12/28: Why postal services are important
Moderated by Rick Badie
From Atlanta to South Georgia, post offices may be closed as the U.S. Postal Service tries to reduce costs and turn a profit.
Today, a New York University professor explains the importance of postal services.
I interview residents in the rural town of Perkins about the potential loss of a community anchor.
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74 comments Add your comment
Ben
December 28th, 2011
11:15 am
End the illegal monopoly/theft ring the Post Office has set up with my mailbox! I paid for it, I put it up, and now it’s government property to the point where other companies can’t deliver goods to it even if I personally authorize them? Is the Post Office going to pay for a new mailbox when some kid hits mine with a baseball bat? No! So why is it considered their property?
The ONLY reason the Post Office is still in existence is this massive theft of property. If I could give UPS permission to put packages in my mailbox, UPS would wipe the floor with the USPS in no time.
shaggy
December 28th, 2011
11:14 am
Grob Hahn
So, you didn’t know that the USPS operates on their revenue, not taxes.
What makes the USPS fail is the unsustainable pension payments, benefits that far exceed the private sector…yeah that’s right, the union, supported by Congress.
For many years, the USPS was the dumping ground for ex-military that hadn’t really gained skills while in the service. They had no marketable skills when the got out, so the postal service was their final destination. The problem was that the postal service, because Congress mandated, gave these marginal workers better benefits than when they were active duty.
Unsustainable, especially once the market changed…the postal union cries murder for any reasonable change…just like the auto workers union.
jbar
December 28th, 2011
11:12 am
what if the Post Office only delivered mail 3 times a week. Monday, Thursday and Saturday would be more than sufficient for delivery/pickup and would cut the expenses of mail delivery in half. Think about that for all of the Post Offices around the country…
GovRun
December 28th, 2011
11:09 am
I look forward to the mail. Although USPS is a government run operation and like every government run operation it is slow and not profitable. Sell it to the private sector and someone will run a great company. On the other hand if the person who starts it becomes rich, some liberal will say “Share your money with those who have less”. Ok , so its not worth it never mind.
TC
December 28th, 2011
11:09 am
I would miss not receiving mail. I keeps the junk emails at bay.
Out of Town
December 28th, 2011
11:07 am
Turn it off.
Michael H. Smith
December 28th, 2011
10:47 am
Good riddance USPS.
zeke
December 28th, 2011
9:32 am
FEDEX-UPS?? You want to pay $7 to $10 to have a letter delivered???
Grob Hahn
December 28th, 2011
9:28 am
Post offices and libraries are wastes of taxpayer money. It’s time to pull in to the 21st century.
Grobbbbbbbb
Cutty
December 28th, 2011
8:45 am
Free Market, there is no such thing as a ‘free market’. If you believe there is, please site one example where a company turned down any tax credits, rebates, or what have you in order to compete in a market you espouse. Companies move to locales where they can get the best tax breaks (see FedEx to Memphis or UPS in Atlanta). The USPS is the best thing going for its infrastructure and cost.