Written by :Gary Wonning
Much has been written about the plight of the postal service.
The latest mantra is they are losing money because of email and the internet. Their claim is because more and more people are receiving and paying their bills on line , their revenue has dropped and thus it is impossible for them to show a profit.
There is probably some validity to that point, however , businesses have to adjust to changing environments all the time. Every business that thrives faces challenges everyday and most have competition, the post office has no competition in the first class mail business.
Thus, they can can raise their rates whenever they want and suffer no consequences. They continuously raise their first class rates, while keeping their rates for parcels low. They have competition in the parcel business from companies such as UPS and Fed Ex, so they try to undercut their rates.
Aside from the normal business challenges,UPS and Fed Ex face challenges and pressure from congress all the time, and they continue to make money on a business that the post office gave away because they said they were losing money on it.
UPS , operates with a union presence and they still maintain a healthy bottom line, in spite of paying the highest wages and having one of the best benefits packages available in the nation. They even provide health care,vacations, and extremely good pensions.
Besides lower rates for smaller packages, the post office also give away free boxes to their customers. These boxes have to cost at least a dollar apiece,when you subtract this dollar from the rate they charge, it reduces the price even more.
The postal service has continuously lost money at least for the last sixty years. I can’t remember a time when they showed a profit.
In the early 1970s, they blamed their woes on parcel post and willingly gave the parcel business to UPS. As a result, UPS grew by leaps and bounds, enjoying some of their best years of expansion. The post office then discovered how much money UPS was making from the parcel business , and complained that UPS stole the business from them. It wasn’t stolen , the post office willingly gave it to them.
It comes down to the basic principle that the government , and it doesn’t matter who’s government, are not good business managers. Why should they be? It isn’t their money, when they run out of money all they need to do is go crying to congress and congress will give them more “free” taxpayer money to operate on.
They have a pretty good scheme going, keep losing money and get more free money from the unsuspecting taxpayer. All government run businesses operate on this principle, and the taxpaying public never seem to catch on.
Gary has been a writer/ photographer for over 20 years, specializing in nature,landscapes and studying native cultures.Besides visiting most of the United States, he has traveled to such places as Egypt,the Canary Islands,much of the Caribbean. He has studied the Mayan Cultures in Central America, and the Australian Aboriginal way of life.Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in many different parts of the world!
He has published several books about the various cultures he has observed.
For more information and a link to his hard cover and Ebooks,and contact information: please check his website.www.commonsensejourneys.com
Your comments appreciated
There is an extreme shortage of common sense in today’s world,
I often think back to what my parents and grandparents believed and said, at the time I thought they were totally out of their mind and ignored it. I now wish I would have listened and followed their advice more often.
It is in this light I have decided to publish some of my random thoughts based on the views of our ancestors
Available in hard copy and EBook format.
A Video, Journey towards Enlightenment.
Thinking Between the Lines 