TW: Another example of our government (to repeat our government is not some ephemeral being it is a reflection of you), kicking the can down the road. The amount of mail being sent is plummeting due to technological and societal changes (i.e. the internet). We need less postal service not more. Yet entrenched interests want to hold on to the past as long as possible.
As usual folks are trying accounting gimmicks and borrowing to address the shortfalls but kicking the can down the road is pointless.
From NYT:
"Postmaster General John E. Potter says the Postal Service now expects to run a record $7 billion deficit in 2009, up from projections in March of $6 billion.
...Mr. Potter previously beseeched Congress to change laws that mandate delivery six days a week, a request that has met strong opposition from some lawmakers.
While some remain dead set against five-day delivery, Dan G. Blair, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, the independent agency that oversees the Postal Service, said the initial “frosty reception” from Congress appeared to be changing.
“Congress certainly seems to be saying ‘no way,’ but what happens when they have another $6 to $7 billion operating debt next year?” he said, noting that the commission does not plan to take sides in the delivery debate.
Mr. Potter predicts that Congress will be more willing to change the law as the Postal Service’s financial situation worsens. He says that five-day delivery could save more than $3 billion a year. The postal commission estimates the savings at $2 billion.
...A bill to allow the Postal Service to pay health benefits from a retirement fund was voted out of committee last week and has 339 co-sponsors. The Postal Service says that could save $2 billion a year from the operating budget.
...language mandating six-day mail service has made its way into the fiscal 2010 spending bill that includes money to reimburse the Postal Service. The act also expresses opposition to the consolidation of postal stations. The Postal Service is reviewing more than 3,200 postal stations and branches to see if they could be closed or their operations consolidated, an effort that has prompted outcry in communities afraid of losing branches.
“I realize that the postmaster general thinks that this will save money, but there are other ways that they can cost-cut,” Ms. Emerson said of the potential consolidations and closures. “My constituents feel very strongly about having their postal service continue as it always has.”
...William Burrus, president of the American Postal Workers Union, said that the health benefits bill would provide enough temporary relief to survive the economic downturn, after which mail volume would rebound.
Mr. Potter said he expected the Postal Service to handle at least 27 billion fewer pieces of mail this year than in 2008. Frederic V. Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said the Postal Service should focus on new ways to generate revenue rather than on making substantial changes in service.
“Our take on the five-day delivery is that the Postal Service is making permanent structural changes to a problem that is the result of what is hopefully a temporary deep recession,” he said.
...Congress has authorized the Postal Service to borrow up to $15 billion, capped at $3 billion a year."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/business/30postal.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss
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