NOW THEY ARE ANNOUNCING A FURTHER SLOWDOWN IN THE MAIL.... WHAT THE HECK!!!!!

[nctarheel]

My bill from the hospital, sent 10 days ago, is still in transit.

The checks I ordered took 2 months and 2 days to arrive after they were mailed and postmarked.

My wife's car payment is still in the ether, having been sent over a month ago.

AND THE POST OFFICE ANNOUNCED A FURTHER SLOW DOWN OF THE MAIL!!!!!!!!

It isn't what the heck..........It's what the hell!!!!!!!

Late fees, sending payments via Western Union at an exorbitant cost, and all sorts of other costs are involved as the Post Office seems to be getting worse and worse.

It seems that AARP'S efforts regarding the services of the USPS have fallen on deaf ears and it is costing us seniors tons of cash.

[ev29554696]

Checks? Car payment? Through the mail?

I am not asking to be a wise guy. I am honestly curious. Why, in 2022, are you still mailing bill  payments and using paper checks that cost, what, 55 cents to deliver?  You obviously know how to use a computer or you wouldn't be online here making that post. If you don't know how to set up online banking, I guarantee you 100% that the customer service people in a bank branch would be happy to sit you down at their computer and set up the account and teach you how to use it.

The post office is going to be gone in 4-5 years. All they deliver promptly anymore is junk mail because that is a revenue source for them and it is not addressed, so they can just toss it on the carrier's cases and make them deliver it. First class mail take expensive labor to sort. Also the volume of first class mail is way down as the world is becoming digital. I carried that blue bag for 8 years in the early 80s when we had gas, electric and water bills to deliver. The last article I read said that 65% of the households in the USA use online banking. That hospital bill can be found online. All your bills can be paid online. You probably have direct deposit for wherever your income comes from. It's time. Remove that middleman variable and you will never have to worry about the mail for things that matter again. I barely see my mailman.

[fffred]

@ev29554696 

I wholeheartedly agree with your first paragraph, ev.  (the second paragraph, well, I don't know if the USPS will be gone in that time frame)   I was one of the last people in my small company to go to "direct deposit" of my paycheck circa 1989. But I quickly got on the bandwagon and set up as much as I could to be "automatic"...utility payments, credit cards, investments, etc. It only got much easier with the commercial internet. 

Moving on, last year I moved north to Canada. Some comments on the postal system here:

• no Saturday mail delivery.
• first class postage is much more expensive:  it's 58 cents in the US, in Canada it is 92 cents..converts to about 74 cents US. But that's only if you buy stamps in a book, buy just one stamp and it's $1.07, or about 81 cents US
• Virtually all new residential/commercial developments use "super mailboxes", or community mailboxes. Consisting of 24-120 (or more) individual mailboxes in a central location. Very few areas still have home delivery of postal mail and I'm sure those are going to be phased out.
• There are post offices (a dedicated building, etc) but for every one of these there are probably 10 or more Canada Post desks located inside of other businesses, such as supermarkets, drug stores, etc. These are relatively full-service locations, not like buying a roll of stamps at Kroger/Publix. I imagine this provides more services to more people while being more economical.
• Oddly enough, Canada Post is a private company spun off from "the Crown" (State-run agencies/businesses). This surprised me, but less so than hearing from my wife many years ago that even automobile licensing/drivers licensing is handled by licensed private agencies. This privatization is fairly rampant in Canada and well-accepted. 
  
  Of course, the USPS is now sort of "neither fish nor fowl", isn't it? I don't recall how this all works but it seems to be privatized somehow, back a number of years ago. I forget that all now (too many years under my belt). But I always appreciated the service that they provided. I mean, it is truly amazing to me that I can send a physical letter to someone several thousand miles away, for such a small amount of money, and it will get there, to the right place, in only a few days. Simply Amazing!

In the talk over the years about doing away with "the Post Office" I always felt that one sign of a vital democracy was to provide certain services to all citizens equally, including postal mail. Perhaps in the face of our modern electronic means of communications they may become no longer necessary, or no longer the "sign" that I mentioned. Perhaps that "sign" will be replaced by providing decent internet connections to all citizens regardless of location or income (this might be provided by service at libraries, etc).  (Sewer systems, water supply, sidewalks, roads, internal security, and schools are more of the services that I expect a vital democracy to provide.)

[GailL1]

Thought I would mention this news that surfaced today.

The Hill 11/19/2021 - Biden nominates two picks to replace members of US Postal Service board 

President Biden said Friday that he would not be renominating two Postal Service Board of Governors members, including its chairman, announcing two nominations to take their place.

A White House statement said that Biden is nominating former General Services Administration Administrator Daniel Tangherlini and e-commerce fulfillment start-up executive Derek Kan to fill the two spots. Tangherlini and Kan would be replacing chairman Ron Bloom and John Barger.

Those nominations now await Senate confirmation.

. . . . The Washington Post had reported earlier that the president was set to make an announcement on Friday that Bloom would not be renominated.

The newspaper, who spoke to three people familiar with the matter, reported that it signaled an uncertain future for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, an ally of Bloom's who has been viewed less favorably by Democrats and the White House.

more at the link ~

Don't Party Just Yet . . . . but maybe soon.   🎉  😀

[GailL1]

We seem to be getting ALL the Medicare Open Enrollment ads and info right on time.  Go figure.

Do you use Billpay from your financial institution?  I think that this type of payment method are not just in the future but NOW!  Ask a Millennial, they have no idea what a check is !   

[GailL1]

There are some GREAT ideas and legislation already out there -

One thing that would help, is for Congress to pass the Postal Service Reform Act, legislation that would eliminate the requirement the Postal Service prepay its retirees' health benefits, which would save the agency an estimated $46 billion over 10 years. The measure has bipartisan support but has not been approved by either chamber.

The big problem here is the postal union - the bill calls for them to go on Medicare as their retiree health plan and there is some backlash - go figure.

Another idea for making money by the local post offices is turning those post offices into a community hub. Bring back postal banking, offer office services like printing, copying, faxing. You can do free Wi-Fi in the parking lot.  Or even more stuff - 

NPR 10/08/2021 - The Postal Service is slowing the mail to save money. Critics say it's a death spir... 

Regardless, the current plan, which does include stopping those prepaid retiree health insurance if approved by Congress, is supported by the USPS Board and with no action, I assume also by the current Administration and Congress BECAUSE:

The USPS lost $87 billion over the past 14 fiscal years—including $9.2 billion in fiscal year 2020—and expects to lose $9.7 billion in fiscal year 2021.

GAO.gov Report: USPS Financial Viability - HIGH RISK AREA ! 

Desperate Circumstances call for Desperate Actions !

[ev29554696]

I am waiting for the Postal Service Shutdown Act. They truly serve very little purpose anymore. According to census data, 92% of households have a computer and 85% have internet. Only junk mail is delivered promptly. Can you honestly say you need mail delivery EVERY day? If I saw the mailman Monday and Friday I'd be okay with that. I get NOTHING in the mail. Between email and online banking there really is very little need for the post office anymore. The first think people yell is MEDICATION!! I get all of my meds from the VA via UPS. I was a mailman in the 80s and frankly I was overpaid THEN. I don't even know what they earn in 2022. That job is nothing more that reading and walking. Granted you have to do them at the same time, but..