The GOP-controlled House left for summer recess last week after failing to vote on two postal-reform bills that have been languishing for months -- a bipartisan Senate measure and a more conservative alternative developed by a Republican-controlled House committee. Republican leaders in the House refused to say why they have failed to bring either bill up for votes, but here are a few of the choicest theories:
- Fear: House Speaker John Boehner is perhaps "afraid voters would blame his members for the closing of underused post offices," wrote Gail Collins, an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. "There is nothing Congress cares more about than post offices, 38 of which the House has passed bills to rename over the past 18 months."
- Avoiding embarrassment: "Most likely, there's not enough support in the House to pass any bill, so holding a vote would be an embarrassing setback for the GOP leadership," speculates Rick Newman of U.S. News & World Report.
- Let's get closer to the cliff before we hit the brakes: Citing Republican sources, Bernie Becker of The Hill provided this amazing, and truly disgusting, reason: "Lawmakers don't know exactly when the Postal Service might hit a doomsday date when they wouldn't be able to deliver the mail.” Some Congressmen have criticized USPS for not stating exactly when it will go belly up, he wrote. They want to know whether a real crisis can be avoided in the next few months, which "could give the House even less incentive to bring the bill to the floor before their members face voters in November."
- Stoking incumbent disgust: GOP leaders may be planning to capitalize this fall on voters' disillusionment with Washington gridlock, claiming that the only way to get things moving is to put them in charge of the White House and Senate along with the House. Doing anything meaningful to avert a USPS crisis would ruin the story line.
- Privatize, or something: Newman writes of "Tea Party types who would prefer to privatize the agency, or who seemingly want to starve it of cash, so that … well, it's not clear what purpose that would serve." Note to the naive: FedEx and UPS have no interest in, or ability, to take over USPS's duties.
- The October Surprise: Perhaps GOP leaders are setting up Mitt Romney to be the hero who, a week before the election, announces a plan to save the Postal Service.
- Fatigue: Going month after month without passing any meaningful legislation is hard work. Your Congressional representatives really, really needed their six-week summer break to rest. Oh, and to campaign for re-election.
Related articles:
- Wanted: New Postmaster General; Must Be Able To Kiss 535 Backsides Simultaneously
- Postal Relief? How About No More Congressional Thievery?
- How USPS Could Bypass Congress on Saturday Delivery
- Newsweek Takes a Stand: Profits Are for Wimps: I'm including this to show I can also give liberals a kick in the donkey when it's called for. I'm not anti-conservative, just anti-stupidity.
25 comments:
this article left out some very important reasons for the GOP'S
inaction on postal reform. in the 'privatize' section you should have mentioned that this would allow congress or their well connected big donors an opportunity to raid the pension and health care funds of the usps which are billions of dollars OVER-funded! the other big motive the writer overlooked was the ability of congress to sell off real estate of the usps. informed sources have put the value of the usps real estate at $115 BILLION dollars. so there you have it, the most obvious reasons that the GOP controlled house did nothing about postal reform. the greedy little slimeballs are waiting to TRY to privatize the usps and loot the coffers to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. money makes people/representatives do evil things and billions of dollars in money there for the looting assures congressmen will do evil things.
Way to take some responsibility for your own failures.
It sounds to me like it is another case of "too big to fail". The USPS reflects the federal government in its inefficiency. If they can't fix this then there is no way they can fix the deficit. Furthermore, IF "dirty Harry" and the Senate are involved at all in this, it really doesn't matter what the House does, the bill will die a slow death in the Senate.
This is about the largest load of crap in an email I have ever read. First: The Republicans cannot pass their own bill because the Senate will not pass it. The GOP bill has some real savings that will allow the USPS to become a legitimate business, not some government oversight that continues to be run like Democratic administration; always spending money that they don't have. Businesses are becoming more efficient with leaner work forces. THE USPS should be going in the same direction.
The goverment put the po in this position on 2006.Now that they have a chance to fix their screw up they wont.End the prepay.
I believe the democrat party had control of both the house and the senate and the presidency for two years. They didn't "fix" the postal service. I guess it's just not that important.
Good. Starve the beast. Look how well "compromise" over the decades has worked for this country.
Want a few simple solutions?
1) SELL each individual USPS location to a private company (like a Post Boxes, etc., as an example, or Fed-ex or UPS, etc.) and so each location is privately staffed. Imagine the efficiency, the drop in expenses, etc. Current USPS staff can leave, or interview for a job with the new private concern.
2. Change the law so private companies can advertise on stamps, which in turn will lower postage rates. Intel, Google, IBM, etc. on stamps nationwide or in select areas. Private money underwriting the cost of stamps.
3) Do away with Saturday and Wednesday deliveries.
The USPS is a failure, as are most government or quasi-government creations.
3rd Class mail (junk mail) accounted for 51% of their revenues, as of their 11/15/2011 loss press release, and was expected to have climbed since then.
And why are environmentalists not breathing fire down the necks of 1) junk mailers and 2) enablers, like the USPS, for such waste? I bet I throw away 2-5 lbs of junk mail every week, and never even open it.
As per the postmaster general in 2011, the USPS has to reduce their COSTS by $20 BILLION, annually, to return to profitability, by 2015. With all due respect, when in the history of mankind has a government entity substantially reduced their costs, to this degree?
All of this is laughable. There's a reason why UPS and FedEx beat the pants off service by the USPS: when the role of government in a free society is limited, most areas of economic activity are left to the market. And free markets prevail.
The USPS has not hired a career employee in over 5 years. They currently have 40,000 fewer letter carriers than they did 10 years ago. So the argument that the USPS is not going 'in the same direction' is bunk. If you have no clue what you're talking about, then you shouldn't comment.
i believe issa and ross' postal reform bill calls for the creation of two additional bureaucratic government agencies to 'oversee' the post office! huh? we already have the postal board of govenors and the postal regulatory commission and thousands and thousands of other government bureaucratic jobs to oversee the post office! issa and ross want to
add two more!! i guess so they can give 'do nothing' jobs to their biggest donors! i thought the republicans and especially the issa and ross 'tea partiers' were running on less government platforms???? i guess that talk is just called 'lip service' to get the opportunist elected. pay attention to actions people, that's all that matters. lip service means NOTHING!
Republicans are evil bloodsuckers that only care about rich people. Tea party fools cant see the forest for the trees.
Democrats are corrupted by lobbyists and dont have the guts to stand up for their convictions.
We are all in for a world of hurt!!!
The USPS blue collar workforce has decreased by approx. 20% over the jast 10 years while the white collar workforce has increased by approx. 28%. There is too much "dead wood" in the postal system.
LOL! That's hilarious and actually such a good addition to your message...because WHY ARE THEY? doing this?
As they shove people away (like me) who have always believed in the Republican Ideal, I have to wonder what they actually hope to accomplish? And does that mean that I'm going for the lefters, the Democrats? I don't think so. That's the saddest thing, because they will force me to vote for non-Republicans, and I'm not gonna vote for people I don't think are actually best for the job, so where the hell does that leave me?
Thanks folks in Washington for letting me down, thanks alot!
i like number 7 let mr romney deal with it if he's elected wtf he would sell all the vehicles and give the money back to the government. lol stamps makes it work not bail outs so sell it and split the money with the stock holders wtf thats us the employee, ok im for sell this sucker right now and give me my share.
Be real... The republicans are not any more responsible than the democrats. Passing, oh wait excuse me... Allowing a budget to even come to the floor of the Senate requires the Senate majority leader to do his job. When was the last time we saw that happen?
The amount the USPS spends over and above what it takes in is -
$25 Million - Daily
The amount the Fed Gov't
spends over and above what it takes in is -
$3,500 Million - Daily
So which one needs fixing ??
I am seeing a political carton featuring Uncle Sam shoveling cash into the mouth of a famished dinosaur (the USPS).
The sacred Constitution states that Congress establishes post offices and post roads. So, if the GOP wants to privatize it the GOP must first change the Constitution so that they are no long responsible for establishing post offices.
Don't send me liberal focused conservative bashing articles. You need to rethink who you have writting for you. This material goes out to small business owners which by far are dominated by conservative or mid row thinkers.
Get rid of this crap or I'll be canceling my subscription to your emails.
Sorry, Anonymous (August 8, 2012 1:24 PM) I can't fire the person who wrote this article because I would be firing myself, the sole writer for Dead Tree Edition. And I can't cancel your subscription to my emails because I have no subscriptions.
As for bashing conservatives, consider this: If the true conservative position on the Postal Service is represented by the Issa-Ross bill that passed a House committee, then isn't it the GOP House leaders who are bashing conservatives by not allowing the bill to see the light of day?
You all are a joke u don't have a clue to what's going on at the postal service it's truly sad . I will fall on the ground laughing at you people when you have to drive to get your mail because when big company pick apart the p.o. Thy won't come to your house stamps will hit 2.00to5:00dollars like over seas you all really need to get i info on what's really going on and not the garage you get from our great news people thy are idoits
Post office is one of the oldest institutions in the united states , older than the constitution . It is pitiful what the mean, blood sucking republicans are doing to it. If it is privatized, the services will be much more expensive for the average consumer . People in rural areas will not be able to have access to the same services as the city dwellers. Profit becomes the main goal, prices will go up and services will be less efficient and slower and not so easily accesible. People depend on the Post office to deliver their medicine, packages and mail, regardless of where they live. Republicans never have any viable solution. The loss of jobs, workers joing the long line of the unemployed will seek unemployment......
I love how all these magazines and papers are blaming one particular party. Wise up, it's both parties. Big money is reaching out and hand over hand money is being doled out.
The Bildeburgers, Soros, are big money investors to bring down the US and make it a third world country. How do you think O got in. PAYOFF!!!!
GET REAL FOLKS, we are peasants in a rich mans PONZIE GAME. The only way to stop the BS is to stand and bring these people to the forefront of all the trouble.
Do your research and smarten up.
For all of you who think the USPS needs to be privatized, be careful what you wish for. It's almost like saying Mt Rushmore needs to be moved to a more convenient location. The USPS is a HUGE operation, only second to WalMart in size. Privatizaton will be a HUGE undertaking. If the USPS were privatized, it will take a HUGE entity with:
1. Politcal Power.
2. Humongous amounts of money.
3. Thousands of accessable locations already in the USA, and foreign countries as well.
4. The logistics (distribution system) to move and handle the mail.
5. A workforce of lowly paid employees.
6. The ability to quickly integrate mail service into their current operations.
7. A reason - a profit motive.
And... the winner is... WALMART!
Crazy am I?
Why wouldn't WalMart want everybody in the USA coming to their stores to send and receive mail? Half the battle in retailing is simply getting traffic into the store. About 60 percent of the entire U.S. population lives within 5 miles of a Wal-Mart location and 96 percent are within 20 miles. This would be the closest to universal delivery service as you could get. FedEx and UPS does not have any retail locations to serve the USA. WalMart could set up PO Box sections in their stores. You will pay rent on the box. Forget street delivery, you will have to go to your WalMart store to get your mail. Your new zip code with be the store's number. WalMart can fill your PO Box with their sales ads and not pay any postage. Other competitors could be excuded. Hey, it's privitized, right? And... WalMart gets to decide what they are going to charge you for all of this!
An associate might clean toilets in the morning, and work your mail later that day. You know they won't be overpaid because most WalMart employees wages are below the poverty level.
If WalMart did this, who would be able to compete with them? WalMart has caused tens of thousands of other businesses in the USA to close their doors because...
"That's The WalMart Way
I am so sick of everyone blaming problems on one party. The truth is is that the postal services needs to modernize! period! WE DO NOT WRITE LETTERS ANYMORE! Run the place like a business,Make the changes needed to be profitable.The unions and uncle sam are destroying any chance for for the company to emerge from this mess.Major layoffs.....both hourly and salary need to happen. Sat delivery needs to go. Rates need to increase and service needs to change.Operations need to close.Mail volume does not support business model anymore.Retirees need to retire. These are just some of the things that a private company would implement.Has anyone noticed that paper mills are closing? Wonder what that means?...hmmmmm.The only way out of this mess is BANKRUPTCY!
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