Crazy. What surprises me the most is the fact that the USPS receives no federal funding. With a budget of even $5 Billion, the issues highlighted here could be solved or drastically reduced.
And I suppose you also think that Social Security is completely self funding as well?
The USPS has borrowed up to the max legal limit from the government. (currently somewhere upwards of $15b in debt.) The government has to continually increase that debt limit to keep it from folding.
They also enjoy a government imposed monopoly on delivering mail to mailboxes, pay no taxes, vehicle license fees, parking fines, nor market rate interest on their debt load.
It's not that amazing. Borrowing from the government with no end in sight is the same thing as "getting money from the government."
Umm, not sure what social security has to do with this? Nor do I understand the condescension in your tone.
However,
> pay no taxes, vehicle license fees, parking fines
These all make perfect sense to me. How __else__ do you expect mail to be delivered even moderately efficiently?
> government monopoly
Only on first-class mail, first of all. Second of all, if you read tfa you'd realize that a mandate for maintaining a government-run post office is literally in the damn constitution. Are you also upset that there are government monopolies on the judiciary and declaring war?
I was merely pointing out that they do in fact receive federal funding. The comparison to social security was because SS uses the same wordplay to claim it is self funded as well. But in actuality, federal tax money is keeping both programs alive.
And it's not just first class mail that has a monopoly. It's all/any mail that is placed in a residential mailbox.
>Are you also upset that there are government monopolies on the judiciary and declaring war?
Huh? Those make complete sense to be government monopolies. It doesn't make much sense that the federal government can bar a private company from placing a letter or small package in my mailbox, that I paid for and installed at my own expense.
The goal of our current laws are to starve USPS of funds, which results in these awful working conditions. We need to repeal the restrictions on USPS offering a broader range of services, and not force them by law to massively overfund their retirement benefits.
>...and not force them by law to massively overfund their retirement benefits.
It sounds like the change in law was to have the USPS start funding their retirement health care costs since they are promised to the workers and the projected costs had exploded:
>...Although retiree health benefits are often unfunded or poorly funded, two considerations suggested the Service’s retiree health care obligations should be funded: they are as firm a commitment as the Service’s pensions, and they had become enormous (about $75 billion by 2006). In 2003, the presidential commission suggested establishing a reserve fund for these obligations, and the Postal Service itself sent Congress a proposal for creating such a fund.
>Prior to 2006, the Service simply paid retirees’ health benefit premiums when they came due. The Service put aside no money when it promised the future benefits. Paying benefits when they come due rather than funding them in advance is known as the pay-as-you-go or unfunded approach.
>Early this century, Congress, the Administration, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), and a bipartisan presidential commission expressed concern about the lack of funding. Although retiree health benefits are often unfunded or poorly funded, two considerations suggested the Service’s retiree health care obligations should be funded: they are as firm a commitment as the Service’s pensions, and they had become enormous (about $75 billion by 2006). In 2003, the presidential commission suggested establishing a reserve fund for these obligations, and the Postal Service itself sent Congress a proposal for creating such a fund.
>In 2002-2003, it was discovered that the Service was contributing far more than necessary to fully fund its pensions, and Congress allowed the Service to contribute less. Congress decided the pension “savings” could help patch the retiree health benefit underfunding. In 2006, as part of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), the Postal Service Retirement Health Benefits Fund (RHBF) was established. Most of the Service’s contributions to the new fund could be paid using the pension “savings.” PAEA was bipartisan legislation with broad support.
This has been discussed on HN before. I thought their pensions were not being overfunded, just funded to the degree a private company ought to. How much are they being overfunded by?
The USPS has borrowed up to the max legal limit from the government. (currently somewhere upwards of $15b in debt.) The government has to continually increase that debt limit to keep it from folding.
They also enjoy a government imposed monopoly on delivering mail to mailboxes, pay no taxes, vehicle license fees, parking fines, nor market rate interest on their debt load.
It's not that amazing. Borrowing from the government with no end in sight is the same thing as "getting money from the government."