The USPS has announced that it will hold off closing any more Post Offices until May 15. They are expected to default on a $5.5 billion payment to the treasury and are also expected to lose more than a record $14 billion next year.
These forecasts are quite grim aren't they? The worst part of the predicted closings is all the people who will be losing their jobs. It is projected that 100,000 people will lose their jobs as a result of these closures. How very sad.
I am hopeful that delaying the closures will allow the USPS and congress to reach a better solution. A senator from Ohio said it best: "Though the Postal Service faces serious challenges, this will provide time to reach a solution that will strengthen the USPS, instead of crippling it."- Senator Sherrod Brown.
What do you think of this delay?
I do hope that a better solution will be thought up during the interim.
ReplyDeletebtw, thanks for the candy cane card! I've moved, but it was forwarded to me. I'll send you my current address this week. : )
I'm thrilled to see 100,000 people from losing their jobs at Christmas time (even though it wouldn't take place till spring.) Those folks don't have to scrimp on Christmas plans and gifts just yet.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be great if the USPS started some type of advertising to tell people HOW to save the postal system. All they have to do is write letters to friends once in awhile and put some thrill into others lives and help out the whole system.
Truth is, sometimes dinosaurs die. Some things become extinct. Maybe revamping the USPS is what's needed. Transfusing a dying horse isn't always the best course of treatment. Everything must evolve or die. So, maybe the ones that close, need to close. None of the ones facing closure are in Texas, but you should see our post office. Someone needs to shoot it. I'll take pictures some day, but the place is always super busy.
ReplyDeleteHow much money will be saved if there are closures? I'm thinking of writing to our local papers, just to see what readers think. I am curious. Hope you get a lot of comments here.
Oops! I get so emotional, I forget to answer your query. :) The workers who will lose jobs can use the reprieve to regroup and figure out their options. I wonder just how large these post offices are. Will they be consolidated with another p o? So many things to wonder about.
ReplyDeleteTMC- Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew you had moved...but apparently I never thought enough about it to ask for a current address...silly me. When I get your new one I will be sure to update my contacts list. =)
ReplyDeleteGrannyKass- I agree. I haven't seen any real advertising about how to save the USPS. Perhaps we should write to the Post Master General and tell him they need a campaign!
Limner- I agree. The postal service does need to evolve..but it seems stagnant at the moment. They need to make changes to keep with the times, and hopefully this extra time will allow them to come up with a good solution. As for the sizes of the post offices..I am not sure. I know that a couple here in Ohio are pretty small. Then again they are talking about closing the sorting facilities too. Which from the looks of some, they are pretty good sized. They are also talking about having smaller "village" post offices...like the ones you can find in some drug stores around here. Do they have some like that in TX?
Dang it! Lost my comments. *sigh* Oh well. Anyway, it makes sense to downsize the sorting centers and maybe combine them if there's less mail. Why did they wait until they were hemorrhaging before cauterizing the wounds? Such a waste. That's poor, gross mismanagement. If I default on a loan, do you think the gov't is going to forgive it? Oh, don't get me started. LOL. I see red every time I see/saw their logo at some tennis event. And all the money wasted on USPS souvenirs no one ever buys! I want to see the employees using the post office, too. They confess to not writing letters or sending things via mail. They're beginning to act like royalty now.
ReplyDeleteI use places like Mail Etc., private mail stores, when am in a pinch, and they're open when the PO is closed, but naturally things cost more there. That's where I paid $10 for a card board box!
I've used the little mail store at Ace Hardware in the past. Their hours are iffy. Means they're open if the owner's daughter is there. They're pricey, as well.
Am willing to bet customer service will become seriously worse. I hope no one ever goes postal in one of those little "village" closets. :) One more thing: I guess they forget to include the number of home-pickups they perform.
I think they should have a row of kiosks in the PO lobby. The one we have at our Park Row facility does brisk business. It's better. It doesn't get testy, it doesn't talk back, and it works well. ;) It thanks you, too!
There are "kiosk" stores all over the Sacramento are, mainly in large grocery stores in the area but full service none the less. No PO boxes, but stamps, and sending of anything. and there are always the UPS/fedex and private mail stores that have PO boxes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough not the "Post Office" these services are met in the private industry. Again a sign that the postal service needs to evolve. When I can go to a UPS store and rent a PO box and have the option to send large (or small) packages that can be tracked the entire way for the same cost of the USPS whos tracking system is a joke.. well you get the idea.
What the USPS accomplishes on a daily basis is nothing but mind boggling. Things affecting many of the states affect the USPS as well (Pensions and health Care) have to be fixed..
I couldn't agree with you more Derrick. There are lots of factors that contribute to the postal services troubles. Lets hope they can get things figured out and stay afloat! =)
ReplyDeleteAlso thanks for stopping by. It is always nice to see new names popping up in the comments.