Brett,
I know you believe you are "informed" on many things, but with respect to the post office, you are wrong.
Answer this question, what department of the goverment runs the post office? Who in the goverment is in charge of the post office?
Again, you watch FOX news and also supplement that viewing with a dose of right wing rhetoric and you come up with your post. Lets see if this helps you clear your misunderstanding:
The "Post Office," or the United States Postal Service, is owned by the United States Federal Government. It is classified as an "independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States" and operates independently of government control, run by its own non-political directors.Structure
- Although it is owned entirely by the United States Government, the USPS functions as if it were a private corporation. It is run by an 11-member Board of Governors appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, with one member -- the Postmaster General -- acting as the Chief Executive Officer. The Postal Service is the third-largest employer in the United States, behind the Department of Defense and Wal-Mart.Operation
[*]The USPS is not paid for or supported by tax money. It is an independent operation that generates its own income from stamps and delivery services. Since its reorganization in 1971, the cost of a stamp has increased considerably from 8 cents, to 44 cents in 2009. Postal revenue of $75 billion in 2008 would have made it the 26th largest corporation on the Forbes 500 list if it were privately owned and operated.History
[*]The idea of a United States Post Office was suggested by Benjamin Franklin, who was named the first Postmaster General by the Continental Congress in 1775. The U.S. Constitution requires the government to establish "post offices and post roads," and originally led to a tax-supported Post Office. In 1971, in order to improve its efficiency, President Nixon reorganized the Post Office into the United States Postal Service, making it more independent and giving it a structure more like a private corporation.
Now that you have a little history on the post office, lets look at what you said:
"The post office is hemoraging money, and is preparing to close 2,000 offices. Again not a good example of a well run government agency."
This is a rediculous claim. Once again, a mis-informed judgement merely repeated.
The postal service isnt "hemoraging" money, its losing REVENUE. The postal services first class revenue base is shrinking every year by over 35%. The internet is changing the way the postal service does business.
The business model for the postal service cannot continue to exist with the internet stealing its revenue base. With online pay and online billing, the first class stamp sales are shrinking. Every person in america has a limit to what they will pay for a stamp. Congress knows that the Eboard of the postal service can only raise the price of a stamp only so far before it becomes obsolete. Unlike UPS, where the internet is GROWING our business, at the Post Office, its killing it.
The other segments of the postal service revenue (parcels and third class advo) have been revenue losers for decades and have always been subsidized by the first class stamp revenue. Now that first class revenue is shrinking, it can no longer subsidize these losses and the postal service can no longer afford to do business as usual.
The cost of doing business (employees, pensions, offices, vehicles) is rising and the revenue base is going in the opposite direction.
So, in summary, they are NOT hemmoraging money, they are Losing revenue.
The EBOARD runs the postal service and takes whatever moves they want to make to congress for approval. The EBOARD never took the internet seriously over the decades and in todays business climate will continue to shrink as customers reduce their dependancy on the postal service.
As in the 60's and 70's when robots hurt the auto industry and cost jobs, in the 2000's, the internet is killing a ton of businesses. From Newpapers, to CD's, to DVD's to Books, to greeting cards, the internet is reducing revenues in each to a point where these industries will disappear in less than a decade.
The right wings desperate attempt to blame the goverment is just another weak attempt on making the "big goverment" claim. It works on the uninformed, but for the rest of americans who stay "informed", they know the realities of the postal service.
Hope this helps you out Brett.
Peace.