2 down, 5 to go.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is recommending a stoppage of Saturday mail delivery in an effort to alleviate their constantly plummeting losses. I'd say this is a step in the right direction, but the ultimate solution-- which I have personally heralded for years-- is to close down the USPS completely.



I know that the USPS employs a lot of great people.  Shrinking or eliminating the USPS would mean a lot of these good folks would be out of work.  My nephews' grandpa is a postal worker, and he seems like a good dude.  But, like any other job, if you are working for a failing company you can't expect long-term job security.

For starters, the USPS loses money every year.  And, I mean, they lose a lot of money... and I mean every year.  For the current fiscal year, they expect to be in the red by $7,800,000,000.  This number will be the most they've ever lost, but it isn't unique.  They operate in the red every year, and by billions of dollars every year.

The reasons for these USPS financial losses are complicated.  Like any large corporation, an issue like this is complex.  But, unlike any large corporation, they have a monopoly like none other in history.  According to an interpretation of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 7) that established the antiquated letter communication system, the government decided that only they can insert into your mailbox. The Hoover Institute described that the Federal Government's current understanding of this monopoly:

extends to delivery of anything considered a "letter," which the USPS conveniently is permitted to define.

Despite being the only hand in your box, the USPS still can't figure out a way to make a profit.  And, with labor issues, internet issues, dog bite issues, and competition issues, it seems that things are only getting worse.

Whether it was the fault of "economic downturn", or the move for greener living through paperless communication, or the ease and convenience of online bill pay, the USPS delivered 28,000,000,000 less pieces of mail from 2008 to 2009, and those numbers continue to plummet.  The Postal Service has simply become not only obsolete, but a grand burden on the American tax payer who foots the bill both for the excessive labor costs of the USPS employees as well as the annually-increasing costly stamp.

Let's take a closer look at those tax-funded payrolls of the USPS.  As the Postmaster General himself points out,

"We can't freeze wages."

Really?  Then, what kind of general are you?  I mean, if the operation I were in charge of spent 78% of all their operational costs on labor, I would surely consider a salary freeze (hey, I'm a teacher, and my salary has been frozen for years.  We are still waiting on all that casino and lottery revenue to come pouring in... any minute now...).  I'd especially consider a freeze in wages if I compared that 78% labor cost to that of "competitors" Federal Express (47%) and UPS (65%).  What is behind all this excessive labor spending?
The American Postal Workers Union (APWU), it seems, is even mightier than the Postmaster General.

What other job out there offers it's non-degree-having employees a starting base salary of $30,000 than goes up exponentially for years served, increases annually to compensate for cost-of-living inflation, for a 6 (or 5) day work week, with 10 holidays a year?  Not to mention an absence policy that is accurately described as "generous":

The Postal Service offers a generous leave program to career employees that includes annual (vacation) leave and sick leave. For the first 3 years of service, full-time employees earn 13 days of annual leave per year, increasing to 20 days per year after 3 years of service, and to 26 days per year after 15 years of service. In addition, full- time employees earn 13 days of sick leave per year as insurance against loss of income due to illness or accident.

In conclusion, it seems that the 3rd largest employer in America knows it will lose $238,000,000,000 over the next 10 years.  Instead of shutting down the operation, or releasing their postal monopoly to free market competition, or shrinking labor costs, or any other sensible solution-- they are going to instead insist on continuing the laborious act of stuffing our mailboxes.  They somehow have reached the conclusion that we, the people, actually want to continue to prop up a corpse of an operation that's sole function is sticking countless wasteful ads, flyers, and other mailers into my mailbox that I put immediately in the trash following it's removal from said mailbox.

Think about that.  Over the next 10 years, the Federal Government is going to pay $238,000,000,000 for us to throw junk mail in the trash.  Their proposed solution to that problem is a 5 day delivery week.