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Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!

 
Going Postal
User ID: 21051308
United States
08/01/2012 10:46 AM
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Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Postal Service set to default on payment

[link to www.washingtonpost.com]

The U.S. Postal Service, facing a $14.1 billion loss this fiscal year amid plummeting mail volume, will default for the first time Wednesday, on a congressionally mandated $5.5 billion payment to the U.S. Treasury.

Postal officials said Monday that without close to that sum in the bank, they can’t make the payment, which is part of a 10-year plan to set aside health benefits for retired postal workers. Another bill for roughly the same amount is due in September, but it will likely meet the same fate.


The agency assured customers this week that the default will not affect mail delivery or employee paychecks. Benefits for current retirees are funded. There is no legal penalty for missing the payment: It originally was due last year, but Congress moved the deadline.
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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08/01/2012 10:46 AM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Better pay those retired postal workers.
You know what happens when they get upset:

macgun
Anonymous Coward (OP)
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08/01/2012 10:49 AM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
And while union-friendly Democrats hesitate to require the agency to squeeze its labor contracts too tightly, many conservative Republicans oppose what they see as a taxpayer bailout of the Postal Service.

“Congress must reject calls for a taxpayer-funded bailout and instead focus on the need to enact comprehensive reform that mandates cuts to operating expenses in order to restore long-term solvency,” Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), one of the House bill sponsors, said in a statement.
Anonymous Coward
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08/01/2012 09:12 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Where am I going to get my commerative Elvis stamps?uhoh
spfd
User ID: 8722925
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08/01/2012 09:22 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
I think their retirement is all paid up tho. The Fed will pick up the rest.

Good for all?
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 20402331
United States
08/01/2012 09:24 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
USPS is specifically enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.

there are about 1,000 agencies that are not. Start with the Department of Education.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 19331825
United States
08/01/2012 09:31 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
pathetic, we are on the edge of a TOTAL economic collapse...I'm talking welcome to 1920 again.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 14625067
United States
08/01/2012 09:34 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
pathetic, we are on the edge of a TOTAL economic collapse...I'm talking welcome to 1920 again.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 19331825


Sometime within this decade I foresee it declining to this or worse. Every 100 years...
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 6083489
United States
08/01/2012 09:35 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Every government at every level is bankrupt. It's just a question of how much.

The real question is how long are we going to allow this garbage to continue?
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 13134754
United States
08/01/2012 09:36 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Nuff said: [link to www.thedailyshow.com]
Resister

User ID: 1461638
United States
08/01/2012 09:44 PM

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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Gee, maybe the government shouldn't have promised to give all postal workers virtually invinvible tenure, retirement at about 50-55, and a retired lifetime of benefits before it could figure out how to pay for it all or deal with a changing business climate.
"God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, & always, well informed... If they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty... Let them take arms... What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. " - Thomas Jefferson in 1787
Anonymous Coward
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Netherlands
08/01/2012 09:45 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
And while union-friendly Democrats hesitate to require the agency to squeeze its labor contracts too tightly, many conservative Republicans oppose what they see as a taxpayer bailout of the Postal Service.

“Congress must reject calls for a taxpayer-funded bailout and instead focus on the need to enact comprehensive reform that mandates cuts to operating expenses in order to restore long-term solvency,” Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), one of the House bill sponsors, said in a statement.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 21051308


Yes bailing out banks so their friends can get their bonusses is far more important then safeguarding pensions of "lowly" citizens.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 21056721
United States
08/01/2012 10:12 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
hope my x gets a big paycut...Bastard!
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 2926765
United States
08/01/2012 10:15 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
tax payers will foot the bill....
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 1476091
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08/01/2012 10:16 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Surprise! Another failed govt operation!


Just watch what they do to healthcare...
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 2926765
United States
08/01/2012 10:24 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Surprise! Another failed govt operation!


Just watch what they do to healthcare...
 Quoting: LunaticFringe


OMG..... betcha they have to double the healthcare tax almost immediately. It will be the biggest mess ever in recorded history. Collapse can't be far behind...
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 21097426
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08/01/2012 10:28 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Thanks again to the Worst President Ever!

bushtard
Saratonin

User ID: 6418504
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08/01/2012 10:31 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Does that mean no mail tomorrow?

I am waiting for my new thong underwear I ordered from Victoria Secret.
My Blog - [link to blog.emergencyoutdoors.com]
Online Survival Store - [link to www.emergencyoutdoors.com]
Heirloom (Non-GMO) Survival Seeds - [link to www.emergencyoutdoors.com]
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 7090286
Turkey
08/01/2012 10:34 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
just an excuse for gov and isp to start charging people for every email sent/ read gaah
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 17803484
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08/01/2012 10:36 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
just an excuse for gov and isp to start charging people for every email sent/ read gaah
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 7090286

Very good thought!
Anonymous Coward
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United States
08/01/2012 10:36 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Gee, maybe the government shouldn't have promised to give all postal workers virtually invinvible tenure, retirement at about 50-55, and a retired lifetime of benefits before it could figure out how to pay for it all or deal with a changing business climate.
 Quoting: Resister


And they shouldn't have thrown their lavish parties with the profit. Good times are over.
psyoptics

User ID: 14240707
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08/01/2012 10:37 PM

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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
pathetic, we are on the edge of a TOTAL economic collapse...I'm talking welcome to 1920 again.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 19331825

how about 1820!

no ....well just about everything!

a good video editor can make anyone say anything the editor wants.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 12042051
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08/01/2012 10:38 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Surprise! Another failed govt operation!


Just watch what they do to healthcare...
 Quoting: LunaticFringe


The postal service is government, but not funded by government. They operated as an independent institution.
Spitting Into The Wind

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08/01/2012 10:39 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
USPS is specifically enumerated in the Constitution of the United States.

there are about 1,000 agencies that are not. Start with the Department of Education.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 20402331


A million times, YES!
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 21055421
United States
08/01/2012 10:39 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
There is a further mutation underway.

You'll see it in your area soon enough if not already.

A, "franchise," situation.

Yep.

Franchise.

Where an Individual has a Franchise on USPS activity, "legitimately," paying sub-living wages w/ zero benefits.... resulting in layoffs and further downsizing of USPS offices.

yep.

The ONLY one making out is the owner of the franchise.

The rest are at sub-living wages.

The Latest Trend.

No B.S.

AmeriKa... It just doesn't work for all.
Digital mix guy

User ID: 20406060
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08/01/2012 10:40 PM

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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
uh-ohhh.
Have no fear, Spock is here!!! LLAP
Anonymous Coward
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United States
08/01/2012 10:42 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
Until adoption of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service functioned as a regular, tax-supported, agency of the federal government.

According to the laws under which it now operates, the U.S. Postal Service is a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be revenue-neutral. That is, it is supposed to break even, not make a profit.

In 1982, U.S. postage stamps became "postal products," rather than a form of taxation. Since then, The bulk of the cost of operating the postal system has been paid for by customers through the sale of "postal products" and services rather than taxes.

Each class of mail is also expected to cover its share of the costs, a requirement that causes the percentage rate adjustments to vary in different classes of mail, according the costs associated with the processing and delivery characteristics of each class.

According to the costs of operations, U.S. Postal Service rates are set by the Postal Regulatory Commission according to the recommendations of the Postal Board of Governors.


They did make a profit before the internet and then profits steadily declined.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 19195341
United States
08/01/2012 10:42 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
it's not goin down...
executive order 11002 Designates the Postmaster General to
operate national registration of all persons.
They still have a use for them.
Anonymous Coward
User ID: 21097426
United States
08/01/2012 10:43 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!

While the media story line is that the Post Office is dealing with the problem of trying to remain profitable in a world of decreasing paper mail - the real cause is actually something much, much different. Consider that this year - like every year since 2006 - the Post Office is legally required to make a $5 billion annual contribution to a retirement account to pay for future retirees who aren't even born yet.

No other company or government agency has been asked to do something this crazy. Yet that's exactly what Congress - during the Presidency of George W. Bush - forced the Post Office to do. And now this poison-pill legislation from five years ago - has pushed the Post Office to the verge of not being able to pay its bills.

[link to www.opednews.com]
Mr. Toppit

User ID: 21091124
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08/01/2012 10:44 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
here we go ... begging ever week for canned goods from the post office steps.

We'll have to run the picket line throwing cans to get our mail.
Anonymous Coward
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United States
08/01/2012 10:45 PM
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Re: Breaking Tomorrow: Post Office is Bankrupt!
it's not goin down...
executive order 11002 Designates the Postmaster General to
operate national registration of all persons.
They still have a use for them.
 Quoting: Anonymous Coward 19195341



I'll say it again. It is happening in my area.... the first Franchise has opened... and the poor saps at the USPS office had to bear the affront of a stack of cards to alert customers:

"There is a further mutation underway.

You'll see it in your area soon enough if not already.

A, "franchise," situation.

Yep.

Franchise.

Where an Individual has a Franchise on USPS activity, "legitimately," paying sub-living wages w/ zero benefits.... resulting in layoffs and further downsizing of USPS offices.

yep.

The ONLY one making out is the owner of the franchise.

The rest are at sub-living wages.

The Latest Trend.

No B.S.

AmeriKa... It just doesn't work for all."





GLP