Sourcewww.wsj.com
The U.S. Postal Service’s financial woes are largely caused by government interference.
Regarding your editorial “The USPS Is Going Bust. Blame Congress” (May 12): Your conclusion to let Postmaster General David Steiner “run the business like a business” is right-on. Over 70% of the Postal Service’s losses stem from congressional mandates.
Its operations are hampered by outmoded regulations. The U.S. Postal Service doesn’t have access to traditional credit or capital markets; its only line of credit has been with the Federal Financing Bank. Congress in 1991 set a debt limit of $15 billion, and that capacity is exhausted. In today’s dollars, this limit would be over $30 billion.
Sourcewww.wsj.com
It’s breathtaking how poorly researched this piece is, and from the WSJ no less. There is some validity to the talking points the author refers to, but short shrift is given to real issues affecting the USPS that will continue to plague it unless addressed. Congress has already forgiven billions in USPS debt less than five years ago, and here we are again. This “business “ has a bloated and poorly functioning bureaucracy that must be trimmed permanently. Despite falling volumes and decreasing numbers of craft employees, the USPS continues to pile on managers and EAS level employees in numbers that are unsustainable. Due to rampant internal theft, citizens are abandoning the mail. You no longer know if the item that’s mailed will even make it, much less if it’s on time. Radicals in labor hire based on their agenda, filling the ranks with people of questionable character and morals, leading to theft and absenteeism. They used to use overtime to keep the mail moving, now it just sits while Steiner essentially lies and trumpets improved performance. They’ve doctored numbers for years, first to achieve management bonuses and now to prop up performance. They steal from their own employees, deleting and changing clock rings to lesson work hours. Is this the business you want to work for?