked for the post office in the past and it was a slack job. I was a temp worker and saw. They are way over paid, over benefited. They should have no better benefits than the rest of the govt (which they have much better than the rest of civil service).

I have also seen them at their training site in Norman OK. They called it a slack vacation and drank most of the time. So, I dont know where you get your info, but mine is first hand experience.

Granted it is still cheaper to use the Post Office but the service has been going down hill for the last several years. The long lines, the rude window people, the late mail delivery. Our local office has 6 windows and I have only seen all 6 open maybe 4 times in 25 years and the lines you would think when the line goes outside the building they would open more windows, but they can't because they don't have anyone trained to operate a window eveh though there are people in the back doing nothing. I used to get my mail by 10am and now I am lucky if I get by 7pm and usually I get someone else's mail. When I buy stamps these days it is like I want something from out of this world because I buy a roll instead of a sheet, what is the difference I don't know but it sure makes the person at the window upset. Use be the Post Office was the nicest place to go now it is not and I don't go there unless I have to. I don't know what changed or how it changed but it did and I know I don't use the Post Office like I used to.

The USPS is an institution that has been around since before the founding of our nation. If the health of this centuries old institution is in trouble, what does this say for our democracy? Politics is killing the USPS and it is killing our country.

all you @!$%#s that think delivering mail is such an easy job should try it sometime!!! ya, it's a great job when it's 75 degrees and sunny. where are you jerks when it's -40 and -50 below zero wind chill. all you office jerks are in your nice warm and cozy houses after you called in that you won't be at work because it's too cold to drive in!!!!or your snowed in. than you complain about the mailman when he's not on time!! deliver mail in the winter when it's zero degrees for a month or longer. how about a foot of snow on the ground plus the 0 degree weather. how many of you don't shovel around the mail box but still expect mail!!!!! how about a 40mph wind blowing at the same time. now summer. walk in the 90 to 100 degree heat for 6 hrs. you also have to be done in a curtain amount of time. so your also under pressure. see how long you stick it out!!!! one rough winter my post office hired 20 people in 2 wks. and only 1 stuck it out long term. the rest ran like wimps. one of then saying they can't pay me enough to do this job!!!!! most of you probably could hack it as mail persons for 30 to 40 yrs!!!!!!!! so ya better hang on to your cozy office job!!!!!!!!!! damailman

I am amazed at the simplistic garbage that pops up on here...

Let's see, how about we compare what a postal worker makes to what a member of the military makes? Yeah, great comparison. Except it isn't. When I was in the military, I was in a technical field that would have paid thousands a month on the economy. What did I make? Well, about $500 a month. Want to try another spurious argument?

How about the argument that not all the windows are open, but there are several people in back that could open a window? Well, gee! I'm at the grocery store with empty checkouts, but there is a guy over stocking the shelves that could open a register, right? Brilliant...

Hey, what about where carriers don't walk anymore, but just ride around in trucks? Yeah, I guess that's true...but there are still walking routes out there, even if it isn't in YOUR neighborhood. Should there be sliding salaries, depending on the type of route you have? What about the flex carriers that don't even know what route they will be substituting on that day? Any idea what you are actually talking about? Yeah, probably not.

Hey, what about all those complaints about the post office? What's that you say? People have been complaining about the post office since day one? Well, what a surprise!

Hey, I know! Since all you people know how to do it all better, why are you sitting here running your mouths instead of running your own version of UPS or FedEx? Is the post office perfect? No, it isn't, but I'm not really sure what business is, are you? But it is delightful to see all the low-information types that have no problem in posting nonsense on here when they really have no idea what they are talking about.

@Capn-1: You are absolutely right. Businesses do get a huge discount. I worked for a firm for nearly 10 years and during that whole time we received at least 1/2 to nearly 2/3 off (you read that right) on all FedEx packages we sent out regardless of the type of service we chose. Actually, the more expensive way to go cost us less. Go figure. But we did have tremendous need for this type of service and sent out dozens of FedEx packages everyday. I was the FedEx queen of the office; had my own assigned account through the company, as did many others, and even had a rate calculator! We could get confirmation immediately and everything cost less than the P.O. Express mail. Sure our packages got there overnight, before 10:30 am or earlier as designated, and so we used FedEx since most documents we sent were time sensitive. Of course, we used the P.O. as well for all other mailings, but they just could not beat the FedEx rates nor the delivery service.

It's awful that so many postal workers are being cut; they have a tough job and they know so much on how best to send things. I always appreciate their help in deciding how to send something and I've never had a problem with using the P.O., never. So, I still am a fan of the P.O. and I hope their problems can be worked out. I'll still use them for my regular mail just be mindful of the longer time it'll take to get somewhere. I hope those displaced can find replacement jobs.

Can someone state to me why post office's in other countries do not seem to be having these problems?

It's funny that people say I'm uninformed - but are themselves unaware that the Post Offfice has a monopoly on your mailbox. How do you not know that and claim to know anything about the workings of a Post Offfice?

Ever see UPS or FEDEX put a letter in your mailbox?

Nope?

So why is the Post Office afraid of competition?

FEDEX and UPS pay fuel taxes and property taxes on their facilities.

Does the Post Office?

Nope.

So clearly, the Post Office is a Gov't agency.

And like all Gov't, it is inefficient.

Protected workers in non-competitive jobs. Huge benefits for the low skill level required. Affirmative Action hiring. And then their business collapses.

Big Surprise.

We will not bail you out!

If you can't afford to pay for your pensions, that is YOUR PROBLEM.

Millions of Americans work much harder for their money. It's disrespectful for them to have to subsidize your failure to accept reality : that you are overpaid!

Computers have NOT made the post office any more obsolete than UPS or FedEx. Maybe for SOME people, first class mail letters have become obsolete, but there are still many parts of the country where people do NOT have internet access or for one reason or another have not learned to use or cannot use a computer. But another part (and a good share) of the USPS business is parcel shipping. The business I manage uses USPS for shipping all of our inventory from our vendors because we can't afford the "international" rates of UPS, FedEx, or DHL. When we get a business that refuses to ship by USPS (because of those blankety-blank exclusive shipping contracts they signed with either UPS or FedEx), we have to have things shipped to our stateside location, then forwarded on to us in the USVI, which delays the shipment by as much as three weeks. Then people wonder why businesses have such a hard time staying in business.

I don't understand why it's necessary to demean mail carriers. They have and continue to play an important role in our nation's infrastructure. I see this all the time, someone says, "That job is stupid. We cannot possibly have any respect for a person that does that job!" Later on, we're shopping for something at the hardware store and we can't find a single item to buy that's not made in China. Then our yards are being tended to by people that aren't legal citizens because, "That job is stupid! We can't do that job!"

Well guess what... that's why there are so many people without jobs!

Ryan in Texas

If we announced every Postal Job was now open for applicants at half the current pay, the jobs would be filled in a week.

Amazing intellect. I'm simply stunned.

Most of us are in the private sector. If someone can do our jobs for less, they will.

Man, you're on a roll. Incidentally, what DO you do for a living? You were asked that awhile ago.

Compare that to the Gov't Postal Worker. Protected jobs. We have all seen them move the same speed as DMV workers. We are literally talking about people that may not be able to handle a fast food job.

Basically, all I see you doing is bitching about government service jobs. First, USPS ... now DMV.

And no surprise, their business is about to collapse.

It's not the speed of their work, or the cost of the labor. It is the reduced volume. You've been keeping up with this whole internet thing, right? E-mail and whatnot?

It's time to end the mailbox monopoly.

Oh, shut up. FedEx, UPS, etc.

I thought liberals didn't like monopolies.

You troll like a fifth grader. Work harder.

Face it, Postal Workers are overpaid. You don't need a union to protect your job from people that would do the job for less if you were not overpaid.

And there it is. You hate organized labor. Why do you hate the American middle class?

Yes, Ryan, you are uninformed. And you are overpaid, whatever you do; anybody that makes the blanket statements you do, especially since they are frequently incorrect, must be overpaid at whatever they do.

You troll like a fifth grader. Work harder.

Looks like the Liberal Trolls have gone Postal today.

A good friend of mine is a postal worker. He has described his work to me and I would say that he earns his pay check. He is not getting rich off it by any means. It is a living wage and reasonably secure job.

Computers have NOT made the post office any more obsolete than UPS or FedEx.

Look at all those rutted rural roads too. That's why taxpayers should subsidize transportation by horse drawn carriage. What would those poor people do without them.

@Ryan in Texas

Millions of Americans work much harder for their money. It's disrespectful for them to have to subsidize your failure to accept reality : that you are overpaid!

For the 100th time. USPS is NOT funded by the government. Just because you open your retarded mouth again and again won't make it ture

And close down Caterpillar. Those bastards are building machines that are taking away shovel ready jobs from all your Union buddies.

YouJustSaidWhat -

Funny, you are unaware that the mailbox is the monopoly of the Post Office. I'm guessing you are not able to notice that FEDEX and UPS don't put anything in the mailbox.

It must be hard being blind.

UPS and FEDEX pay TAXES. They pay fuel taxes. They pay property taxes.

UPS and FEDEX are barred from delivering 1st class letters.

And yet they are still beating the Post Office.

So I know you like big Gov't more than the American People who will be called to bailout the Post Office soon - but isn't it time we let the Post Office face reality?

Wages/compensation is over 80% of the operating budget. That is where they will have to cut.

If the Unions want to collapse yet another business, fine.

But after bankruptcy, they must change what got THEM into this mess.

That would be affirmative action hiring, bloated benefits, union job protection, and a general feeling of entilment that infects nearly all Gov't workers.

And you can't con people who see the workers and the offices everyday. We see them moving slowly. The pizza delivery guy works for 1/4 the money but delivers faster. The WalMart checker works crazy hours for 1/4 the money and handles more money and is faster at the register.

And for that we compensate Postal Workers like teachers?

@What?-3106699

Looks like the Liberal Trolls have gone Postal today.

Looks like Conservative trolls, like Ryan in Texas have gone Retard today

USPS is Bankrupt and owes Taxpayers nearly 15 Billion dollars. If you think that is going to be paid someday I have some swampland to sell you.

knightridder -

The Post Office pays no fuel tax. They pay no property tax. They pay no corporate tax.

They have a Gov't granted monopoly on your mailbox and they are exempt from many laws and social security.

Please name one business that has those conditions.

That's right, there are no businesses like that.

Only Gov't has those conditions.

So they are Gov't.

If you can't get that, I can't help you.

But we all know that the Postal Service will be coming to all of us for a bailout. Well, those of us who pay taxes.

It's about time!! Far too many of our old companies fail to adjust to the new realities of the 21rst Century and a lot are no longer with us (Circuit City, Borders Books to merely scratch the surface) as a result. Hopefully they can figure it out, because liquidating our postal service should be a wrong answer!!

I am a progressive liberal, but believe in compensation based on difficulty of the job, education required, potential danger, etc. I lived with a postal worker for 5 years and, yes, they are overpaid...especially at the lower-mid-manager level. What other job can you find that requires only a high school education and no particular skill at anything and earn over $60K? This is just a regular on-the-street postal worker driving around in a little truck putting the wrong mail in the wrong box. How many people with master's degrees would love to have 3 months of vacation per year and retire on a guaranteed pension at 2/3 of your highest salary? If you work in the fully private sector, you may get 3 weeks of vacation and have to save for your own retirement (sometimes with a contribution from your employer on the first 6% of your salary).

However, it's not even the street carrier that is the biggest problem. They at least do some work. It's the supervisor sitting back at the office, still no education, still no skill to speak of - they've just been in the post office a long time and have ingratiated themselves to the right people - but they are earning over $100K...for basically just harrassing the letter carriers until they leave the office, then they sit back and chit chat.

Granted, this information comes from only 5 separate postal workers at 5 different locations at 5 different stages in their careers. Uniformly, they say that lower/mid-management is the number one problem at the post office. They aren't smart enough to get to upper management (which is saying a lot about their intelligence level) but they are back-stabbing enough to make it to supervisor.

Disclaimer: I've never worked at the PO...this is just what I have been told by friends, family, and acquaintances.

Ryan, you still haven't told us all what a postal carrier makes. But at least you can tell us how much faster a WalMart worker is on a register. Which, unless you are entirely delusional, you know is crap. And they handle more money as well? What do you base these "facts" on? What a joke - do you enjoy proving to others how little you know?

If anybody wants to see what the world would look like with people like Ryan and What? in charge, rent the movie Idiocracy. But at least they think they are brilliant.

Ryan in Texas: You are nuts! Try and work nights, lifting, loading to make sure you get your junk mail. Want to know my big bennies? 15 years, $610 a month retirement...more than half will go for medical. Yeah, it pays better than most jobs, but most people cannot hack it.

Oh and your comments on carriers, those people are out in 100degree or -20degree weather walking to your door everyday. They deserve your respect, not your superior scorn.

Thank god most of us in Texas are a bit more intelligent than Ryan. Most of us only see the mail carriers and people that work the front desk. We don't see what is going on behind the scenes(distribution, sorting, etc).

There are plenty of complaints about the post office and very few solutions. Unfortunately in order for the post office to remain solvent, they need to cut jobs and probably raise their rates.

Wow, tired, if you are tired of the ignorance, perhaps you should stop spreading it. If you want to proclaim you are a "progressive liberal", try acting like you have tried to be at least slightly informed.

Let's see...no particular skill and a high school education to make lots of money? Hmmm...how about driving a garbage truck? And NONE of them have walking routes.

I haven't worked at the post office for years, but three months of vacation? Wow - they must have really gone overboard in increasing that!

Perhaps you need to talk to somebody besides disgruntled employees. I was no fan of the management at the post office when I was there, but at least I wasn't blowing smoke up everybody's butts and making crap up. Oh, and nice dig at the intelligence level of those that were not in management...I'm sure you're proud.

Those of you arguing with Ryan so adamatly, honestly need to do your selves and your arguements a favor and google search "post office monopoly" or similar, and educate yourselves before you try and mention UPS or Fedex to counter him. Whether you agree with him on his points, he is absolutely correct that the USPS has a government sanctioned monopoly on letter services.

That also is the critical flaw of the people who say "a USPS letter costs $.44, at fedex it is $12.00." That is because FedEx, UPS, ect. CANNOT pick up a letter (say a bill or a birthday card) and deliver it to you, not because they don't want to, but because they legally are not allowed. They must mail it as a "package," usually in an oversized cardboard envelope or similar. The only reason people even use such services is generally because they are very reliable for tracking and overnight delivery.

Again, I am not trying to give my opinion on the post office, you can feel free to look through my past posts on other threads on the matter if you like, I would just like to point out that UPS and Fedex are not allowed to deliver letters like the USPS. That is just a fact, and there is plenty of information on it out there.

Well its about time any way it could happen faster? I want to stand out side my post office the day they layoff the fat lazy slobs and the best is the union thugs going out the door welcome to my world.

I always hear that the USPS is not government funded. How can they lose 5 to 8 Billion a year and kept running without some government intervention?

Please clue me in? By the way being able to read is not mandatory for USPS employee's. I deliver more mail to my neighbors than the driver does...

"fat lazy slobs", "union thugs"

Examples of the thought process from the ill-informed.

JH, next time you enjoy an 8-hour day, a vacation, etc., thank the "union thugs" that brought those to you. Then, when your welfare check is brought to your house by the "fat lazy slob", thank them as well.

Ryan has some good points. He is entitled to his opinion without you lefties going Postal!!!!

LeftWing Nut Job -

According to the APWU (American Postal Workers Union), an average postal worker's salary (Level 5/Step O) is $52747.

$52,747!!!!

Like I said, they could cut the pay in half ($26,373.50 for the average) and still have to turn away plenty of people who would apply for the job.

$26,000 isn't bad for no high school dipolma.

I'm not going to bail them out so they can continue paying $53,000 on average for that job.

Ryan, Level 5, Step O is near the top of the pay scale for non-management employees, but you knew that, right? Starting pay is closer to that "pay in half" crap you keep spouting. Try to be at least a little honest with your posts, OK, or at least avoid being misleading. As dano said, you are entitled to your own opinions; however, you are not entitled to your own facts.

dano - We all know that they are going to get bailled out by the taxpayers.

I've mentioned that they pay no fuel taxes (huge subsidy), property taxes, or corporate taxes.

That is a huge Gov't subsidy.

Which is one thing if they live within their means, but they don't.

I get that Postal Workers don't want to take a pay/benefit cut. No one ever does.

But the compensation level is the problem. You simply cannot get the numbers to work with such high costs.

And then we get to the same place that nearly every union takes us. Their workers get overpaid right up until they collapse the business. Ever notice that even though Unions have enough money to buy businesses, they don't? The UAW could have bought GM. Why didn't they?

Because they know that their policies may benefit the workers in the short term, but kill the business in the long term.

Competition is a good thing. It benefits everyone, not just the workers "holding" a position.

Yes, pay for many postal workers is too high by any comparable industry standards, and yes they enjoy a lower cost of doing business than any private industry.

The funding problem is three fold - too many making too much that do far too little, and a restriction that the cost of a 1st class stamp tracking only with inflation, and they charge bulk mailers far too little for the weight that they add to the system. They need to cut managements by a substantial amount, they need to raise bulk rate pricing by weight, and they need to bump the cost of a 1st class stamp substantially - say to $0.75. If they can cover costs, why not keep this system in place - it is one government org that has up to now been a near zero drain on our system.

LeftWingNutJob -

As much as I like your screen name -

$52,747 is the average Postal Worker Salary according to -

wait for it -

The American Postal Workers Union.

So you think I bribed some one in the APWU to make an inflated figure?

"Yeah, I'm in an arguement with some guy on newsvine and I need you to make a bigger number than reality. Oh, and could you change the number on all your documents and website before they google it and find the real average salary?"

Please. I didn't make up the number. You simply cannot accept the reality that they are paid that much for what they do.

I'm sure that we can always cut some salaries and benefits here and there, but what really amazes me is that we all, the ones that actually work to put food on the table, are always blaming each other, while the big corporations outsource our jobs, the government spend in stupid wars, aid programs to foreign countries and welfare for parasites, all while the politicians have great benefits and even increase their own salaries and the CEOs earn more than ever.

I think we are doing something wrong.

If you don't like your job GET A DIFFERENT ONE!!!! If you want to complain about the working conditions GET A DIFFERENT JOB!!!!! If you don't like walking GET A DIFFERENT JOB!!!!!! If you don't like weather changes call al gore then GET A DIFFERENT JOB!!!!! If you postal monkeys are SOOO DAMMM SMART then get a job that pays the same with the same benefits in the private sector!!! BUT just quit CRYING about how BADLY you are treated. JUST QUIT.

You would think the post office would be doing well BECAUSE of the internet.Buying and selling on ebay for example,it seems like 95% of the sales made that are smaller than a football,are shipped by the postal service.That's revenue that was not there 25 years ago.You'd have to sell alot of 47cent stamps to equal $21.00 parcel post shipping charge on a Chevy distributor.....sounds like alot of mismanagement,and unreasonable union intervention.Yes we could do without Sat.delivery..or even Friday delivery...and we don't need 3 Post offices in the same zip code...For all those that say the post office employees are not federal,think again....Google FEHB,..the Federal employees healthcare plan...As a former Federal employee I know that during every 'Open season" for buying or updating our plans,we were always jealous of the postal people who paid so much less a percentage of the cost.....Take Blue Cross Basic family plan......#112..This year,....The post office people only pay $75.97 per month....us other Military Techs pay $265.49 per month for the SAME #112 plan...........The postal version IS available to military techs, but we would have to JOIN thier union,and pay monthly dues to get it....and they were also elegible to join our useless union,AFGE.....so tell me again about them not being federal employees?....Maybe it's time to change the employee's contribution percentage,starting with any new hires......I know nobody likes people with benefits at thier job,especially Fed employees,but anybody with a brain,a family,and a vision for thier future,asks about the employer's benifits package when they apply for the job.....if you didn't,and want to bitch about other people who had the foresight to get a job with healthcare,or a retirement,tough,maybe you should have been listening to your parents when they told you;'even if the job pays a little less,if it has benifits for you,and your family,take it."....so I'm sorry if you thought cutting grass from your little landscaping trailer,and not having to report your income to the IRS would be a great way to provide for your family,.......let me know how that works out at age 70............U.S.Army Disabled Veteran

No, Ryan - you said, on many occasions, that you would have no problem manning the post office at half the salary of the workers. Only problem is, that is about what they pay for new workers. Get over yourself.

Now, if you are in favor of canning people because they have held a job long enough to make near the top of the scale for their given job, well, that would not surprise me in the least.

If you want to hint at reality, I suggest you look into it. And when the post office is gone, per your apparent dreams, I guess we can also just wave goodbye to magazines, catalogs, etc., and only those that have online capabilities will be able to actually be billed for anything, hence preventing them from having utilities, credit cards, whatever else. See, while you and your short-sighted friends rail at the post office for being subsidized, those subsidies are what keeps those things affordable. Try actually thinking through these things before you go nuts posting all the tripe you keep putting up.

And I would be willing to bet you wouldn't make it a few months as a mail carrier...so you would never have to worry about that wonderful $53k salary.

car556...postal monkeys? Well, I haven't worked at the post office in a long time, but that is still a pretty ignorant thing to say. I'm sure you would have no problem with people putting you down for the job you have (if, indeed, you have one). By the way, I have only seen one person post on here that indicated they actually currently work for the post office, but ignorance is bliss, isn't it?

I worked for the post office for over twenty years. The physical problems of letter carriers are numerous. Back problems. Knee problems. Neck problems. Shoulder problems. Anyone who thinks that all they do is put letters in slots and then put those letters in mailboxes does not know what he or she is talking about. Obviously Ryan in Texas flunked the postal exam and is a little bitter.

I get so sick of reading you gomers ridiculous postings I don't know why I bother but I just can't help myself. For the most part it is clear the average intelligence level is pretty low, you imporpoerly spew out buzz words when you have no idea what tehy even mean. Let me help you a bit.

I, personally, would not work for the USPS. First, the vast majority of them have to start out part time first and contrary to poular opinion they have a decent but not fantastic pension plan. Most of it is a 401k type plan and anyone who has nbeen following the market knows where the market is these days.

And efficiency, you people have no clue what efficiencly even means. I am retired military and I can tell you the US military, in the pure meaning of the term, is one of the most inefficient organizations. We spend billions training people for sombat and the majority of them never see a single day of it. You have fighter pilots sitting around waiting to interdict bombers tha never come and missileers sitting around to push a launch button we hope will never be pushed. We are even less efficient that awful militaries because we spend scads more money to train our soldiers than any other military in the world. Iraqi soldiers were given 7 rounds to learn their weapon when they were drafted. The Iraqi soldiers our military faced in combat had fired their weapon fewer times than the average 1st grader in Missouri. But that expenditure in training is why our military is why our military is one of the most efficient in the world when it actually hits combat. Our fighter pilots can be expected to drop dozens of their opponents before they lose a single plane. A battalion of our ground forces will put whole divisions to run and our Navy can move forces greater than some country's entire military to the opposite side of the world in jsut a few weeks.

People constantly say how good our medical services are. The problem is they are horribly inefficent, I mean you have doctors and nurses sitting around emergency rooms doing nothing, just waiting for some injured person to come in with a complaint. How inefficient is that!? And our cops and fire departments how dare they sit around waiting for people to need them, that is so inefficient! How about drivers facilities and any other customer service government facility, how dare they sit around open when there are no customers, how inefficient is that for God's sake!

If you gomers don't know that efficiency is and can't realize that government services are by their very nature doomed to be less efficient than most private functions you need to shut the hades up. Only so much mindless yacking should be allowed in a day and you people are grossly over today's limit.

BTW, in a past life I had a mail order business. I always used the USPS because it was cheaper and I did not have to pay extra for Saturday delivery.

The postal service has become much too bloated, and a shake-up is long overdue. If I want to send a letter to someone IN my town, it is routed to a city 105 miles away, and then back to it's intended recipient. And every weekday, I see one of the carriers in our town (vehicle 0229521) apparently finish his run well before going home time. He parks out of sight behind our local intermediate school, (where I see him when I walk our dog), just texting, listening to music, hanging out until it's time to check out and go home for the day. Unless he waits to take his lunch break at the end of his shift, which I doubt, he's taking advantage of the time he should be working. I find it difficult to care that the USPS finds itself in such dire straits.

Left Wing NUT Job -

If the subsidy is so great, lets give the exact same subsidy to UPS and FEDEX.

You down with that?

Oh, wait, then they would further crush the Postal Service.

Don't worry, you will still get your magazines after the Postal Service goes bankrupt.

And what a shame it will be when we have to authorize FEDEX and UPS to deliver first class mail and junk mail while the Post Office is down. Let me guess, you will oppose that because then the Postal Service will just disappear into the dustbin of history that is full of businesses that unions have killed.

Or they can go to wages that reflect market value. It isn't $53,000 on average. That is insane money for a job that requires no high school diploma.

Frankly the mail I receive daily, I could do with out and I'm not talking bills, as they come electronically. I do not need another offer on insurance, credit cards, etc. Take away the junk mail and what do you have?

Reading these comments about USPS makes me sick. If they were totally true I wouldn't mind, but people will take a fraction of something and try to make the whole true which basically makes it a lie. Ryan is a master at that as quite a few other posters on here.

I started working for the Post Office in 1967 at 2.60 per hour. I worked sorting magazines and flats into sacks on a rack that had to be tied out at end of shift and sent thru "drop chutes" to the truck terminal for transportation. Within 6 months I was unloading trucks, one of the first girls to work in the truck terminal. (I was 19 & worked in the terminal for 6 years).

I worked hard, did not have a Christmas off for the first 15 years or so, worked EVERY holiday, and accepted lower raises in lieu of better benefits over the years.

I will not say that there are not lazy people in the post office, but there are lazy people everywhere in every walk of life. To denigrate thousands of us who worked hard throughout our careers is just hateful. A lot of that jealousy and hate is because times are hard and many are out of work because their companies didn't give a damn about them and downsized them to China and other places abroad.

I ended my career by managing the timekeeping system covering all postal employees in two states with a staff of four clerks. Since I was the only timekeeping manager in my area of coverage, I was responsible for ALL OF IT. Don't even try to tell me how easy my job was. Since I was salaried, I many times worked 10 and 12 hour days and ALWAYS got paid for an 8 hour day.

When I retired earlier this year, I had put in 43 years and it wasn't all easy like you jealous and hateful naysayers think. I earned every bit of my pension. If I had retired when eligible I would have received 56% of my salary BEFORE taxes, before health premium deductions. That is why I worked extra years. I am glad I did because of what the economy has become since YOUR companies fled our borders over the years. How would I get a job at 63 years of age with 18 million of people out of work in this country.

Instead of hating other middle class workers for what they have, why don't you demand more for yourselves from those corporatists that have betrayed you and the do-nothing congress that represents you?

Of course the $52,737 average salary for postal workers does not include benefits.

"Labor costs account for nearly 80 percent of USPS' expenses, and the agency pays an average of more than $80,000 per employee annually in total compensation."

OMG. $80,0000!!!!

For a POSTAL WORKER!!!

And we wonder why they are bankrupt.

This is why the congress needs to pass a law regulating emails and requiring a fee on all email transactions. All going and all opened incoming emails.

I don't think that you understand how e-mail works. Such a law would be impossible to enforce. There's no central hub through which all e-mail passes that would enable such a tax to be imposed. A law might require ISPs to collect such a fee, but only (very) small companies and private individuals would pay it. Corporate e-mail passes directly from server-to-server. Even if the government started monitoring ALL traffic that followed e-mail protocols, you can be sure that those protocols would be changed within weeks or months to create something like "hypermail" (or whatever they feel like calling it).

Ryan, just keep posting - you prove my points for me. While we're at it, let's privatize and then subsidize the fire and police departments, too! Of course, much like the post office, small towns or less desirable areas won't get much in the way of service, but those people don't matter anyway. Hey! Let's privatize the military while we're at it...at least that way we can be pretty much assured of eternal wars. Let's just privatize everything. I'm sorry you flunked the postal exam, but you need to get over it.

Alice, I'm glad you get all your bills electronically. I guess those that aren't as fortunate as you are screwed, correct? Who cares about them, though, as folks like you are what the world was created for. And who cares about those pesky relatives that are less fortunate than you...you didn't want to hear from them anyway, so them not being able to mail you anything is no big deal. Oh, yeah, those horrible greeting cards and wedding invitations and such - who needs those!??! Why, an impersonal bulk email invitation to a wedding is MUCH better.

Lovely.

Wages, Benefits and Pensions are the problem. With only a High School Education or a GED, their benefits are out of this world. Blame it on Bush! LOL! or.... Mismanagement and Greed.

Why not just SELL the USPS to a private company???

We can use the money and apply it to the pension fund for retirees.

Ryan in Texas

Of course the $52,737 average salary for postal workers does not include benefits.

"Labor costs account for nearly 80 percent of USPS' expenses, and the agency pays an average of more than $80,000 per employee annually in total compensation."

OMG. $80,0000!!!!

For a POSTAL WORKER!!!

And we wonder why they are bankrupt.

Your lack information and blatant lies is absolutely astounding.

I'm thinking Ryan didn't past his postal exam,that's what weeds out the ignorant,The problem is too many Chiefs ,your blaming the indian"s.I'm a rural carrier,have been for over 30yrs,I won't even talk about the injuries this job brings,if you think it's easy your a fool,4 out of 5 trainee's can't handle it ,most I've known have question if it's all worth it.Rurals get paid a salary if it takes 12 hours or 5,the pays the same.You will never see them under a tree,we work fast to get home.Maybe Ryan's job is to rile me up,he's is a success.Ever hear the saying about walking a mile in someone else's shoes,follow me 1 day you'd rethink it,if I left you to do it on your own,no question you'd be crying!!!

Left wing NUT Jobber -

If a teacher was paid $80,000 a year in total compensation, that would still be high - but they have advanced degrees and are in charge of children's well being.

Police, Fire, and Military don't make $80,000 a year in compensation.

They all have a much better case for $80,000 being reasonable.

The Postal Service is bankrupt and they compensate employees who do not require a high school diploma at $80,000 a year on average.

It's time for them to go bankrupt and get new workers at market based wages.

The post office should bankrupt and rehire everyone non-union and they'd be fine. I happen to know a lot of postal workers...and very few of them would survive in the private sector for long.

Many of the postal workers at the sorting facility would sneak out during their shift and drink at a local bar while on the clock. Two of them were doing this every night and covering for each other. Each was caught repeatedly and put on probation, etc. The fourth time they were caught, they were both terminated. Immediately the union steward (who was a complete drunk and spent most of his time on the clock sleeping in his office) filed a greivence. Both employees were rehired months later with full back pay and and benefits.

Left Wing Nut Job

"fat lazy slobs", "union thugs"

Examples of the thought process from the ill-informed.

JH, next time you enjoy an 8-hour day, a vacation, etc., thank the "union thugs" that brought those to you. Then, when your welfare check is brought to your house by the "fat lazy slob", thank them as well.

Pfft...all the union gives us is the retention of lazy employees and ridiculous wages and benefits.....oh, and a LOT of work for China. Hey lefty...what does the union protect again that isn't already protected through regulation? OSHA, Department of Labor, minimum wage laws, EEOC, workers compensation, etc have replaced any usefulness the unions once may have had.

@Ryan- for your information, a high school diploma IS required to work at the USPS. The average salary IS NOT $80,000 a year. The top salary is $52,000 and that is AFTER 30 years. The pension equates to roughly $1200 per month, before taxes and any health insurance premiums. Before you spout off with your delusions, you really should get educated....

@ Philm-1169761 Wow, really? Maybe your memory is a bit hazy. In 2006 the Dem's controlled all of Capitol Hill.

Wrong....post office was forced (in 2006 by REPUBLICANs) to fund its pension for the next 75 years....only government agency that is required to do it...$5.5 billion annual payment.this is why it is brook...Congress could save it tomorrow by reversing this insane requirement and refund billions in overpayment....this is another scam to destroy a good goverment program so private companies can take over....soon this country will be physically controlled by a few giant corporations with a few very weathy people and the rest serfs.....the czars have arrived in America

And really, WHO is the one who appointing all of these Czars? Repub's I suppose? Another reality for you, labor (unions) represents 80 percent of the agency’s expenses, compared with 53 percent at United Parcel Service and 32 percent at FedEx, its two biggest private competitors.

(and who is in the labor unions pocket?)

Even Cliff Guffey- head of the APWU (American Postal Workers Union) admitted the problem:

"As we have pointed out many times, the requirement to pre-fund future retiree healthcare liabilities is pushing the Postal Service toward insolvency,” Guffey said. (from the APWU Website)

This was a BAD decision between the Dems and the Unions- and they all knew it! But all calls to weaken that stance to create reform and save the USPS is called upon as a threat to the union and the workforce!

The USPS is their own worst enemy and will be their ultimate demise...

Ryan in Texas

YouJustSaidWhat -

Funny, you are unaware that the mailbox is the monopoly of the Post Office. I'm guessing you are not able to notice that FEDEX and UPS don't put anything in the mailbox.

You're f*cking kidding me, right? You're going to fall back on LITERAL statements. *yawn* Okay, for the sake of clarity, let's assume any reference to third party parcel companies was inclusive of all shipping with the exception of First Class Postage.

It must be hard being blind.

Hey, you're the one working so hard to be obtuse.

UPS and FEDEX pay TAXES. They pay fuel taxes. They pay property taxes.

So?

UPS and FEDEX are barred from delivering 1st class letters.

And?

And yet they are still beating the Post Office.

Define "beating." More importantly, what is your point?

So I know you like big Gov't more than the American People who will be called to bailout the Post Office soon - but isn't it time we let the Post Office face reality?

Blah blah blah government is evil blah blah blah.

Look, I know that you're really, really trying hard to be insulting, but you're going to have to bring your A game on this.

Incidentally, you're aware that UPS -- one of the companies involved in ass-kickery of the Feds -- is a Union shop, right? Teamsters, to be specific. OH, THE HORROR!

Wages/compensation is over 80% of the operating budget. That is where they will have to cut.

Sure.

If the Unions want to collapse yet another business, fine.

Oops! But you just touted the power of a Union shop that defines how to succeed in the delivery business! How do you jive your apparently contradictory statements?

But after bankruptcy, they must change what got THEM into this mess.

As far as I am concerned, the USPS is done in its current configuration. It's an archaic model that's outlived it's usefulness. "SnailMail" is going the way of the dinosaur. The USPS will either have to completely reshuffle of be dissolved.

That would be affirmative action hiring, bloated benefits, union job protection, and a general feeling of entilment that infects nearly all Gov't workers.

You f*cking parrot. You forgot to include illegal immigrants, hippies and homosexuals in your verbatim list of the top targets for NeoCon blame/hate.

And you can't con people who see the workers and the offices everyday. We see them moving slowly. The pizza delivery guy works for 1/4 the money but delivers faster. The WalMart checker works crazy hours for 1/4 the money and handles more money and is faster at the register.

The postal workers I see work their asses off in weather than would most likely leave you whimpering in a fetal position. On top of that, they have to deal with d*ckheads like you on a regular basis.

And for that we compensate Postal Workers like teachers?

It's perfectly clear you're not capable of any critical thought. Teachers, huh?

Does Hannity have column outlining all the groups you jerkwads should include in your rhetoric-soaked drivel?

Ryan in Texas.....

If you knew anything (and I mean anything) about the USPS and UPS/FEDEX you would not make such stupid comments. Neither UPS nor FEDEX have the capability right now to deliver anything to every address that USPS does. There are millions of addresses not serviced by either of the big commercial companies.

Try to put a forwarding address into UPS or FEDEX and see how long they will continue to forward. Or have them hold your package for a month or two while you go on a long vacation.

No, I have never worked for the postal service but, I have lived long enough to know that we have the best postal service in the world. And, I seriously doubt if you have the guts to work at a job that required you to walk around all day in 110+ degree temperatures like they do here in Arizona or in the sub-zero temps of Alaska. In other words, wake up and talk about something you understand. This is obviously way over your head.

you said "Sending an overnight letter costs $42.78 with UPS (Next Day Air), $65.03 with FedEx (Priority Overnight) versus $18.30 from the postal service (Express Mail)."

You're not comparing the same thing. That UPS & Fedex price is for 8am delivery, or at least 10:30. Afternoon delivery brings the price closer to the post office, with a guarantee. The post office won't guarantee next day delivery in most cases. It will generally be 2 days.

The post office provide a necessary service, but needs to streamline it's operations, and maybe even cut back a day of delivery. Does every town need a post office? YES, but not necessarily a free standing building, and not necessarily open all day in small towns.

cynrey - yes, the average COMPENSATION for Postal Workers is $80,000 a year.

The average salary according to a The American Postal Workers Union is right at $53,000.

Do you really think benefits are free?

Bob in Sin City - UPS and FEDEX are barred from delivering 1st class letters and junk mail. Why would they have capacity to do something that they cannot legally do?

Please stop and think a little. End the Post Office monopoly on the mailbox, and then they will show you how it's done.

You Just Said What - You poor thing. It must really hurt to watch your one true love : big Gov't crumbling here and in Europe.

I hope you can find the help you need.

Ryan, you obviously cannot spout anything but talking points, but that has been made perfectly clear by all your nonsensical rhetoric. It's amazing that somebody that lacks critical thinking can constantly berate the post office for its lack of a requirement for a college degree in order to start its employees at $29k/yr (but you keep going with that "average" salary thing, since it seems to suit your purpose, whatever that is). Keep in mind, though, that you need to compare apples with apples - when you compare a postal worker's compensation to that of, say, a teacher, compare a 20-year postal employee with a 20-year teacher, and don't even bother comparing the full compensation of the postal worker with only the salary of the teacher. You seem to be really good at skewing numbers in order to fit your "reasoning", but perhaps you might try just plain honesty. Familiar with that?

Do you people even notice how flaky your arguments are? The inherent bias that is so obvious? Nah, probably not. Clueless is as clueless does.

As far as ending the "monopoly on the mailbox", as you put it, how long before some private firm decides that it isn't cost-effective to deliver mail in rural areas or in small towns? Will that be after they manage to eliminate the awful post office? You "conservatives" have no forward thinking whatsoever, it's all about the here and now, isn't it? Thank God that Benjamin Franklin and others of his era weren't as short-sighted as you folks.

As I stated before, the postal service is not perfect, but neither is anything else (including FedEx and UPS, both of which you appear to be enamored of). However, your hatred of government is beyond ridiculous. Would you prefer anarchy? I am guessing that is the case...

Joe, the frightening this is that you might actually believe all the dreck you posted (#1.92). I'm sure you know tons of postal employees, and I'm sure they are delighted to know you as well, since you seem to intimate that all postal workers are horrible. Since I have heard of several soldiers that have fragged their fellow soldiers, I'm sure all soldiers must be evil. Correct?

As far as your story about the sorting facility and drinking, I have no idea where this happened, or even whether or not the story is true. Maybe it is partially true. Maybe you need to tell us all the facts surrounding the story...or are you afraid of being sued for libel for your statement about the union steward (Who slept in his office? What kind of office? Union members are not management.).

Oh, and the part about we don't need unions because of all those entities you named? Bull. What does the minimum wage or EEOC or workers' compensation have to do with any of this? Unions have made life much better for the middle class, but naysayers like you would prefer to get rid of them in the bogus assumption that it will all stay just wonderful for the average worker. If you are that gullible, then I suggest you wake up from your little fantasy. If you folks manage to get rid of unions, it's just another step in getting rid of the middle class.

I have sat here for the last 30 minutes reading all your posts and I am FURIOUS! I DO work for the post office and have for over 17 years now. I would like to set the record straight on a few things. We are a government agency but your tax dollars don't pay (nor haven't for over 30 years now) one single dime of ANY of our operating costs. Not salary, pensions, day-to-day operations. NOTHING! We are the ONLY government agency that is completely self sufficient. We have not actually been operating at a loss, we have made a physical profit every year(actually do a little research for a change), it is because of virtual payments that we are running at a loss. One of those is the prefunded retirement payment(to the tune of 5.5 billion YEARLY) we are being made to make. This prefunding is for FUTURE employees that haven't even been hired yet. Now, as for being overpaid. Let me tell you this- I had to work almost 10 years working anywhere from 50-to 60 hours a week but being considered part-time(PTF). Part-time meant NO paid holidays, NO paid vacations, don't even CONSIDER getting a holiday or a day off. I had to work almost all holidays, every saturday, a lot of sundays. We deliver your mail on x-mas eve as a regular day even when almost every other company in the private sector takes a holiday. We have carriers that even come in on Christmas Day just so you will get that package that your relative from another state sent your child. It took me 17 years to get up to 50k a year, and that is gross, not net. I pay almost $120 BI-WEEKLY for my part of my insurance and that goes up every year. I DO NOT get 2 months in vacation. The carriers that are maxed out only get 5 weeks a year but most of the time they can't even take it. Why? For the same reason you now get your mail late. They are having one carrier do the job of two. They do away with routes and add that territory on to existing routes. We don't all get driving routes. Out of 65 routes in my office only about 8 are driving routes. Those going to the senior carriers. The rest are walking. You think this job is easy? I walk almost 14 miles a day, EVERY DAY, in 126+ heat indexes or -20 wind chill, soaking wet with either sweat, snow, rain, etc. My bag that I CARRY on my shoulder can weigh up to 40 pounds. That's 14 miles of carrying an extra 40 pounds. For your information, you DO have to have a high school diploma or GED to even work for the post office. This so called easy job is done with a smile on your face and a nice hello to anyone we meet. We offer assistance when you don't know how to get somewhere or need to know where someone lives. We find your lost pets for you. WE look after your elderly by knowing our costomers and knowing when something is wrong (mail wasn't picked up). We can't call in when weather or roads are bad. We all donate to our own retirement because after 17 years the post office has put a whole $2,500 into my retirement (woohoo can't I retire in style on that). As for express mail, it is guaranteed by the date they say it will be delivered (even Sunday delivery) if it isn't YOU GET YOUR MONEY BACK. I by no means claim that their isn't some lazy people in the USPS but what company doesn't have a few. Most of us work our butt's off EVERY day because we have to feed our families and pay our bills, just like almost every other average joe. A lot of people wouldn't work at a job for 10 years before getting on full-time. The sad thing is, the jobs they are looking at cutting are the "craft workers". Yet management jobs aren't on the chopping block (hmm, sounds a lot like the private sector to me)

Clicking the little arrows at the end of your posts don't express my appreciation for your words (and jobs) enough: Jerseygirl, ubbm1290, you rock!

I can live with waiting an extra day or two to get my junk mail, which just goes in the trash anyway. The USPS should have an "opt out" button on their website, so those of us who do everything electronically can just tell them to ignore our mailboxes.

Kai offers specious factoids in rebuttal with: "Wow, really? Maybe your memory is a bit hazy. In 2006 the Dem's controlled all of Capitol Hill."

BZZZZT. Not close....in fact the opposite. Point of information (FYI):

"As of November 7, 2006, the U.S. House of the 109th Congress was composed of 229 Republicans, 201 Democrats and 1 Independent (who caucuses with the Democrats). There were also four vacancies. Republicans held a 28 seat advantage, and Democrats needed to pick up 15 seats to take control of the House, which had had a Republican majority since January 1995."

So the Dems took over control Jan the next year (Jan 3rd 2007) when the newly elected take office.

Likewise the Senate balance tipped to the Dems in Jan 2007 following Nov 06 Senate election results and a change of power from Republican control since Jan 2003 (and Jan 2000 to Jan 2002).

So Kai you don't have to rely on fuzzy memories - it's history and it's free online. Clearly the right answer is that the Republicans controlled the legislature.....as long as we're reviewing who controlled what in 06 on the hill....and over dale. And the law in question was proposed as Bill H.R.6407 from Republican Tom Davis and through Republican controlled 109th Congress (2005 - 2006).

Geekfish too seems to forget who controlled the legislature in 2005-2006 with

"Even Cliff Guffey- head of the APWU (American Postal Workers Union) admitted the problem: "As we have pointed out many times, the requirement to pre-fund future retiree healthcare liabilities is pushing the Postal Service toward insolvency,” Guffey said. (from the APWU Website)

This was a BAD decision between the Dems and the Unions- and they all knew it! But all calls to weaken that stance to create reform and save the USPS is called upon as a threat to the union and the workforce!"

The Dems didn't introduce or pass the relevant bill in 06 - a Republican controlled legislature did and the Repub President signed it into law. Just sayin' - it's historical not subjective.

BTW that same law (The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act) put a stop to USPO revenue generation services like photocopying, notary, and other non postal services that competed with private sector. Looks like quite the setup for failure thanks in part to that legislation.

For all the negativity about the USPS, consider this.

If you privatize the mail, it will be run like a business (you asked for it) rather than a government service. It should be a federal crime to steal your mail as it is now (it will just be petty theft after privatization). You won't get the same service you do now for the same price. It will be much more expensive and you may not even get home delivery or even in your town. I could go on and on.

And $80k in total benefits is not unusual for semi-skilled laborer who has been working for 20 years at the same place. Entry level is much less... and take into consideration that a lot of overtime is given out (less employees/less benefits).

The physical portion of the job can be tough, with a lot of employees experiencing stress injuries, chronic pain and yikes... early aging due to weather exposure!

To be sure there is a lot of management that could be streamlined, but for the most part that place is run pretty well with the only exception of a few bad apples (like everywhere).

Just imagine being followed and having your footsteps "counted" to make sure that you are walking fast enough. Or supervisors hiding behind trees to watch you. There is so much the public does not know.

Ryan in Texas.....so people who have less than a college degree are not worth $50,000+ a year? Is that what you are saying? Who are you to dictate who can and can't make good money. And what about where I live. Dealers and Cocktail waitresses make some killer money (assuming you work in a good casino). They can make easily $70,000 a year and up for the better houses. Granted not all Dealers and waitresses make that much, but they are not required to have a high school diploma although to be a Dealer you have to go to school for it. Are these people not "worthy" of this pay because to you they are "uneducated"? Please stay in your little Texas hole. This is America, and people with no "formal" education have made millions. My shift manager has a high school education, but he was a dealer and then a floor supervisor and then a pit boss. But the fact remains he is making roughly $90,000 a year without college. Are you really saying he doesn't deserve it? You need some serious help if you think that education should dictate wages.

I honestly don't know where to begin. Here goes. At my station our routes are constantly being evaluated. We recently lost a route because of lower mail volume so all the remaining routes received an addition. We still have to be done in 8 hours regardless of this extra street time. People do not realize that the Letter Carriers and our Union are working with the P.O. to find equitable solutions to the current problems. Another item I have not seen addressed here is something we call "downtime" or "under-time", this is a situation where on a day where the mail volume is lighter than normal our supervisor will come to us and give out additional street delivery assignments from a route that is empty due to vacation or a sick call. We are expected to do this additional time within our normal 8 hour day, thereby saving the P.O. from having to pay overtime. Myself and most of the other carriers I know recognize that this is necessary and accept it. By the way, with 11 years of service I currently get 4 weeks of vacation. After 15 years I will get an additional week. That is it, 5 weeks tops. As for calling in sick it is a sad joke. We are treated as if we are all lying about being sick. Between dependent care for taking care of my sick kids, doctor and dental visits and my own sick time I have used 22 hours this year and get questioned by management about it. I also do not know if many of you realize that the Letter Carrier is "the last mile" for many of the parcels you think you are receiving from UPS and/or FedEx. They drop off pallets of parcels for us to deliver since it is not economically worthwhile for them. If the P.O. is disbanded many people in rural or even lower class urban areas simply will not be served. UPS and FedEx would just cherry pick the profitable areas for delivery. Universal Service is the P.O.'s mission to deliver to everyone everywhere even if it doesn't make economic sense, not everyone has a computer or broadband access. I will have three sources of income for my retirement. A very small monthly pension, Social Security if it is still around and the Thrift Savings Plan or TSP which is basically a 401K. I put 15% of my salary into the TSP and have taken a significant beating over the last few years with the fluctuations in the stock market. I have a B.A. in History and was certified for Secondary Social Studies by the State of NY but the P.O. called before I could start a serious search for a teaching job so here I am. I have about 600 deliveries on what we call a park and loop route. I drive my vehicle to an intersection and get out and walk a loop, I then get more mail from the truck and do another loop, drive to the next intersection and do it again. I have a city route where each of my houses have about 5 steps. That would be 5 steps up and 5 steps down multiplied by 600 which is equal to 6000 steps a day over a 6 mile route carrying up to 40 pounds of mail in whatever weather the day happens to bring. I and the other carriers I know take great pride in our work and our work ethic and it really saddens me to see all the negative comments being posted here. I believe in an honest days work for an honest days pay and feel I work very hard for my compensation. At the end of most days my feet, knees and back let me know that they are not very pleased with my actions over the course of my 8 hours at work but I realize that these aches are a part of the job and I am being compensated for them. As for the loss of billions of dollars it basically comes down to a pension surplus of between 50 and 75 Billion that the USPS overpaid and would like back that could then be used to take care of the pre-funding of future retiree health costs. This pre-funding is where the current problem has come from. The Post Office would be in the black without it. I apologize if I have bounced from topic to topic but there was a lot of misinformation posted so far. Hope this helps set the record straight although from most of the comments I doubt it.

Wow, I wish you guys would stop calling Ryan a conservative. That's a pretty heavy insult to conservatives everywhere. I think he's just being a short sighted troll. Personally, I believe that nationalizing the USPS, while aggressively modernizing it's services and continuing to slash cost. I am not sure that government is capable of doing that, as it seems to just bloat and fail, but we're being hypothetical here. I wonder how many here understand the complexities of the USPS retirement programs. I would agree that new hires should be brought in under a system that reflects the current economy, I am not sure if it's a good idea to pull grandpa's pension, as he won't get anything from social security due to the structure of the system. The pre-funding requirement is really hurting the USPS right now, congress should look at that.

Excellent posts and thank you to:

A Letter Carrier @ #1.109 - quite an excellent synopsis

janellect @ #1.107

Fishmail-1463615 @ #1.105 and 1.106

ubbm1290 @ #1.102

and to Syrinne @ #1.103, you rock too!

All of you get it. I wish many more would too.

I don't know where you guys are getting your figures from, but back in 1989-90 I temped at the PO and most of the workers were bragging about $30+ dollars an hour. $30.00/hrX40hrsX52 weeks=$62,400. Plus benefits and every federal holiday off. That was 20 yrs ago. Don't try to tell me that pay and bennies have gone DOWN since then.

My local post office used to be PO Box only. They got seriously PO'd when they were told they had to deliver mail. It took them 2 weeks to figure out which way to turn on my street. (It's one block long and only has 4 houses!)

None of our carriers walk, they all ride in vans. If I'm expecting a package that won't fit in my box I have to go to the Post Office because my carrier is too lay to get his fat a$$ our of the van and walk TWENTY FEET to drop it off at my door. No notice or sticker, NOTHING.

The next town over has "Carriers" that walk on main street-pushing a mailbag on wheels. Haven't actually seen one carry a bag in a long time.

The Post Office used to be the only government facility to operate in the black. No more.

XDisk, try dealing with the truth, OK? The rate isn't even that much NOW. As far as holidays off, if you were temping at the post office, which I am truly not believing, you had no guarantee of ANY days off, especially federal holidays. Please refrain from spreading falsehoods; see, I was a PTF carrier myself, and I know better...

Oh, and I believe there are still carriers that walk around with a bag, just as they did then. Just because you don't personally see it does not make it so. The rest of your "story" reeks of some kind of personal thing you may have against either the post office or the government in general. I get packages all the time, and my carrier has absolutely no problem walking those packages to the door...maybe your carrier thinks you're some kind of jerk and isn't interested in doing the same for you - wonder where he'd get that idea, huh? Oh, and if you're not left any notice or anything, do you use your ESP to determine you actually got a package?

And who got mad when they found out they had to deliver in your town? The clerks? They wouldn't be delivering mail...those would be carriers, but if you only had P.O. boxes, you would not have had any carriers, so that would mean new jobs for people...jobs that in your town apparently paid $62k/yr. And what town is this that went from only P.O. boxes to delivery? And you also say they couldn't figure out how to turn on a street that was only a block long? Really? Did you just want to see your post up here? Because your entire post seems like BS to me.

Somebody is blowing smoke...

All I know is the commerative stamps are very cool and fun to collect. This is where the most profits are made because the stamps are not put back into circulation. My Dad wrote to the US Postmaster General, every US Senator on the US Postal Commitee, every Congress member on the US Postal Commitee (I think he even wrote to President Clinton) to try to get the P47 Thunderbolt WWII airplane on a commerative stamp, and just before he passed away in 2006, the stamp was issued.

It would be shamful if we let this great institution die.

All I know is I enjoy the commerative stamps. Most of the profits for the USPS come from the collectors of commerative stamps because they don't recirculate the stamps.

In the 1980's through the 1990's, my Dad wrote to the US Postmaster Generals, every US Senator member on the US Postal committee, every US Congress member on the US Postal commitee, and I think Presidents Bush and Clinton to get the P47 Thunderbolt WWII airplane on a commerative stamp, and just before he passed away in 2006, the stamp was issued.

Let's not have this great institution die.

damailman10

all you @!$%#s that think delivering mail is such an easy job should try it sometime!!! ya, it's a great job when it's 75 degrees and sunny. where are you jerks when it's -40 and -50 below zero wind chill. all you office jerks are in your nice warm and cozy houses after you called in that you won't be at work because it's too cold to drive in!!!!or your snowed in. than you complain about the mailman when he's not on time!! deliver mail in the winter when it's zero degrees for a month or longer. how about a foot of snow on the ground plus the 0 degree weather. how many of you don't shovel around the mail box but still expect mail!!!!! how about a 40mph wind blowing at the same time. now summer. walk in the 90 to 100 degree heat for 6 hrs. you also have to be done in a curtain amount of time. so your also under pressure. see how long you stick it out!!!! one rough winter my post office hired 20 people in 2 wks. and only 1 stuck it out long term. the rest ran like wimps. one of then saying they can't pay me enough to do this job!!!!! most of you probably could hack it as mail persons for 30 to 40 yrs!!!!!!!! so ya better hang on to your cozy office job!!!!!!!!!! damailman

I have always respected the mail deliverer. Ever since I was a child and I even applied several times for the position but was never even considered. So yes I do understand where you are coming form. However; if you applied for the job, knowing what it entailed, then you have no right to complain about the working conditions. If you were not aware of the working conditions you were going to be exposed to then perhaps you should have researched better. I am not saying people who criticize are correct, usually they are not. But just because you agree to do a job that is not pleasant, doesn't mean you deserve any extra benefit or pay. And you definitely do not deserve a no layoff guarantee which is what postal workers currently have. So for the USPS to terminate the employment of 35,000 employees is not going to be easy. In fact, they may still be required to pay them their salaries for as long as they are unemployed as their contract with the Postal Union forbids anyone losing their jobs. That would be a breech of contract and the USPS could face legal complications and eventual closure as a result of the lawsuit. So if you are a post delivery person who voluntarily took this job, then you need to be happy you are doing what you enjoy. If you are only in it for the money, you need to get out and work someplace where you are happy working.

High speed rail and health care? Not even in the same ball park.

That is the dumbest thing I have ever read. People no longer use the postal service because we have come up with better and faster ways to communicate.

Much of the trouble with the USPS is beause they are restricted by congress from being able to run like a business. Labor costs are too high and the business cannot shed employees and costs associated with them to adjust to the changing demands of business. Our postal system is a great thing, but it needs to change for the better.

Cory,

Then I would suggest that you do your part to insure that the postal service keeps on going. Never send an email again. Just write it down on paper, put in an envelope and slap that good old 44 cent stamp on it. Oh, and no more paying your bills online either.

Face the facts. The US Postal Service is a dinosaur and it's planet has been hit by a big asteroid. Their days are numbered.

The upper class's refusal to pay their fair share for the common good.....Wow, socialism at it's best. Note: Socialists and progressives = COMMUNISTS. Put whatever pretty little spin on it you like, it's still flaming red commies.

Do you have an actual dislike of the flaws of socialism, or do you dislike it because you have been told it's bad? That probably sounded arrogant, but I am being sincere here. Some people do not know the strengths and weaknesses of socialism and capitalism, and also assume that socialism is the same as communism. I think most people would consider pure forms of any of these (yes, even capitalism) to be very bad. We are not a purely capitalist society. If we were, the disparity between rich and poor would be even greater than it is now. Pure socialism isn't much better either because it tends to discourage hard work.

I don't think i've EVER received a letter from ANYWHERE, in one day! The norm for us here in northern Arkansas is 3 to 4 days. No matter.........the slower they get, the more I use email!

Fair share for the common good = socialism at it's best? Hardly. Is it that you want rich people to pay nothing? Do you want nobody to pay taxes?

I would like rich folks to be REQUIRED to give an equal percentage of their pay back into the same society that helped to make them the rich person that they are today as I do. That's all.

Exactly Evil. People sit here talking about supporting the Post office and at the same time we send Emails and pay by phone or online. Years ago, my company used to spend $200.00/mo or more in postage for bills, notices, checks etc. Today we don't spend a 1/3 of that. We bill by fax or email. The only things we send in the mail are checks and catalogs.

My suggestion to the Post office. Do what other companies do when they are short on business and have too many employees. Lay them off. Simple as that. I pay for my own retirement. I see no reason why I should be supporting yours.

@Ken

Depending on where you draw the line on "rich people" I'm sure most of them would leap at the chance to pay an equal % tax. The more money you make, the higher % tax you need to pay. I'd love to have all of my income taxed at 15-20% (compared to what it's taxed at now anyway).

There are the super-duper rich who get to take advantage of all those crazy loopholes but the average american, even the average rich american, don't. They are stuck in that 28-35% tax bracket.

How is that unfair exactly?

@ Janine

The USPS can't lay any workers off. It's part of their union agreement. That's why closing branches is somewhat ineffectual. They still have to keep all the workers on the payroll.

Unions + Pensions = Dead business

Since 10% of our population has 90% of the wealth, they should be paying 90% of the taxes.

END OF STORY - it's not socialism, communism or any other ISM - its simply COMMON SENSE.

I think its funny, if someone doesn't use the post office - then NO ONE ON THE PLANET DOES.

what arrogance.

Ken, so you want the federal govt to acknowledge its role as a protection racket? Hmmm, you've got a point there.

ScubaSteve - most "rich" people arent working jobs and earning a paycheck, so therefore they aren't even taxed at all (like we are). They make their money gambling on wall street, where the capital gains tax keeps getting lowered and lowered and lowered.

It currently stands at:

Short Term (MAX) 35%

Long Term (MAX) 15%

And the average person, isnt gambling on Wall Street...the most we can manage is 401k's..

Which, we cant even take out of the market without getting hit with taxes and a penalty.

Those taxes + penalty, exceed the short term capital gains tax.

How's that fair?

I know..and that's what I'm saying. It's ridiculous. They have to live like the rest of us do.

Janine,

If wealthy people were forced to live like everyone else then why would anyone want to become wealthy? There would be no reason to strive for success if the most you could ever become was average.

I'm really tired of "It's Communist" being considered a legitimate argument. It's the same thing as saying "that's great" or "that sucks"--there's no backing for it, especially when you consider how most of the people who use the word use it--in the sense that "Communist" is synonymous with "evil". We don't seem to have any problems with socialized law enforcement, defense, roads or education. Would you like opt out of all those as well?

Jack Mayhofer

That is the dumbest thing I have ever read. People no longer use the postal service because we have come up with better and faster ways to communicate.

Better and faster ways to communicate in some instances, but not all - and that last part is critical. Are you going to spend $18 to send a $5 package across the state? You can't assume that everything being talked about is letters with a .44 cent stamp. This is a serious business problem and it looks like a lot of people here are just walking out towards the distant shoreline because the tide has suddenly gone waaaaaaay out. This is no small anomoly. From a business standpoint, best to find high ground now.

People are saying the problem is the postal service can't fire people because of the unions. Did you not read the part in the story that mentioned they are going to cut 35,000 jobs? Reading seriously is not all that difficult a thing to do, people.

@af1984

Wow, socialism at it's best.

I agree. Postal service is socialism. Here's what we should do - Get rid of the fixed rate. People who are sending mail between big cities (say NY to San Francisco) pay 20 cents. People who live in small towns (say with a population of less than 10000) pay $2 for the same service. People who live in rural areas should pay $5 to send mail.

af1984, I hope you never need to use the police department or fire department. As those are also "socialist" systems.

Jessica...you don't have much money do you....So rich people don't work..Wow...How did you come up with that?? Did you pull it from that "hardworking" a$$ of yours?? You bit*h and moan that they have money to buy and sell stocks...So?? You can too...But you won't because you don't understand it and are afraid of losing money...SO you scream foul about those that do.....

And Bonnie is right...I live in Santa Fe which is the CAPITOL of New Mexico and if I mail something across town is has to go to Albuquerque to be sorted so it takes a day to get down there and a day to get back...So 2 days for 10 blocks....Rediculous....

Oh my God people. Socialism = state owned. Communism = people owned. They are opposites. When I don't like something I don't just randomly spew negative words.

Rob,

In my backwater town when I mail something across town it never leaves the local post office. But my local post office has humans not machines doing the mail sorting, so perhaps that is the difference. 1 day tops for my letter to get there. But it is such a small town, I would just hand deliver it instead of mailing it!

Seems everyone needs to adjust to changes in society. Maybe getting mail to people needs a better/different idea.

Consider central mail pick-up locations. Everyone gets a PO Box...saves on gas, cut down expenses.

Junk mail gets a bulk rate. Why not charge First Class rates? Most is thrown away and a waste of time.

I realize the USPS is a government agency...but in most cases government agencies basically get free mail. Whether its paid as a discount rate or just because they are the government. Why don't they have to pay the same for a stamp as you or I?

The union may have locked them into no layoffs and expensive healthcare plans. but if they go bankrupt everyone suffers.

If you are waiting for Congress to fix things...it will be a long and painful wait. You can't get a handful of people to see things the same way in any case.

Are any of you looking at the bigger picture.....putting thousands of people out of work who will also be trying to get your 5.00 an hour jobs.

The post office can continue to pay for itself by simply adjusting rates and by laying off some top management.

As to the income disparities, the top 1% earn approx 19% of the income and pay 37% of the total income tax. SO they pay double their "fair share". If as some suggest you also want to also tax "wealth", all that will do is erode every single business in existence and make government more powerful - and that is just crazy.

Look at what business has done in America in the past 30 years - creating more and more wealth for more and more people. Compare that to what government has done in the past 30 years. We now have nearly 8 million households in America with a net worth of $1 million or more. In 1981 we had 638,000 households with a new worth of $1mil+.

If you want to shift wealth, you don't do it by transferring more money to government, you do it by lowering the barriers to wealth creation.

Practical, I agree with the statement about raising rates.

Did you know that poverty is at an all time high? I think we are losing the middle class.

"And Bonnie is right...I live in Santa Fe which is the CAPITOL of New Mexico and if I mail something across town is has to go to Albuquerque to be sorted so it takes a day to get down there and a day to get back...So 2 days for 10 blocks....Rediculous...."

If you knew how far & wide your email went you'd surely find that "rediculous" too (actually it's rid' not red'). OR you could juuuuust try to put aside the worse case inefficiency examples and see that there's no way every street corner or town could be a sorting point be it for snail mail or gasoline delivery or email packets or whatever boggles your mind for how it needs to be routed. Heck we seem to have no trouble with FedEx or UPS using regional hubs for anything overnight but you find it ridiculous that the USPO routes mail to sorting centers within sparsely populated states like New Mexico? (shrug)

The Postal Service has never asked for a bailout. In 2006 the republican lame duck congress passed a bill which required the USPS to prefund the next 75 years of postal retiree health benefits in just 10 years. No other federal agency has this requirement. No other explantaion for the reasoning behind this bill can be found except to put the agency into the red so it can be privatized. Without this onerous requirement the postal service would be solvent even in these reccessionary times. Other remedes such as closing small rual POs that make no money are blocked by the congressman in that district. There are over 3000 such POs that any other business would have closed long ago.

I am used to getting my mail in 3-5 days or more. That is nothing new. Anyway, who gets mail the next day? I do not know anyone who does. I am sure that the turmoil in finances is due to something more than meets the eye especially in this country today. I say repeal the bill that is causing the post office turmoil. Close down some of the inefficient sub stations or let those wokers go. I can name a few sub stations of the post office that are just plain horrible and wholly customer unfriendly. I say now let us look at the salaries of the Congress, the pensions for people who are retired from Congress, the health plan Congress they get for life, etc and etc Now that can use some 'belt tightening' for sure

Rick it is hard for them to compete when the Gov. is taking money from them to pay for other programs that have nothing to do with the Post Office. how much you want to bet that as soon as the U.S.P.S. is gone that FedEX and UPS raise their rates or how long before they find a way to charge you for Email. it is so funny how people complain about big brother watching everything we do, yet instead of sending a letter in the mail where what is in it cant be seen until the letter is open, the will send it by Email or text where is can be seen by anyone.

Gerry Genson, you are absolutely correct. Passing that bill in 2006 requiring the prefunding sent their finances into a tailspin.

cherrytom, people don't realize that the overpayments made by the postal service into the federal coffers is being used on the books to show a lesser deficit.

Someone else above mentioned ebay and the fact that the postal service is the primary shipper for many of those packages. While true that it does generate revenue, it is simply not enough with the pre-funding of future retiree health benefits that the congress is requiring the postal service to make. Rescind that ridiculous law and give the postal service a chance as they have already made many reductions and intend to make more as well as close offices. They have a chance to succeed in drastically changing their business model with the pre-funding removed.

If everyone had to go to the Post Office to pick up their mail, wouldn't that INCREASE the number of vehicles on the road? Right now, you've got one carrier delivering mail to several neighborhoods. Just imagine the traffic if every single one of those families had to drive to the Post Office and back every day to pick up their mail. Maybe you already drive by your Post Office on your daily commute, but many people don't.

You must live in the city to make a comment "It would take tons of vehicles off the road" I live in a rural area and the post office is 15 miles from my house. It would add a ton of vehicles to the road in rural America. Much less adding the pollution of a couple hundred vehicles a day driving to the post office to pick up their mail instead of one vehicle delivering that mail.

The Post Office by law can't close offices, or stop Saturday delivery. Instead of changing the laws so the post office could do better - the politicians are going to wait until the last second before starting to do something. Remind you of the raising the debt ceiling thing? Yeah, the politicians damaged the economy even further by their lack of action, just like they're doing now with the Post Office.

Damn! I clicked on thumbs up instead of reply. Wish I could take it back!

"Take vehicles off the road"? How do you think I am going to get to the post office 9 miles away? I drive the 18 miles, my neighbor next door drives 18 miles, my other neighbor drives 18 miles. That's 54 miles of vehicle use when the USPS vehicle goes about 600 feet. OH, I know! We could put together some kind of pooling so that only one vehicle made the trip for all three of us. We could even put together a vehicle so ALL of my neighbors, even distant ones currently on our same mail route would only use one vehicle. There. Now I have solved my new problem. Sounds familiar somehow.

They tried to stop Saturday service about 2 years ago, but the need congressional approval. Congress denied their request.

Stopping Saturday delivery seems like a very practical cost cutting measure and I think most people and businesses wouldn't be negatively impacted by not getting mail on Saturdays.

However, I hope they would continue to keep most post offices open for at least a few hours on Saturdays since that is when many working people have time to mail their packages and do other business at the post office (requesting holds on mail delivery while out of town, picking up packages which couldn't be left without signatures, applying for passports, etc.).

Maybe they could save money by allowing people to opt out of mail delivery service. Like the no-call list. For instance, I don't want any mail for any reason. I've tried not checking my mail for months, then blocking the door of the mailbox but apparently there are laws that force me to have a clear mail receptacle. Next I will have to modify the mailbox to have everything slide directly into a recycle bin. What a waste.

Cancelling home delivery might work in a city where people live close to the post office, but I doubt that even holds true. I lived in a town that did no home delivery for anyone who lived inside the village limits. There is no charge for a PO box if you do not receive home delivery, so everyone in town had a PO box. I worked 15 miles away from the town. I worked from 8 in the morning until anywhere from 7-10 at night. The post office was open from 9 until 4. The ONLY time I could get my mail was on a Saturday morning in the two hour window they were open. So even "in town" cancelling home delivery is not always useful.

Cancelling home delivery might work if you have nothing better to do during the day than go to the post office to get your mail. Some of us still have jobs and work hours that the post office is open. I'd rarely be able to get my mail if they did that.

The post office isn't as much of a victim of the electronic age as you might think. It is the pre-funding of employee pensions as mandated by congress in 2006 that has really messed them up. They can't do a heck of a lot without the approval of congress. And if congress is trying to make this centuries old institution look like "another government failure" on purpose, there isn't a lot the post office can do to stop them. But that sounds too suspicious. I favor the hypothesis that congress will just fail to act until the last possible second then deliver a non-solution solution, you know, like they do with everything else.

If they stopped any service, it will have to be during the week, maybe tuesdays and thursdays service. But NOT saturday, I have a PO Box, and I can get letters from it, fine, but when I get a larger package, then Saturday is pretty much my only option, because the Post Office already has hours cut back to times I have no chance of going to the counter during the work week, from 8:30-4:00, and I work from 8-5, and I know there are plenty of other PO box customers that have hours that are similar, where there is no possibility of going in during the week. The only way cutting Saturday would work, would be if they extend weekday hours to give the rest of us time to come in during the week when we need to, maybe extending hours from 6 or 7 am to 7 or 8 pm. And since they're only open from 10-1 on Saturday, that just isn't cutting anything, it's only increasing hours.

I suppose if you feel the need to get your mail every single day and drive 18 miles round trip every single day so you can throw out tons of 3rd class garbage every single day then yes.....it would mean more cars on the road. But my comment wasn't meant to address global vehicle emissions. It was simply intended to provoke some thought on how the USPS might save money. And taking thousands of delivery trucks off the road can't hurt.

In the end, when you boil it all down, the USPS needs to do what every other business, family and (dare I say) government needs to do in order to make ends meet: increase income, cut expenses, or some combination of both.

That would certainly increase traffic. They would need to hire more help to man the counters. And in our town of 16,000, they certainly would need a bigger post office built for that many boxes.

Prohibition doesn't work -

Actually, even if they cut Saturday delivery, the post office would still be open for package pickups and other retail needs. There would just be no delivery.

I would also suggest no delivery on Saturday and Wednesday to residential addresses. Many small businesses that use the postal service do not want to do without delivery at all. So, perhaps the cutbacks in daily delivery could just be for residential or businesses could have an opt in or opt out for delivery on Saturdays & Wednesdays (at no extra charge even when they opt in since savings would come from the reduction in residential deliveries who would not have an opt in choice on those days.

For those residential customers who do not want any mail at all, let them opt out with the option to change that after 6 months or a year. There would be a restriction on flip flopping back and forth.

This along with other measures the postal service is already taking would be a big step toward helping adjust to the loss of mail volume.

Congress would also have to rescind that ridiculous pre-funding law for the postal service or at the very least adjust the terms to a more reasonable amount which for those of you who don't know is 5.5 billion this September!

"Further, with the exception of those who are unable (shut-ins, medical, disability, etc), why not set things up so that people go to the Post Office to get their mail instead of having it delivered? It would take tons of vehicles off the road that would no longer need to be maintained"

Swell - so rather than a dozen jeeps doing my end of town neighborhood delivery to 10K addresses ten thousand of us will have to drive to some big centralized postal center regularly to pick up our mail? And that will take "tons of vehicles OFF the road" how exactly? And where will this big customer pick up center be located and at what cost? puh-LEASE....no more half baked remedies.

If the problem is a 2006 law then the solution should be a 2011 law to undo the onerous mess that POS lame duck 06 legislature created.

Pony Express only lasted 18 months. It was a total flop.

take note...pony express was very successful..check the timeline...when the railroads finally got started across the USA, no need for the kids on horseback.. so it was stopped. just a simple improvement..the post office is a dinosaur...out dated and clumsy. a central clearing house for mail (on line) would be much better.go ahead, try it, you'll like it. paul

they can run a war pretty good don't you think?

Actually the government doesn't know how to run a war at all. 12/1941 - 9/1945 -- US military takes over 80% of the planet. 9/2001 - 9/2011 still can't take over Iraq & Afganistan...

I love Lee Iacocca but I don't see Chrysler as a shining example of something run right. Even under his reign, he sold a lot of K-cars to the government in order to keep afloat.

Yes they run them pretty good, they just don't PAY for them.

TOR ---------You realize the government isn't trying to make a profit, they give us a great service at a great price, if UPS delivered mail allot of rural areas wouldn't get service and it would be about a buck per letter. They have never lost any mail or not have mine delivered in a very timely manner ever.

Oh my gosh, can you imagine how much it would cost to send all your Christmas cards if there was no USPS? If only private delivery firms like FedEx and UPS were delivering mail, how much would they charge for each little envelope? $3? $5? More? Multiply that times 50 or 100 friends and you are talking some serious cash.

Think of the cost if you had to start paying private shipping rates for everything you order online.

Community mail boxes? Man, you think your mail gets lost now when you have your own personal mailbox, you'd rather 100 booger eating morons have access to your mail as well? Uh, can we say theft and identity fraud issues? Anyone? Anyone?

JoeNY - I formerly lived in an addition that had these community mailboxes. Each site had about 50 boxes, located at the end of every other street. It worked out just fine.

An added perk is the postal carrier never had to carry a heavy bag, never had to walk "miles" every day, & never had to leave the comfort of their vehicle. They pulled up and inched the vehicle ahead as they filled the boxes from the rear side.

Mail wasn't dropped on my doorstep, but wasn't an unreasonable distance either. This idea WILL WORK for city dwellers.

DamienOujia -

Just goes to show you no nothing about community mailboxes. Each person only has a key to their own. I agree that you should keep that identity theft online where it belongs though.

Both stocks are actually down as of noon today.

now that we've trashed earth, we are looking for another world for humanity to populate. ????

Who does space exploration benefit ?... every one of us should (100 pct probability) a large rock

from the asteroid rings decide to intersect Earth's orbit. It's going to happen again, it's only a matter of when. We are also running low on a number of exotic minerals which have been either mined out of extinction, or are now in places very difficult to obtain (either through physical location, or progressive requirements to save every animal, fish, lizard, which may become reduced in population (people do not count in this scenario).. Malthus was very correct, just a few years off.

Considering the time it will take us to develop viable technology that would allow commercial space travel to relocate and colonize another planet that was actually livable (keeping in mind we have exactly ZERO of those that we have found so far within a traveling distance that could be covered in a person's lifetime) perhaps we need to put a bit more focus on keeping this planet inhabitable and adapting to survive on it. Evolve or die. I don't think we're going to be living among the stars anytime soon.

There wasn't really a public outcry to bail out any of the private stuff either--just nice expensive lobbyists and corporations that were owed a few favors.

Like the president of Solyndra visiting the White House approximately 20 times before Obama gave them 500 million...??? Or the fact that the same guy was a major financial supporter to the Obama presidential campaign...???

We taxpayers instinctively start reaching for our wallets when we read articles like this.

You are assuming that everyone has internet access. I do not, nor do many others in rural areas, and it would cost me $12500 to get the internet at my home. (That is a recent estimate by Time-Warner Cable, done three weeks ago!) I do not have internet access due to the cost, and the fact that I have high speed internet access at my workplace. But there are many of my neighbors who do not have internet access and do not have a place of employment that allows them to use the internet.

Furthermore, what about magazines, catalogues, etc? How will they be delivered? By UPS? Computers have their uses, but they can never replace hard copies of everything. In my county alone, about 1/5 of the population does not have a bank account, so they could not pay their bills on line (ever try to send cash over the internet? Can't happen!).

Dan, does anyone deliver your newspaper? If so, that person could also deliver your mail.

DanG - I live just outside a heavily populated area of Indiana. We were told 2 days ago that we don't have a "major line", or a close enough cell tower, to have wireless internet at our home. If we contributed $10,000 towards the construction of a new tower, and land to put it on, we too could have wireless! Option 2 was like yours - pay for them to run a hard line about 2 miles for high speed internet.

As it is, we still have dial-up. Not glamorus, very slow, can't open large files, and we can't watch ANY video, but it gets us by. Hugh's-Net (among others) offer satelite internet available to most of the United States, but that has an introductory rate of about $60, with the price escalating to $90 per month once the teaser rate elapses.

When you can't afford to pay the light bill, how can people like us afford good internet?

And what about official mail? Like ballots? You passport?

Anyone calling for the phase out of the USPS is a complete moron. There are things that Electronic replacements are perfect for. Then there are things that electronic replacements do not work.

Seriously! Almost nobody in the private sector gets a traditional pension or retiree health benefits these days. All current employees who are more than 5 years away from retirement should immediately be switched to a cash-balance pension and all new hires should be eligible for a 401k-type plan only.

Seriously! Maybe you should check your facts before spouting solutions...my husband has been a letter carrier with the USPS for 16 years and has never had a pension plan...but he does participate in a 401k-type plan otherwise known as the thrift savings plan.

I'll be the first to admit the USPS has major problems and the biggest problem is the propaganda spouted by the postmaster general, congress and the unions through the media. Talk to your local postal employees. Get your facts straight.

Thank you, USPS Wife, for your husband's service to the communication of this nation. Sorry you and your family have to put up with the idiocracy calling for dissolution of the Postal Service.

uspswife -

Sorry uspswife, you are so totally wrong. Based on your husbands years of service, his pension consists of 1/3 thrift savings, 1/3 social security and 1/3 FERS Pension. Educate yourself in case something happens to him. You should know about survivor benefits.

If the postal service is allowed to fold, it will be a huge mistake for the people of this country. The need for the postal service is also noted in the Constitution although I am not sure of the exact language. Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General.

jersey girl, you put money into FERS, just like social security. I believe the thrift savings is a investment savings plan, that's it. Nothing special there.

janellect -

thrift savings is an investment savings plan FOR RETIREMENT. If withdrawn before retirement eligibility, you pay an early withdrawal penalty just as if you would have to do with an early withdrawal of retirement IRA. There is something special there. You can lose money depending on the way you designate your funds to be invested. However, if your money is in the G fund of the thrift, you may earn at a lesser %, but you will not lose your money as in some of the other riskier funds.

I stand by what I said to uspswife. 1/3 of each.

And how is the thrift savings any different than a mutual fund??? Like it's something the gov't gives you money for. Not.

I WAS a postal employee who went to school nights just to get out of there. Trust me, it "ain't" no picnic.

I should mention that you have the option to open an IRA if you so choose, so I don't see what the big deal is about thrift savings. For 20 years, the retirement annuity is about 12k a year... not like it's going to even pay my real estate taxes here in CT.

If you want to moan about something go check out the prison nurses' pay for CT prisons... 100 to 200K a year with OT.

@ packerFan The post office makes more than 50% of their revenue on junk mail.

Yes. I pay all my bills online and paperlessly. I e-mail alll my family and friends. The only mail I get is junk and I should pay tax dollars for that. I want try what Kramer tried, go off the grid.

You need to eat some more peanuts- the Union did not have anything to do with the prefunding of health care. That was mandated by CONGRESS when they enacted the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act back in 2006. The Unions has always been against that. It is a requirement that no other agency has. That is what is causing the financial drain.

Sometimes I wonder.

Pensions in the private sector went first. Then came the "non-contributions" to government pensions (and a mandated over-obligation in the case of the USP). Social Security is now in the bulls eye. The ever-present alternative is to give your savings to Wall Street.

Employer provided health care was a norm in the private sector. Then it became partial, or reduced. Governments at all levels are following suit. At the same time, Congress is debating how cut Medicare.

And unions of all types are becoming the "evil that caused the fall of the Great Empire". The same unions that contributed mightily to the largest middle class in history.

Is it any wonder that the middle class is losing ground? But is there a pattern here?

Could it be that for the Real Money, the emergence of China and India make America dispensable, and irrelevant? Especially the American working folk?

DT: So you think that FedEx, Airborne and such will be better/faster/cheaper than USPS at delivering documents? Sorry--FedEx and Airborne (private sector) are way overpriced compared to USPS.

USPS packages are delivered in one piece too.

I completely refuse to use FedEx and UPS for anything outbound that I do. It costs me substantially higher using a private carrier for worse service. In the past when I used FedEx and UPS, things got lost or damaged every time. The USPS gets everything I send to where I am sending at the speed I pay for. If I am sending something first class, it gets there in 2-3 days, 4 tops. If I pay overnight, it gets there OVERNIGHT. Not like FedEx, which took 3 days for an overnight package.

And they deliver more than junk mailers. Apparently that is all you get in the mail, but I get my ballots in the mail, I get my magazines in the mail, I send out business mail. I'm usually down at the post office twice a month buying stamps now for my small business.

Small businesses and most medical practices do not have online billing. With no USPS, that would be one more reason for healthcare costs to rise - to cover the cost of sending bills...of course, with no USPS they might invest in a little electronic infrastructure and make life easier for their patients and adopt online billing. OK - forget that reason for the old PO... Just trying to think of more reasons for them to exist besides magazines and birthday cards.

To mail a letter or letter-sized parcel with FedEx cost about $10--and that's three day. Not to mention when you want to mail something you either have to take it down to their office OR arrange for pickup. You can do all that or stick a stamp on something and put it in your mailbox.

I am appauled at the negative comments made by those who speak from an "assumed point of view". Try doing the job first, before you "think" you can. Most new hires quit within a month because it's so overwhelming to them. And there is so much misconception, misrepresentaion and mis stated facts about the USPS.

UPS & Fed Ex actually do different jobs than Letter Carriers. True, they deliver, but they don't deliver each piece of mail to each house in America....they don't carry "junk mail, newspapers, and most of the things you find in your mailbox. They deleiver some "flats" and mostly PARCELS! If the USPS just delieverd Parcels, it would be a level comparison but it's not, as it is.

The USPS made $300 Million Dollars last year (in the black) but is financially burdened with PRE-FUNDING FUTURE HEALTHCARE for it's future retirees. A yearly payment that is not burdened by any other federal agency. Move the accounting burden off the USPS finiancial responsibility and it would again be in the black!

The postal management wastes more money in breaking their contractual agreements, promoting uneducated managers without any real education or commendations that proved they could actually do the work that they will surpervise. I can write a book on all the foolish decisions management makes from a computer screen rather than consult with those who actually do the work. For 30+ years I have been doing everything possible to do my route effeciently and in a timely manner without the desire for overtime....all I want is 8hrs. a day but POSTAL MANAGERS make so many money loosing decisions that force me to do my route slower, far less effiently, pay me unnecessary overtime and wasted gasoline and resourses. They won't even recycle in many post offices. Most managers were the worst craft employees and got tired of actually working, so they expressed interest in going to be a manager and got promoted. Very few actually DESERVE to manage....and if you read up, this behavior is nationwide!!! If managers were held accountable for loosing money directly from their own paychecks, you would find a better class of managers who won't make the same mistakes endlessly!

UPS has "profit sharing" the more they work, the more they share in the profits. The more you work in the USPS the more work you get. There are NO incentives to the actual workers, but BONUSES to all the managers for "performeance". It's an antiquated system and if you want the USPS to suceed this must be addressed.

First class mail is declining, but we are delivering more parcels and other classes of mail than ever!!!! And remember the post office helps keep our democracy! Emails and electronic mail can be MONITORED! The mail can't! it's part of our constitutional freedom. Mail is protected while UPS & Fed Ex are not. USPS forwards mail while a lot of parcels are never forwarded by Fed Ex & UPS. They don't even pick up their misdeliveres unless they are given permission to do so. They will also leave you parcel outside in plain view!!!

Wake up America, state ALL THE FACTS, not what you've been brainwashed to think!

I don't see the Postmaster General or any of his staff willing to take a pay cut! The last Postamster General retired with a multi-million dollar bonus package!!!! but they want the workers to do more for a lot less.

It's "Doom & Gloom" at the post office just in time for contract negotiations. Happens EVERY contract time. READ THE REAL TRUTH....ask your carrier what really goes on at the post office and you too will be appauled. Yet we Letter Carriers want to do an excellent job for the American public....we want to save money, but present management doesn't allow that.

That is okay with me if it takes longer to deliver. I will just use UPS or FEDX. They are cheaper and more dependalble

Please share with us exactly what either of those companies will deliver for 45 cents??

That is okay with me if it takes longer to deliver.

Id rather wait a day than a week or longer for delivery with fedx or ups.

Ryan In Texas,

IF YOUR CHILD< WIFE OR DAD, MOM SISTER OR BROTHER WAS OVERSEAS IN WAR AND YOU WORRIED< CRIED AND PRAYED FOR A LETTER--please know that with your lousy attitude if the Postal Service were to close then that Letter Will Never Come!

And for all who think eh' so be it----who delivers you Holidays gifts in specially decorated boxes, who delivers your moms or dads day cards even if it is pooring rain or blizzard? And who else delivers your nephew or niece that congratulations card when they graduate from everything!

The Post Office and services within are treasures to this country and they should not be neglected or abused by another's ignorance. They are staples of what the US of A stands for THE freedom to mail a letter at will to communicate with AND fOR another. IT IS NOT OR SHOULD NOT EVER BE SEEN AS JUST ANOTHER SERVICE ----FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE AND THE EMPLOYEES WITHIN ARE PRICELESS TO KEEPING THIS COUNTRY FAMILIES ASSOCIATES AND NEIGHBORS TOGETHER!!!!! WITHOUT WE WILL FAIL!

And by the way to all those business people who STEAL the mailing Priority and Express envelopes for use in filing, offering printed material to a potential customer, student or colleague or to store papers in, please STOP STEALING THEM EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! (You too James and Joe) These envelopes are provided for free for our convenience only! Not to fulfill you cheap business values. Those envelopes cost the postal service money so please stop stealing them for personal/professional use!

@silly... just a correction for you. The USPS does not deliver to our soldiers in war. Mail is issued to HUBs at major base and installations and actually delivered by military Team members. So... UPS, FedEx or any other service can ship to a base location and it would still get to your soldiers.

FedEx and UPS cheaper?!? Only if somehow you use your employer's account to mail your personal items so that you get it for free. That's the only way they would ever be cheaper than USPS to mail letters and small parcels.

Article 1 Section 8 says that the Congress has the authority to establish post offices and post roads. That's it. And it does not mention education at all, as you say.

Here's an even noveler idea. End all these seemingly endless foreign wars and close all military bases in foreign ally nations like Germany & Japan that can easily afford to fend for themselves and take all that money and use that money to fix the very real problems we have right here at home.

Tell that to all of the members of Congress that line their pockets from corporations....