Usps express to change terms of guarantee
logger7
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I spoke with my local postmaster today who notified me that this weekend Usps would change its express times and only guarantee next day delivery without specific times guaranteed such as 1030am, 12 noon or 3pm; he said that in a conference call they decided to just make it next day no specific times.
https://www.postaltimes.com/postalnews/priority-mail-express-delivery-times-to-change-effective-may-23-2021/#:~:text=The Postal Service has changed,was available for a fee.
Have others had their regular priorities traveling normally now?
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no. Not as bad but still slow
The last two USPS express sent to me last week were both a day late -- notified the senders to file for refunds.
Why, tax payers have to foo the bill. who cares if it is slightly late.
If I pay for next day, I expect next day or a refund.
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USPS is self-supporting via postage revenue, it receives no taxpayer funds.
I really wish this widely believed bit of misinformation would go away, but it seems to be politically expedient to use in beating up on the post office. [end rant]
The second part is true, not so much the "self-supporting" part...
"The Postal Service receives no direct taxpayer funds. It relies on revenues from stamps and other service fees."
"The USPS has operated at a loss since 2007. From 2008 to 2018, it reported $69 billion in losses. For the 2019 fiscal year, it lost $8.8 billion on $71.1 billion of operating revenue."
From "How is the U.S. Postal Service governed and funded" here:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/08/26/how-is-the-u-s-postal-service-governed-and-funded/
And that annual operating loss resulted from a law passed by Congress (please see my previous rant) that requires USPS to prefund employee benefits costs 75 years in advance, creating the financial burden of making the post office set aside money for future employees, some of whom (factoring in average life expectancy) may not have been born yet.
I take your point about “self-supporting”, though they were prior to 2007.
where does it come up with 8.8b to cover the loss?
You do know that the similar requirements apply to all private businesses? GM and Ford also have to make sure they fully fund their retirement funds. The only difference is duration with USPS. It is only GOVERNMENT pensions that are allowed to be unfunded.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2019/05/13/why-aoc-is-mostly-wrong-about-post-office-pensions-an-explainer/amp/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/08/22/business/postal-service-losses-bailout/index.html
I have not been able to get USPS to refund an express shipment in months.
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I had two over night Express packages arrive late and our tiny Post Office gave me a bundle of credits for my next shipments. As for complaining about the USPS let's do away with it and turn everything over to FedEx or UPS. Sound like a good idea?
FedEx and UPS wouldn't take the business.
That was my point. Please provide another example of any business, public or private, with similar advance benefit funding requirements.
See the Forbes article I posted which points out that there is nothing unusual about requiring full funding. It's based on actuarial tables.
Here, in case you can't find it.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2019/05/13/why-aoc-is-mostly-wrong-about-post-office-pensions-an-explainer/amp/
ALL private companies except churches have been required to fully fund since 1974. The post office problem is that they had not funded their pension and medical liabilities for decades and they've had to catch up.
I read the article, but if you believe the 2006 legislation was just typical benefit funding, both for the dollar amount/number of years and limited timeframe the PO was given to set aside the money, I’m not sure what else to tell you.
If you don't believe Forbes, I don't know what to tell you. USPS and the postal union have been sowing the disinformation since 2006.
The Forbes article explains the accounting for the 75 years. Expecting full funding of retirement liabilities is universal in the private sector. It's just that USPS managed to get away without doing so for 35 years because government agencies don't fund their retirements at all.
Well, that's wonderful to know. I just had a 3 Day Priority that left Florida to California take 25 days to arrive. Guess their improving delivery.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2020/04/14/post-office-pensions--some-key-myths-and-facts/amp
https://www.cnbc.com/id/45018432
https://terrygroup.com/why-pre-fund-why-fully-fund/
https://reason.org/commentary/usps-has-120-billion-in-pension-and-other-post-employment-unfunded-liabilities/
There were a lot of moves this week to cover usps retirees under Medicare and other reforms to cut costs. They could offer services at parity with FedEx and Ups and charge parcel fees on "flat" mailers used for shipping 3 dimensional objects like coins. I don't understand why they did not do that a long time ago. The increases combined with meeting all their obligations in having tracking and service as good as FedEx would allow them to do a lot better.
Well, partly I don't think the retirees wanted a lower level of health care benefits.
The UAW agreed to a VEBA with the automakers to help them control costs on the health care side. Good luck to future retirees.
They raise rates they lose out to competition and lose more money.
They are between a rock and a hard place. Law requires they deliver to money losing locations in timbukthree,
Give it a rest. I have no problems here in the Northwest with deliveries all over the US and we are considered south Alaska.
True. That's why I said UPS and FedEx wouldn't even take the business of it were offered.
And I live here in a very small town in Central Pennsylvania and have not heard of any problems. I sent a package of coins to Maine. Left my hands at 1:00pm on Thursday and arrived in Concord at 12:00 noon on Friday Priority Mail Flat Rate Box. perhaps the problems are local oriented?
A lot of the problems are "local" but "local" includes sorting hubs. At this very moment, I have TWO packages that are delayed in Memphis TN at the sorting facility. One is coming TO ME and has been sitting there for 13 days and the other was sent FROM ME and has been sitting there for 23 days.
When I filed a "missing mail" request it went to the Wichita KS post office which was the destination for the package I had sent out. The PM called me and told me (unhelpfully) that the item was stuck in Memphis. He "didn't know what their problem is" but he assured me that they would deliver it as soon as it got to them.
I then filed a mail search request and 24 hours later, it's on its way to Wichita.
Medicare is an excellent program. I know enough people who had life threatening events that wiped out their retirement savings, many hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs which Medicare would have covered. Blue collar service workers should be happy for 100% healthcare coverage that most people in the US don't get. We are about the only developed country without universal healthcare.
Boy then you have to wonder why one sided spending bills usually end up shoring up union pension funds.
I'm not sure which unions you're referring to. Teacher's unions fall under government and they are unfunded as are police, fire etc.
The only private union I can recall getting something of a bail out was UAW because of the GM bankruptcy. Back in the day, some of those private pensions held an inordinate amount of their assets in company stock.
You really don't have to wonder. Read the articles I posted which explain the 1974 law that requires full funding.
The only unusual thing at USPS is the Healthcare funding because that particular benefit doesn't clearly fall under the existing law.
It's nothing against Medicare but there are some very generous private medical plans.
@jmlanzaf provided excellent articles explaining the entire situation. I know some of us are upset with delivery times, myself included. Years ago, every time I felt like slamming USPS, I started saying to myself, "Where else can you hand a guy $0.55 (or whatever the price was at the time) and he would deliver a letter clear across the country?"
I know. Somewhat off-topic. My apologies.
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USPS is a government-owned private corporation - they get no government subsidy. In fact they are the only company in the US required by law (amendment being discussed in Congress) to fully pre-fund retirement expenses.
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