• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Should door to door mail delivery end?

What do you think of the new Post Office proposal?

  • Total voters
    51
  • Poll closed .
Ax the Post Office...use private companies to deliver the mail.


And btw, Canada has had 'centralized delivery mailbox''s for years...and they haven't dropped dead from it.
 
Buck Ewer said:
A loan is not a subsidy.
Click to expand...
 To say it is, is telling a lie.
Compare Fed X and UPS rates to Alaska and Hawaii with those of the USPS.
The USPS is having trouble due to the substantial loss of volume brought on by the use of E-Mail so small adjustments in postage rates are needed to get them solvent The utter falsehood is to say that the private sector can do what the USPS does better.
Click to expand...




It all depends on how the loan is structured.

A zero interest loan is a huge subsidy.
 
Ockham said:
The story is our US Post Office is loosing tons of money - the reasons are a bit complex but suffice to say they have been running in the red for quite some time and something has to give. A recent bill H.R. 4670, Secure Delivery for America Act of 2014 -- was approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently. This bill basically removes at home delivery and creates a centralized delivery mailbox (outdoors or indoors) where people will need to travel to pick up their daily mail, USPS packages, etc. The saving is estimated (yeah right - sorry but government identifying savings is like NASA stumbling on a "faster than the speed of light warp drive") to be $2 Billion per year.


Like that plan? Hate that plan? or Don't care... choose one and don't forget to give a blurb reply about your answer.
Click to expand...

Hate the plan because it continues the USPS, which basically just delivers me junk mail every day now. The best plan eliminates the USPS alltogether.
 
Ockham said:
The story is our US Post Office is loosing tons of money - the reasons are a bit complex but suffice to say they have been running in the red for quite some time and something has to give. A recent bill H.R. 4670, Secure Delivery for America Act of 2014 -- was approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently. This bill basically removes at home delivery and creates a centralized delivery mailbox (outdoors or indoors) where people will need to travel to pick up their daily mail, USPS packages, etc. The saving is estimated (yeah right - sorry but government identifying savings is like NASA stumbling on a "faster than the speed of light warp drive") to be $2 Billion per year.


Like that plan? Hate that plan? or Don't care... choose one and don't forget to give a blurb reply about your answer.
Click to expand...

I like the plan but I think it is 20 years too early. Some older people won't appreciate it. There is still a large portion of the population that doesn't know how to use the internet to check the balance on their electric bill, water bill, phone bill, etc. They were going to close the Post Office on Saturdays in August 2013 and congress said, "Oh hell no you won't."

Is this really being seriously considered? I don't see it coming into fruition any time soon.
 
sangha said:
Nearly every govt agency operates "in the red", including our military which has never shown a profit.
Click to expand...

The US Post Office only has the backing of the US Government. It is 0.00% funded by the US Government. The post office became self sufficient July 1, 1971. When the post office runs in the red, then it matters. When the military runs in the red that doesn't really matter too much. The federal government has an unlimited supply of money to pay for government functions. The Post Office is an enterprise fund. This is a lot like many local water companies.

The Post Office is an entirely different animal than other government agencies.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
The best solution, IMHO, would be to keep raising user fees (postage rates) to cover the actual cost of service. The nonsense that using general revenue to subsidize the USPS is OK because it transfers the burden of payment to "the rich" is foolish. The best way to reduce costs is to reduce service days to 3 days per week and have fewer carriers which serve alternating routes. For example a single carrier could serve delivery area A on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and sere area delivery area B on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - just as garbage/recycle collection services do now.
Click to expand...

That's a really good idea.
 
who is motivated to continue door to door delivery: the congress
especially members of the house of representatives
House members can’t send franked mail in the 90 days before elections. They’re instructed to have no more than one picture of themselves alone in a mailed piece and aren’t supposed to reference themselves more than an average of eight times per page.

The pieces provide the name recognition that helps drive votes, said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen in Washington.

“Franked mail tends to be praising of the member of Congress, perhaps even the political party that they work for,” Holman said. “This is campaign material. Very, very rarely have I seen franked mail that’s just information to constituents about what Congress is doing.”
Click to expand...
Lawmakers intent on dictating how the U.S. Postal Service cuts billions from its spending are among those helping themselves to a favorite congressional perk: free mail.

U.S. House members sent more than $45 million worth of such mail in 2010 and 2011 even while switching much of their communication to e-mail in recent years. Three of the 10 largest users last year were Republican members of the Tea Party caucus, which advocates for less government spending,
Click to expand...
Lawmakers intent on dictating how the U.S. Postal Service cuts billions from its spending are among those helping themselves to a favorite congressional perk: free mail.

U.S. House members sent more than $45 million worth of such mail in 2010 and 2011 even while switching much of their communication to e-mail in recent years. Three of the 10 largest users last year were Republican members of the Tea Party caucus, which advocates for less government spending, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from House reports.

... The privilege known as franking, dating to the Continental Congress in 1775, allows lawmakers to send mail to constituents at no cost using their signatures. Franking doesn’t deprive the Postal Service, which reported $65.7 billion in revenue in its 2011 fiscal year, of income. It does cost U.S. taxpayers who reimburse the Postal Service at rates similar to those paid by other bulk mailers.

Of the top 50 frankers by spending, 38 -- or 76 percent -- are Republicans, who are 56 percent of House members. Franking typically is used more in election years; for example, House members spent $34.1 million in 2010 and $11.3 million in 2011, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Click to expand...

raise your hands if you believe congress will rid itself of this benefit, which helps incumbents get re-elected

Congress Keeps Free Mail While Pushing U.S. Postal Cuts - Bloomberg
 
Buck Ewer said:
OH REALLY???
I can put a 46 cent stamp on a letter and put it in a local mailbox here in Colorado. About three days later my sister in New Hampshire has it delivered to her door ...
UPS or Fed X can give me the same service for about $16.00.
Tell me how that is better?
Click to expand...

I have wondered that myself. The Post Office is ran just like a business. Their overhead is probably much higher than private companies because of the high cost of labor. I have wondered why UPS and FEDEX has been dragging their feet about being competitive. I don't think they are really interested in taking part in the single letter delivery business. I guess they don't want to spend the Research and Development cost to figure out how to do it. The Post Office has been doing it for over 200 years. They already have a good system in place. Maybe UPS and FedEx doesn't think they can compete effectively.
 
justabubba said:
who is motivated to continue door to door delivery: the congress
especially members of the house of representatives




raise your hands if you believe congress will rid itself of this benefit, which helps incumbents get re-elected

Congress Keeps Free Mail While Pushing U.S. Postal Cuts - Bloomberg
Click to expand...

That makes perfect sense. Do you think there was similar motivation for Congress blocking the Post Office's plan to end Saturday delivery? It was already a done deal and then congress steps in to say, "Oh no you don't." It is very odd to me that so many people were concerned about an end to Saturday mail delivery that they would contact their congressman. It is so odd that it just doesn't seem likely.
 
Lachean said:
the only reason the USPS can charge $.46 is because they're subsidized, hence the LOSSES.
Click to expand...

The Post Office has been self sufficient since July 1, 1971. They are not subsidized. I'm not mad at you because I can see why you would think that. It is considered a part of the government. It is an enterprise fund and receives no funding from the government.
 
shavingcollywob said:
UPS and FedEx can't match that service because they're prohibited by law from doing so. They're simply not legally allowed to deliver first class mail which is why they require you to put it in a box or those big envelopes.
Click to expand...

Is this true?
 
americanwoman said:
For some reason, for me atleast, it's always kinda exciting to go get the mail. Like there will just be some random check that I overpaid for something or even a free sample or freebie that I signed up for. Usually it's just garbage but I just can't help that I like surprises. fyi, Marlboro always sends the best stuff and I'm not even a smoker. :)
Click to expand...

I feel the exact same way. My wife and kids make fun of me. I always tell a joke every holiday and they always fall for it. I say, "Today is going to be a bad day." Then they say, "Why is that?" Then I say, "Because the mail man won't be coming to our house today." I make an exaggerated frowny face and they start laughing. Then they say, "Oh poor daddy, he won't get any mail today."

My hobbies would change if they quit delivering mail but I do understand the need to be more efficient. I would forego my love relationship with the mailman if it was better for the country but I will have a frowny face for a couple of weeks after it happens. :(
 
Winchester said:
The post office would cease to exist w/o all that volume.
Click to expand...

Yeah JRSaindo really annoyed me with his post. I guess he thinks that those sending junk mail get to send it for free. :roll: The rest of us get stiffed with those $0.46 stamps.
 
vasuderatorrent said:
Is this true?
Click to expand...

if anything is placed in your mailbox by other than a US postal employee, the law has been violated

before UPS, fedX and the like, the USPS had a monopoly on package deliveries
if they could do it profitably, private concerns would be delivering junk mail, too


is it now time to assign each legal resident a unique email address to receive government mail?
that would entail providing internet access to every resident plus the means to check their e-mail
would that not be a more economic measure over time?
 
MaggieD said:
They would do it better because they wouldn't do it the same.
Click to expand...

Who is stopping them?

Is UPS and FedEx distancing themselves from the market on first class mail intentionally?
 
Ockham said:
The story is our US Post Office is loosing tons of money - the reasons are a bit complex but suffice to say they have been running in the red for quite some time and something has to give. A recent bill H.R. 4670, Secure Delivery for America Act of 2014 -- was approved by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently. This bill basically removes at home delivery and creates a centralized delivery mailbox (outdoors or indoors) where people will need to travel to pick up their daily mail, USPS packages, etc. The saving is estimated (yeah right - sorry but government identifying savings is like NASA stumbling on a "faster than the speed of light warp drive") to be $2 Billion per year.


Like that plan? Hate that plan? or Don't care... choose one and don't forget to give a blurb reply about your answer.
Click to expand...

The same type of plan is being phased in here in Canada. My only objection to the plan, personally, is that here in Canada the post office delivers scads of junk mail and flyers and I'm not going down the block daily to pick up junk to carry back home and toss in my recycle bin. They better have recycle bins right on the site of the community boxes or the neighbors in the direct vicinity are going to have their lawns covered in discarded flyers and junk. Out of principle, I will simply collect all the junk mail and walk it to the outgoing postal box and dump it in there if they continue as they do currently.
 
vasuderatorrent said:
Who is stopping them?

Is UPS and FedEx distancing themselves from the market on first class mail intentionally?
Click to expand...

It is illegal for UPS and Fed Ex to handle first-class mail.

And unless and until the post office is no longer subsidized, private enterprise is hog-tied.
 
justabubba said:
if anything is placed in your mailbox by other than a US postal employee, the law has been violated

before UPS, fedX and the like, the USPS had a monopoly on package deliveries
if they could do it profitably, private concerns would be delivering junk mail, too


is it now time to assign each legal resident a unique email address to receive government mail?
that would entail providing internet access to every resident plus the means to check their e-mail
would that not be a more economic measure over time?
Click to expand...

My newspaper delivery gives me a newspaper box. I think FedEx should pick a Zip Code, set up FedEx Boxes and do a test run. Maybe the US government could soften the regulations on the use of mail boxes. I guess it doesn't make sense for the Post Office to put itself out of business. Maybe that's not such a good idea.
 
MaggieD said:
until the post office is no longer subsidized, private enterprise is hog-tied.
Click to expand...

I really don't think they are subsidized but many people in here are making that claim. I hope that one of us in the thread has enough motivation and time to find out if the post office is subsidized or not.

It would change the way I feel about the subject if I found out that they were subsidized. I honestly don't believe that they are.
 
justabubba said:
if anything is placed in your mailbox by other than a US postal employee, the law has been violated

before UPS, fedX and the like, the USPS had a monopoly on package deliveries
if they could do it profitably, private concerns would be delivering junk mail, too


is it now time to assign each legal resident a unique email address to receive government mail?
that would entail providing internet access to every resident plus the means to check their e-mail
would that not be a more economic measure over time?
Click to expand...

They would have to require us to pay for each email sent. Otherwise people will have mailboxes overrun with spam and wouldn't be able to find their real mail. This would be highly destructive to the intent of the post office. On the other hand if people had to pay $0.46 to send a Post Office approved e-mail they might be inclined to use a private email account that costs nothing. :shrug: It's tricky.
 
MaggieD said:
It is illegal for UPS and Fed Ex to handle first-class mail.
Click to expand...

True, but what that means is that you can't stick a letter in an envelope, put a US Postage Stamp on it, and give to a non-USPS carrier. But you can take that letter, stick in the carriers envelope and pay them to deliver it

And unless and until the post office is no longer subsidized, private enterprise is hog-tied.
Click to expand...

Meaning, the private carriers can't do it for so low a price.
 
I wouldn't love it, since it would be kind of a pain in the ass having to go further than the end of my driveway to get the mail. However I could just set all my bills to be sent electronically, and I'd probably only have to check it once a week, considering 99% of the mail I get is bills or junk mail. So it wouldn't be a huge deal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom