The Real-Life Problem here of course, re: "un-needed Facilities," is -- "un-needed" by WHOM ... ???

Apr 26, 2012 -- 11:23AM, Girlchristian wrote:

news.yahoo.com/senate-votes-slow-closing...

The Senate offered a lifeline to the nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday, voting to give the struggling agency an $11 billion cash infusion while delaying controversial decisions on closing post officesand ending Saturday delivery.

By a 62-37 vote, senators approved a measure which had divided mostly along rural-urban lines. Over the past several weeks, the bill was modified more than a dozen times, adding new restrictions on closings and cuts to service that rural-state senators said would hurt their communities the most.

The mail agency, however, criticized the measure, saying it fell far short in stemming financial losses. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said if the bill became law, he would have to return to Congress in a few years to get emergency help.

"It is totally inappropriate in these economic times to keep unneeded facilities open. There is simply not enough mail in our system today," the Postal Service's board of governors said in a statement. "It is also inappropriate to delay the implementation of five-day delivery."

IMO this is another case of our Congress kicking the can down the road rather than dealing with the real issues. The post office recommends closing unneeded facilities and moving to a 5-day delivery and our senate ignores the recommendation and, instead, just feeds money into the problem that is only a temporary fix.

The Post Office isn't as relevant as it used to be and it will just continue to become less and less relevant. It's not even just due to competition from private organizations, but more related to the simple fact that fewer of us are actually receiving mail and many of us are switching as much to electronic as we can (bill paying, card sending, etc...).

I go to our Local Post Office (about two Miles away) a couple Times each Month ... But, see, I am NOT the ONLY Person who goes there ... Could I afford to go to some OTHER Location, say, TEN Miles from my House ... ???  Sure ... But, see, I am NOT the ONLY Person who goes there ... 

Consider this ... I don't fly anywhere very often, either ... The last Time I took an Airplane Trip was last September, but before THAT ... it was several YEARS ago ... (I prefer to DRIVE, you see, if possible ... Personal Choice of mine ...) So do I personally NEED the (several !!!) Airports located conveniently in my Metro Area ... ???  No ... So ... CLOSE  'EM  DOWN, I say ... !!!

Apr 26, 2012 -- 1:06PM, nnsecu wrote:

Apr 26, 2012 -- 11:33AM, teilhard wrote:

The Real-Life Problem here of course, re: "un-needed Facilities," is -- "un-needed" by WHOM ... ???

By most everyone.  Personally i have not been to the post office in well over 3 years.  If it was not for junk mail and the bill or two that does not offer online service my mail box would maybe only have 1 or 2 items placed in it a month.   As technology advances unfortunately some service become outdated and no longer are needed in the capacity they once preformed.  Trains killed the pony express, Cars killed the wagon business, telephones killed the wire (mores code) service, and now electronic communications are killing the post offices. 

Apr 26, 2012 -- 4:16PM, arielg wrote:

By most everyone.  Personally i have not been to the post office in well over 3 years.  If it was not for junk mail and the bill or two that does not offer online service my mail box would maybe only have 1 or 2 items placed in it a month.   As technology advances unfortunately some service become outdated and no longer are needed in the capacity they once preformed.  Trains killed the pony express, Cars killed the wagon business, telephones killed the wire (mores code) service, and now electronic communications are killing the post offices. 

Right.  It would probably be cheaper to give people credit to buy a computer and leave  the items that need to be sent personally to  private mail carriers.

The government better give those who live in rural areas where high speed isn't available either free dialup or free satellite high speed, both of which are expensive, to go along with those free computers, and also, free computer lessons to the elderly who don't know how to set up online accounts, easily forget their case-sensitive passwords and lock themselves out, and how to pay online, or order online -- in addition to free computers.

Of course, Republcans are against internet access for all programs, just like they're against social security for all or medicare for all.

Although it would be unfair to those rural folks, Americans deserve to have to pay $4.95 to send a first class letter or greeting card via UPS or FedEx, and deserve to not be able to send such things to those folks who won't be served by the privates because to do that wouldn't be cost-effective for the privates.   That'd be to places like Aguilar, CO or Hoehne CO, that have populations less than 500 and have no infrastructure for high speed.

Apr 26, 2012 -- 4:55PM, rabello wrote:

Can you imagine how overloaded the mail carrier is going to be on Mondays if they go to a 5 day schedule -- carrying mail that accumulated over 3 days (Fri, Sat, Sun) instead of 2 days?   Expect more errors from the flawed human workers who are expected to work with the efficiency of a machine. 

What Congress really needs to do is recind the restrictions they put on the PO -- and the PO, only -- with regard to employee pensions, back when the Republicans ruled and started the campaign to end to post office altogether (who know why they hate the post office -- it isn't funded by the gub'mnt)

So are we supposed to just keep all mailing centers and post offices open forever even though mail usage is down significantly? Even if you change the pension restrictions, the USPS will still end up an irrelevant entity that costs a lot to maintain and isn't used by many. At what point do we accept the fact that the USPS is losing it's relevancy in this technological world we live in?

Why should I pay Taxes to maintain Expensive Local Fire Sations scattered EVERYWHERE around Town ... How many Times have I used The Fire Department in the last Twenty Years ... ???