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CU Medallion [58455]
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Why would we give 25 billion dollars to the post office when
Aug 19, 2020, 11:57 AM
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they have lost billions of dollars for years, instead of fixing the problems that cause them to lose billions?
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All-In [26968]
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What do you mean "lost" that money?
Aug 19, 2020, 12:03 PM
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It is not a business; it's a government service. How much money did the US Army "lose" last year?
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All-In [26968]
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That said, I'm in favor of government services operating
Aug 19, 2020, 12:08 PM
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efficiently so that they *cost* less taxpayer money. But it's not about them making a profit or not.
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CU Medallion [58455]
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Exactly. It's not about making a profit - it's about
Aug 19, 2020, 12:43 PM
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operating efficiently.
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Heisman Winner [111736]
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Re: Exactly. It's not about making a profit - it's about
Aug 19, 2020, 3:02 PM
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Turning off sorting machines is a great way to do this.
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CU Medallion [58455]
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Terrible comparison. The military is funded entirely
Aug 19, 2020, 12:39 PM
[ in reply to What do you mean "lost" that money? ] |
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by tax dollars. The postal service is funded entirely from package and mail delivery and associated services, not tax dollars. The post office is not intended to make a profit like a private business, but it is funded only by the services it provides and is intended to be self sufficient.
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All-In [26968]
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How are they funded "only" by those things
Aug 19, 2020, 12:44 PM
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Yet you say they are "losing" money? That seems like a contradiction.
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All-In [26968]
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Smiling Tiger, thanks to your excellent replies,
Aug 19, 2020, 1:10 PM
[ in reply to Terrible comparison. The military is funded entirely ] |
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I have done further research, and have discovered that the USPS does not receive tax appropriations from Congress. At least they're not supposed to. You are right...in theory, they should be operating self-sufficiently. But I still don't know how it works that they "lose" money. Either they must have some large coffers that are getting progressively smaller, or they are getting money from somewhere to pay bills.
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CU Medallion [58455]
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The money they generate does not equal the money
Aug 19, 2020, 2:42 PM
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it costs to operate.
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Oculus Spirit [81925]
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The problem is it did, until they had to fund the pension
Aug 19, 2020, 2:47 PM
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for 75 years within 10 years.
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All-In [26968]
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Maybe the question should be:
Aug 19, 2020, 2:53 PM
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Should they receive tax appropriations from Congress, to maintain the essential service? (And of course, they are considering doing that in a one-time way now)
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Standout [345]
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Re: The problem is it did, until they had to fund the pension
Aug 19, 2020, 4:44 PM
[ in reply to The problem is it did, until they had to fund the pension ] |
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This.
They were asked to fund the pension in a way not a single other government agency does which makes them look FAR worse than they actually are. There is still a ton of room for improvement but the numbers are blown out of proportion due to the nature of the rules imposed on them by congress.
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All-In [26968]
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I guess I'm thinking too literally or something.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:50 PM
[ in reply to The money they generate does not equal the money ] |
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Then where does the money come from that they continue to pay to operate? Like, if I had $25, and every month I lost $5, then after $5 months, I'd have to die or get money from somewhere.
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CU Medallion [73569]
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once again, playin stupid. A better comparison would be like
Aug 19, 2020, 1:05 PM
[ in reply to What do you mean "lost" that money? ] |
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comparing it to ABC.
ABC in Virginia actually makes money. So much that the state wont privatize liquor sales
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All-In [26968]
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How is it a comparison if ABC makes money?
Aug 19, 2020, 1:08 PM
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Doesn't that make it a contrast to USPS? It's like opposites.
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CU Medallion [73569]
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holy ####, you are a complete idiot.
Aug 19, 2020, 1:09 PM
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i gotta stop taking your bait
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All-In [26968]
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OK, well thanks for trying, anyway.
Aug 19, 2020, 1:11 PM
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I appreciate you telling me about ABC, as I had never heard of that before. I learn things when you post, so I wish you wouldn't bail out on me.
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CU Medallion [60063]
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Re: What do you mean "lost" that money?
Aug 19, 2020, 1:36 PM
[ in reply to What do you mean "lost" that money? ] |
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false equivalency is false
and I cannot believe 8 people TU'd that idiotic post
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All-In [34114]
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Re: What do you mean "lost" that money?
Aug 19, 2020, 1:37 PM
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False equivalency because the US military should get buttloads of taxpayer money and the US postal service shouldn't get a tiny fraction of that amount?
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CU Medallion [60063]
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Re: What do you mean "lost" that money?
Aug 19, 2020, 1:40 PM
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The US Army isnt providing/selling a commodity. The USPS is selling a commodity/ies. They are selling a good and service, if you would rather go that route, at a charge to taxpayers. The least they could do is be profitable, thus taking less taxpayer money and thus not double charging us for the good and service/commodity....however you want to look at that term.
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Oculus Spirit [81925]
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Gotcha. So you don't think the USPS should exist as a
Aug 19, 2020, 1:49 PM
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government service to deliver to millions of Americans who it wouldn't be remotely profitable to deliver to?
What about the Postal Clause in the Constitution?
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CU Medallion [60063]
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Re: Gotcha. So you don't think the USPS should exist as a
Aug 19, 2020, 2:09 PM
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I am saying that it can exist and should, but just like any other enterprise that is charging for a good or service, they should be able to float themselves with the budget given. Its really not that hard to understand the economics of the whole thing. They are basically a government subsidized business. They need to figure out how to work within the budget, especially since they charge us at the door.
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Oculus Spirit [81925]
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But that's the point, it cannot be profitable, unless
Aug 19, 2020, 2:21 PM
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if you're going to charge $10 for mailing a letter to a lot of the remote parts of the country...of which there are A LOT.
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CU Medallion [58455]
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Not exactly - the charge is not to "taxpayers". The postal
Aug 19, 2020, 2:45 PM
[ in reply to Re: What do you mean "lost" that money? ] |
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service is not funded by tax money. It is funded by charging directly for the services they provide, just like a business.
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All-In [26968]
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I'd like to think it wasn't "idiotic,"
Aug 19, 2020, 1:48 PM
[ in reply to Re: What do you mean "lost" that money? ] |
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But I do think Smiling Tiger was more correct than I was, and I credited him as such.
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CU Medallion [73569]
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All-In [26968]
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Hey, I admitted I was wrong.
Aug 19, 2020, 3:01 PM
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I'd like to think that's better than an 8-year old.
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Oculus Spirit [81925]
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Heisman Winner [138011]
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Re: Why would we give 25 billion dollars to the post office when
Aug 19, 2020, 12:18 PM
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Hall of Famer [22395]
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Love Putin. Hate the Post Office. Trump gives them their
Aug 19, 2020, 12:21 PM
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lying marching orders and they fall in lying lock-step.
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Heisman Winner [119769]
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All-In [34114]
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Heisman Winner [119769]
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Yeah you believe that?***
Aug 19, 2020, 1:27 PM
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All-In [34114]
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That's all you got for a comeback? "Nuh uh"?***
Aug 19, 2020, 1:30 PM
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Standout [347]
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Can’t blame him for not knowing that, it just happened, only 14 years ago.***
Aug 19, 2020, 8:54 PM
[ in reply to Re: Faulty comparison ] |
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Legend [17310]
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What administration has been in office 3 1/2 years?***
Aug 19, 2020, 12:26 PM
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CU Medallion [58455]
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What year was the Declaration Of Independence written?
Aug 19, 2020, 12:42 PM
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How many stripes are on the flag? What is the meaning of life? What is your point?
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All-In [48078]
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Re: What year was the Declaration Of Independence written?
Aug 19, 2020, 12:44 PM
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His point is that it just became a major concern just before the election. They are just doing it to suppress voting.
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All-In [34614]
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doing what?***
Aug 19, 2020, 1:34 PM
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CU Medallion [56106]
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Socializing losses is as American as apple pie.***
Aug 19, 2020, 12:43 PM
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Heisman Winner [138011]
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Re: Socializing losses is as American as apple pie.***
Aug 19, 2020, 1:03 PM
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Oculus Spirit [83135]
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But they do, and they’re the ones doing it.***
Aug 19, 2020, 7:49 PM
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All-In [38514]
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The Post Office wasn't losing money until 2006 when
Aug 19, 2020, 1:10 PM
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legislation was passed to require them to fund pensions for 75 years in advance.
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Oculus Spirit [97764]
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It's been losing billions for many years now.
Aug 19, 2020, 1:10 PM
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Decades probably. But isn't it interesting it's all of a sudden a crisis when we're going to have to mail in a lot of votes in November.
Best thing to do is fund it, don't change a thing, do whatever it takes, then after November, give the thing an enema.
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All-In [34614]
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they want a huge bailout***
Aug 19, 2020, 1:34 PM
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Oculus Spirit [81925]
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I mean, we know your intelligence level, but a little
Aug 19, 2020, 1:43 PM
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reminder to you that a billion is 1/1000 of a trillion.
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All-In [34614]
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where's the ronnie reagan quote***
Aug 19, 2020, 1:30 PM
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Oculus Spirit [83135]
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They need a more realistic price structure.
Aug 19, 2020, 1:49 PM
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When you can mail a letter from Key West to Honolulu for $.55, something ain’t right. That’s way too cheap.
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Oculus Spirit [93703]
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Re: They need a more realistic price structure.
Aug 19, 2020, 2:47 PM
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The need to cut the fat first. Snailmail is obsolete. All I ever get is notices that Bilo or Burger King has a sale.
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CU Medallion [58455]
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I worked at the post office over Christmas holiday
Aug 19, 2020, 2:54 PM
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many years ago. I've never seen such a bunch of loafers and dodgers in my life. I know that doesn't apply to all post office employees, but a lot of the ones I worked with were working some kind of scheme or angle that involved avoiding work and beating, or maybe I should say "cheating" the system.
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Oculus Spirit [93703]
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Josephg hit the nail on the head, hard.
Aug 19, 2020, 3:24 PM
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The postal service's prices are obsolete. Most of what I've seen come through my incoming mail is related to some sale at Harbor Freight, Bilo, Burger King, McDonalds or some other advertisement. Next is the people advertising for me to borrow money from them. I'd say 95% of the mail carried is nothing but advertisements for products and services or bills for products or services. Most of that is metered mail.
There was a time when, if my mother wanted to know how people were doing and share our progress as a family she would send me to the local post office box with a letter which had a 2c stamp on it. Back then we actually needed the postal service because it was a service to the American public.
Now it is a millstone tied around the taxpayers' necks with business using us to pay for their advertisements.
I say let those who advertise through the mail and those who conduct business through the mail foot the bill. Raise metered mail cost by enough to keep make the postal service profitable.
...and for those who think this is about that mailbox on the corner, there is a mailbox in front of your house. Stick your outgoing mail in there and raise the little red flag on the left side and the mailman will pick it up when he delivers your Burger King coupons.
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Oculus Spirit [81925]
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Your anecdotal use of USPS isn't indicative of reality.***
Aug 19, 2020, 3:43 PM
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All-In [40941]
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Competition is the only thing that will work
Aug 19, 2020, 4:16 PM
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privatize the usps now
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Oculus Spirit [81925]
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Neat, you didn't listen last thread.***
Aug 19, 2020, 4:39 PM
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Replies: 53
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