Hello! I believe your post makes little, if any sense at all. It sounds as though you just have a political agenda and are trying to tie this in with the boxes. If the option was to just print more money then they certainly wouldn't have to cheapen the "free" box to save money.
It's probably absolutely correct that the USPS will lose billions this year but just what is the reason that this is going to occur? The reason is that it is subsidized just to keep industries, like the publishing industry, in business. The USPS is the biggest bargain imaginable for sending mail, packages and printed material from one place to another. E-mail has really cut into there profits. Sending packages is around 25-35% of the cost of the other major services (UPS, FEDEX). How long would the Publishing industry last if it had to pay the same postage as packages or even mail instead of the rates they pay which is minute of the real cost of shipping. Postage, just like utilities and the phone service, are much cheaper than they should be to help home owners or someone who has some pull to get their services cheaper. My shop is commercial so my gas and electric rates are 40% higher than the residential house next door. The residential telephone service by Cinti bell runs around 35.00 a month but since I have a business I had to pay 93.00 a month. If they would start charging realistic prices for their services, they still would be half the cost of the other means of shipping and probably make 7 billion a year.
I get so tired of listening to whiners who blame all their troubles or other things that make life not so angelic on the government or the next door neighbor. I keep hearing that if the government runs it it will go bankrupt or not be any good and the USPS, welfare, Medicaid and Soc. Sec. is what is brought up. Most of these services do need to be looked over more closely so as to stop fraud and wastage but I sure believe they are better served where they are than in private hands. These institutions may not lose money in private hands but at what cost? 3 or 4 times the cost of those services now. If Soc. Sec. had been privatized like Bush wanted it would all be gone now. The big bankers? would have your soc. sec. just like that got most of peoples retirement. How would you like your grand mother paying 1500.00-2000.00 or so a month for her Medicaid or a 1.00 or 2.00 to send a letter or 20 to 45.00 to ship a box that can now be sent for 6.00 or maybe 3.00 to send each of your magazines. Wouldn't that be something.
Dick
