They're going try to steal the U.S. Postal Service next year.

[Hotler]

Last edited Tue Dec 31, 2019, 12:25 PM - Edit history (1)

"USPS could privatize as early as next year"
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/usps-could-privatize-as-early-as-next-year/ar-BBYtDIj?li=BBnbfcL

If money is needed to prop up the U.S. Postal Service take it from the fuckers on Wall St., or take it from the military coffers. Fight back people, start calling your representatives. If this is allowed, they'll get their hands on the Social Security fund.
I didn't know the rat fuckers were this close to stealing it.

[Captain Zero]

1. what they really want are the US Postal Service PENSION FUNDS

Not surprising the theft would happen under Trump's watch.
Watch the pension funds vanish if this happens.

[ancianita]

20. It will hit the courts. Because the USPS is the only agency written into the Constitution, courts

will stop this privatizing.

USPS's existence and thus, its operations, are constitutionally protected from privatization attempts to defund it.

[Doremus]

39. They have been fattening it up like a Christmas turkey waiting for the day they can

get their dirty hands on it.

75 years of pension funds for employees not even born yet. This is what they covet and why this ludicrous law was adopted in the first place.

Hurting thousands of fellow Americans in the process? They couldn't care any less.

[live love laugh]

69. 💯

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. Support your local Post Office.....

As a small business owner, I use the USPS a lot to ship Period Clothing and other costuming items all over the country. By doing so, I help keep Veterans and Postal workers employed. As rates go up, it is more important to keep this institution operating.

It is also important for Congress to repeal a 2006 law that forced the USPS to fully fund their retirements 75 years into the future within 10 years.

[Captain Zero]

33. Interesting huh, how 3 years beyond the deadline to

Fully fund the pensions for 75 years that suddenly they want to privatize it? Oh the pension funds are full/? With three years of interest? We'll take that now.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. Greedy MFSOBs

[Ohiogal]

4. It doesn't surprise me in the least

that this should happen under the Trump regime.

Postal service ... health care ... even education .... everything has to be for profit in this country.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

12. Reason #? (I've lost count)

why we should NEVER elect "businessmen" to run any facet of government EVER! I actually thought that we learned that lesson with George W. Bush but I guess not.

[appalachiablue]

17. Sick of the businessman prez, the korporate nation greedheads

and chickens voting for Col. Sanders

[RestoreAmerica2020]

25. Not to make lite of topic but "chickens voting for col sanders is hilarious " anyway back to reading

...thread. paz.

[dalton99a]

5. Kick

[mahina]

6. The Grand Alliance to save our public postal service

https://apwu.org/grand-alliance-save-our-public-postal-service

Please sign the petition and share the website. We have inherited a great asset for the public good.

The public Postal Service operates entirely from its own revenue without taxpayer funding.

Did you know that they have been required to pre-fund retirees health benefits going forward very very many years unlike any other industry in the country in order to make it harder for them to survive on purpose?
(How Congress Manufactured thePre-Funding Crisis, https://www.nalc.org/news/the-postal-record/2019/may-2019/document/Prefunding.pdf)


“All enterprises are required to pre-fund their pension plans, but only the Postal Service must pre-fund its future retiree health benefits. Congress imposed this unique mandate in 2006 when the Postal Service was healthy and growing—before mail volume plummeted during the Great Recession”.

There is no way that USPS or FedEx or any other company for profit can provide the services that the US Postal Service gives any cheaper. Then privatize the US PS our costs will go up - a lot. Saturday deliveries, deliveries to rule communities, and all the opportunities in the future for low cost banking in low income communities will be a thing of the past it’s a privatized.

Save the postal service. It’s an engine for small business and community development and it’s ours.

[2naSalit]

8. THIS!!!

The reason the pre-funding mechanism was put in place was to force the service to go broke in order to privatize and steal the prepaid funds.

Get these fuckers out of office! Winning back Congress and the WH is the only way to stop this destruction of our country!

[MichMan]

18. It passed the House 410-20

Looks like nearly unanimous approval. The 20 who voted against were all Republicans

[Doremus]

42. Yep. Things aren't always as black/white as we might think.

Sometimes there's more than one antagonist.

We have to learn to use our eyes, ears and brain .. and leave our hearts out of it.

[Hotler]

9. Thanks for sharing the link. nt

[wryter2000]

29. I'd like to see FedEx

Deliver a letter coast-to-coast in three days for $.55. Fat chance.

[Drahthaardogs]

7. This is his plan for all of the Federal employees

I used to work for DoD and saw it happen. One hire for every three retires, slowly choking the feds to death then privatize it so the oligarchs can make more $$$

[SCantiGOP]

10. They have been weakening it for years

Just waiting for the right time - probably during the next GOP caused economic downturn - to kill it.
This will be but one more blow to rural America, which ironically is home to the people who put the Orange Menace in office.

[2naSalit]

47. +1

[mahina]

11. Do you think there's any chance you might be persuaded to edit your headline to click the word try

Rather than stating it is a fact accomplished already? Because they’re going to try but I’ll be damned if I let it go without a fight.

Please see the post below about the grand alliance to save our public postal service. Thank you!

[Joe941]

13. I dont really use the post office anymore, but this is a lot of jobs!

[mahina]

14. And a lot of pensions that mail carriers worked for their whole careers v

[xxqqqzme]

15. "There is no TRY"

n/t

[mahina]

26. Indeed there is.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. I want to know where these PTB people hatch their

Ideas. I envision a private wood-paneled club, fireplace ablaze, rare scotch with one large ice cube. One says "how can we make more money?". Another says "post office!". Convinced HMOs were invented this way on a cocktail napkin.

[ancianita]

22. I envision MF45 on the golf course, where his stupidest scams are hatched.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

28. Yes! And on those late night cell calls to cronies. I do

Remember reading about golf courses though. That lots of deals are hatched there...no witnesses, no microphones, nothing on paper.

Why most women in banking always one step behind...because they never heard lots of tidbits about commercial business on golf courses.

[ancianita]

30. Yep. And yes to the crony calls, probably to his richie Palm Beach neighbor guys.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

60. Or Carl Ichan (think someone still investigating this)

One of the nation’s leading experts in insider trading, James D. Cox, believes that Carl Icahn’s sale of more than 1 million shares of a steel-related stock just days before President Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports was “awfully suspicious” and “unquestionably” warrants a federal investigation.

[ancianita]

61. Probably. The caller who tipped Icahn while golfing.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

63. Would be very interesting to see if he golfed with

Dipshit that week. Wonder if there's a record of golf partners.

[ancianita]

65. Or even a record of people 45 called while golfing.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

67. There's a window of time

ThinkProgress broke the news that Icahn systematically sold off nearly 1 million shares of Manitowoc Company Inc between February 12 and February 22. (2019)

[Maine-i-acs]

19. They have been after it since GWB's time

To sell it out to Staples, after Staples contributes $$ to their PACs

Racing to the bottom

Postal service $$ is forced to be accounted for, preventing it from being grifted away. Republican's don't like accountability so they force bizarre conditions on the USPS to make it harder to operate and to stay solvent.

So when it appears to be on the verge of collapse, Staples can "save the USPS". And take more of our money.

[soldierant]

35. Yes, the set-up was the law that required

USPS to fund employee pensions 75 years into the future. No one else, public or private, has ever even attempted such an ambitious goal - because it makes no sense - funding pensions for people who are not even born yet? Really?

But of course it ade sense to those who were allready planning to steal that fund, even as they were passing it into law.

[Historic NY]

21. Doesn't that necessitate a change in the US constitution?

[mahina]

23. Thank you

Words have power. I appreciate it.
Aloha.

[bucolic_frolic]

24. USPS rate increases have far outpaced inflation for almost a decade

and deficits still linger.

In the recession, my post office lobby was rarely cleaned and was cold in winter. One local post office the postmistress complained she had a space heater under her desk as the only source of heat. Now, the lobbies are immaculate, and warm maybe 70 degrees F in winter. So i'm seeing increased spending.

Package rates going up again??? Rates have gone through the roof, Priority Mail especially. Yet the USPS allows private companies like Pirate Ship to skim steep discounts for the few who know about it. Retail customers - people who don't ship online - are the highest of all. This is most likely elderly folks at holiday time.

Post Office Boxes continue to rise. What was $20 in 2003 is $92 today, and will rise in January surely. I would expect they start charging for home delivery, that's what they're talking about. So everyone can pay $2 a week for delivery, and you won't have a choice. All to receive junk mail, annual statements in January, and a tax bill. When there is no mail, it's all electronic, will we still be paying then?

Using USPS services less and paying more with little choice about it will NOT be a popular idea.

[yellowdogintexas]

50. Those package rates were discounted because

UPS and FEDEX utilize the USPS in rural areas to complete delivery. They take the packages to the USPS and the route drivers deliver either the package or the info that the package is waiting.

Increased spending at USPS stations is now possible because the advance payment discussed several times here has now been completed. My local branch had a remodel which improved accessibility and provided an external door to keep hot air out in summer and cold air out in winter. Several older branches have been combined and are in badly needed new buildings. (many of the really older ones would have asbestos issues and accessibility issues) Some of the old branches around here have been repurposed (either sold or leased). We have one that was a Plasma Donation Center for a few years and then became a Good Will Store. The new building which replaced it is a few blocks away.

USPS rate increases were needed to offset cost of transporting mail, salary increases, the evil payback and facility improvements. Remember USPS has been a standalone agency for a long time not receiving federal dollars.

Office Depot, Staples, and a number of other locations have been selling stamps and mailing packages for a long time under contract with the USPS, which picks up packages when the delivery is made to the store. They are a convenience for customers due to the hours.

My father was a Postal Worker for close to 30 years and I am very loyal to USPS.

I also want to know what other country can get a piece of mail across the country in 3 days for 55 cents?

[not fooled]

27. This is what pukes are about

red don and his antics are the diversion while the real work of the GOPee proceeds: to loot the country and impoverish everyone else so the oligarchy can reign.

Hope the maggots are proud. They make this possible.

[FakeNoose]

32. Yes they are - +1000

We cannot let this happen.

We must get the Repukes out of the White House and Senate (and Judicial Branch) before they do even more damage.

[guillaumeb]

31. The root of the USPS financial situation is quite simple.

The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006, created by a GOP Congress and signed by a GOP President, impose a requirement to prefund retiree health benefits for 75 years. This requirement, which has cost between 4.7 and 5.2 billion dollars per year, is unique to the USPS.

And this requirement is the reason for the huge losses from 2007 to the present day.

[hay rick]

34. This.

USPS has been able to balance their operating budgets (the actual costs of providing service, paying for pensions, and current employee wages and benefits, including health insurance).

[guillaumeb]

36. True. This crisis was deliberately created by the GOP

because they want to privatize the USPS so their donors can profit from less competition.

I could easily see Jeff Bezos buying the USPS and picking out the package delivery operation to enhance his own bottom line. Replace unionized workers and good paying jobs with $15 an hour part timers with no benefits.

[hay rick]

38. PAEA had FedEx fingerprints on it.

Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, was a fraternity brother of GWB.

I have seen Prime delivery trucks in my neighborhood...

[guillaumeb]

41. And Fed-Ex is losing business to Amazon's decision to use contract workers.

Bezos would love to put Fed-Ex out of business. So we have one anti-union capitalist attacking another anti-union capitalist.

[MichMan]

44. FYI, The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 passed the House 410-20

Every single Democratic member voted in favor of it.

The 20 votes against were all Republican.

[Sonny Mirviss]

37. The Constitution and the Post Office

In June 1788, the ninth state ratified the Constitution, which gave Congress the power “To establish Post Offices and post Roads” in Article I, Section 8. A year later, the Act of September 22, 1789 (1 Stat. 70), continued the Post Office and made the Postmaster General subject to the direction of the President. Four days later, President Washington appointed Samuel Osgood as the first Postmaster General under the Constitution. A population of almost four million was served by 75 Post Offices and about 2,400 miles of post roads.

The Post Office received two one-year extensions by the Acts of August 4, 1790 (1 Stat. 178), and March 3, 1791 (1 Stat. 218). The Act of February 20, 1792 (1 Stat. 232), continued the Post Office for another two years and formally admitted newspapers to the mails, gave Congress the power to establish post routes, and prohibited postal officials from opening letters. Later legislation enlarged the duties of the Post Office, strengthened and unified its organization, and provided rules for its development. The Act of May 8, 1794 (1 Stat. 354), continued the Post Office indefinitely.

The Post Office moved from Philadelphia in 1800 when Washington, D.C., became the seat of government. Two horse-drawn wagons carried all postal records, furniture, and supplies.

https://about.usps.com/publications/pub100/pub100_005.htm

Trump and the GOP are going to argue that Congress was given the power to establish but not a mandate to do so.

It's an old argument that hasn't been settled in court.

Now that they think they have majorities on the courts and the SCOTUS the push will be renewed.

Elections, and courts, have consequences.

[dlk]

40. Republicans despise the postal service because it is unionized

They have spent decades decimating unions and American workers have paid a very high price as a result.

[mac56]

43. I wrote this some years ago.

https://namebrandketchup.com/2012/11/28/let-us-now-praise-the-united-states-postal-service/

[rurallib]

56. Excellent article - well thought through

[YOHABLO]

45. United State of America INC. It's horrible what these monsters are doing to this country.

[Mersky]

46. I love the postal service.

I have always made it a point to meet my carriers, and know their names, so I can properly tell them thank you, now and again.

I will not be fooled by any campaigns to deride the postal service, as I know it’s been a success despite the 2006 mandate for it to pre-fund the pension for 50 years.

[yellowdogintexas]

51. My dad drove a rural route for several years

the first Christmas, every mail box he opened had food in it of some sort.
Home made sausages, candy, cookies, cinnamon rolls bread, cheese, (we have a large Amish community in the area with a fantastic bakery, dairy farm and so forth), cinnamon rolls, honey, jams/preserves, pies, cakes. It was flat out amazing! My mom filled her freezer with it.

When he died, his route clients came to the funeral home in droves (and sent tons of food to the family)

[Mersky]

57. Gosh, I believe it - they're beloved/appreciated by everyone

Is really sweet to have had that connection across a community with your father.

I haven’t been able to catch my grandmother’s rural route carrier other than with a smile and wave. I’ll think about leaving a thank you in the next couple of weeks.

Has been a lifelong appreciation for me. When stuff has been haywire in my life, at least the mail still arrives, and I very much doubt a privatized mail service would do as well as USPS.

[oasis]

48. Postal privatization would be chaotic. Millions of "gangbox" keys would

be issued to countless numbers of contractors. Cheap labor would replace current workforce. The turnover rate will be sky high. The USPS keeps "Gangbox" keys under strict control.

With a switch to privatization, what will happen to our mail when many of those keys fall into the wrong hands?

[world wide wally]

49. The Post Office is the only service to the American people that is embedded in the Costitution.

Of course they want to eliminate it.

[Midnight Writer]

52. The Postal Service pays billions a year into the Federal Treasury, and receives no Fed dollars.

The one government program that makes a profit for us, and the one that is targeted by the Republicans.

By the way, the pension system paid into by the USPS is the Federal Employees Retirement System, and that money goes to all career Federal employees, not just Postal Workers.

[randr]

53. Our postal service owns some of the most expensive properties

Trump Hotel in DC is case in point. They have been drooling over this asset for years, will likely privatize it to one of their donors, and watch it become a disaster while they blame the Dems for no more mail service for most of the country. Rural America, who vote heavily for the assholes, will be the first to lose out.

[vlyons]

54. They have been rigging USPS for years.

Requiring exorbitant funds on hand for postal retirement -- way past corporation best practices. USPS could serve as a bank for low income people. And sell things like greeting cards, attractive wraps and ribbons, other stuff.

[CrispyQ]

55. They want it all. And they believe they deserve it all.

And the conned among us will vote to give it to them.

[no_hypocrisy]

58. How about ending the preposterous pre-paying postal pensions 50 years before

the actual workers are born?

Shrub and his Congress did this. And it can be undone, provided the McConnell Senate goes along with it . . . . oh, wait a minute!

[MichMan]

59. It passed the House 410-20

The 20 voting against it were all Republicans . I doubt you could many other Bill's that had such overwhelming support

[Alea]

68. You've posted that 3 times so far but it has gone over almost everyones head lol

[not_the_one]

62. One of the reasons I don't have a big problem using Amazon.

They may be what saves the USPS. They do complete deliveries for FedEx and UPS, but most of what I get is through them.

As Martha says, "and that is a good thing".

You may now continue to hate me...

[TexasBushwhacker]

66. Could they at least raise postage to something reasonable?

It's ridiculous that you can mail a letter coast to coast for 55 cents.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

64. Kick

[Hotler]

70. kicking nt