USPS could shut down

jujube said:
Oh, doesn't that just drive you CRAZY? All of a sudden my ID or password doesn't work and I'll go through the whole "forgot your log-in/password?" rigamarole and reset it. Then a few days later, the NEW one doesn't work and I have to do it again.
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Same here. I just hate passwords!
 

Aunt Bea said:
Since I started paying bills online I only get one or two pieces of legitimate mail each month and they could just as easily come to me via email.

Maybe it's time to let the USPS go the way of the Dodo bird and concentrate on getting everyone in America some type of online access.
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Considering the guv-ment don't come to the rescue......what's wrong with the private sector picking it up?
Maybe a little unfriendly competition….
 
As I see it, the question is whether it is in the best interest of the country that all citizens have regular mail service at an affordable price. Maybe it isn't now. But, it used to be considered important. I can remember when anybody could send a letter any place in the US for 3 cents. Of course it's more now, but so is everything else and the principle is the same.

Could a private company do that and make a profit? It would be tough. Some addresses are pretty remote and delivery cost is almost the same whether it is one letter or a bundle of mail. Several companies competing in the same area probably couldn't. So, it would probably have to be a monopoly, and we know how pricing and service works out in that situation.

Mail carriers make a decent salary, but it's not exorbitant. A private company would probably be closer to minimum wage. Turnover would probably be higher because it's not an easy job. Like the saying goes " Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night ."

Would congress let the postal service die? I sincerely doubt it. They may rant and rave and call for an investigation, but there are too many constituents and businesses who would not like to see it go. For one, it would be the death knell for the magazines that still remain. There is a reason that most small businesses ship packages by USPS rather than one of the other carriers. It's cheaper. Even UPS uses the postal service for final delivery of some of their packages.

Rates will no doubt go up. I wouldn't be surprised to see one dollar stamps. That seems extreme, but there was a time when I would never imagine $3+ a gallon for gas either.

Don
 

Gary O' said:
Considering the guv-ment don't come to the rescue......what's wrong with the private sector picking it up?
Maybe a little unfriendly competition….
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Not a thing!

If the USPS still serves a valuable purpose it should be rightsized and made self-sufficient.

I would be content with having mail delivered once or twice a week, paying an annual fee for mail delivery service, paying higher rates for first-class mail, etc...

The thing that I'm not in favor of is just keeping it afloat because we've always had it and we hate to see it go.

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Aunt Bea said:
Not a thing!

If the USPS still serves a valuable purpose it should be rightsized and made self-sufficient.

I would be content with having mail delivered once or twice a week, paying an annual fee for mail delivery service, paying higher rates for first-class mail, etc...

The thing that I'm not in favor of is just keeping it afloat because we've always had it and we hate to see it go.

View attachment 98207
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Mail once or twice a week would be fine with me, too. Almost all of the mail I get is junk mail, anyway. Since so much of business and personal stuff is now electronic, I really don't see the need for every day delivery.
 
From The Postman, starring Kevin Costner:
Citizen: ”You’re a godsend, a savior!”
Costner: “No, I’m just a postman.”
F05392A3-0EC8-4311-80EE-8CC5946D5415.jpeg
“I believe...in America.” - - The Postman. 🙂
 
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jujube said:
Oh, doesn't that just drive you CRAZY? All of a sudden my ID or password doesn't work and I'll go through the whole "forgot your log-in/password?" rigamarole and reset it. Then a few days later, the NEW one doesn't work and I have to do it again.
Click to expand...
Aneeda72 said:
Same here. I just hate passwords!
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I must be lucky, never had a problem with my bank's website.. The same with my Credit Card/Mortgage sites..
 
One thing I've never heard or read being discussed is a compromise. It seems that it's all (six days a week delivery) or nothing: Privatization which, trust me on this, you do NOT want. How about we get our mail two or three times a week instead of six? And if something is THAT important it must be overnighted there would still be an Express Mail option. Like most here I do all my bills by email and send out less than a dozen per year.
Another option for bill paying is to have your charge card tapped whenever your bill is due. They notify you by email their going to tap it then send a receipt via email. That way you get reward points for using your charge card!
 
My accounts have been compromised three times. I won't do online banking because I don't trust the internet. I know, It's probably an "ole lady" thing but I just don't feel comfortable with it.
And yes Don, That WAS a great post!
 
" Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night ."
I always said: "Through rain and snow, sleet and hail, have no fear I'll bring your mail
But, when it goes above ninety in that hot summer sun.....forget you folks......the mail don't run".
That's when I hated it.
 
Ken N Tx said:
I must be lucky, never had a problem with my bank's website.. The same with my Credit Card/Mortgage sites..
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I haven't either, and I've been using them for about 10 years or longer.

Now, there have been a couple times when a website was down temporarily for one reason or another, or I've had trouble logging on because of a typo in my password or something like that. That kind of stuff is easily resolved.
 
chic said:
This is why I never do my banking online. I pay for some services online but mostly, I prefer writing checks too. At least I have control. Too many times I've got that you password and account name do not match or worse. We have NO record of this email address in our files. All this while I am looking at an email they sent me to the email address in question,
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I have found that when I get sign in error messages like that, either I've inadvertently typed in one wrong letter or number or left something out. I also found out from tech support that when I was letting my tablet auto fill my login ID for one of my credit card sites, for some reason it was not recognizing the auto fill, so I would get the message you referred to. I also realized that TD Bank's texted code number was being entered backwards, thus the error message. I finally just entered the number backwards until they fixed the issue (on their app...still does it when I use the browser). Online stuff can be crazy sometimes.
 
We finally got mail today after about a week. Not much at all either...only one junk mail piece. I hadn't read it on our local news site but my grandson told me that the P.O. had cut back on deliveries due to being short staffed. I read yesterday that there will be no bail out for the post office.
 
Grampa Don said:
As I see it, the question is whether it is in the best interest of the country that all citizens have regular mail service at an affordable price. Maybe it isn't now. But, it used to be considered important. I can remember when anybody could send a letter any place in the US for 3 cents. Of course it's more now, but so is everything else and the principle is the same.

Could a private company do that and make a profit? It would be tough. Some addresses are pretty remote and delivery cost is almost the same whether it is one letter or a bundle of mail. Several companies competing in the same area probably couldn't. So, it would probably have to be a monopoly, and we know how pricing and service works out in that situation.

Mail carriers make a decent salary, but it's not exorbitant. A private company would probably be closer to minimum wage. Turnover would probably be higher because it's not an easy job. Like the saying goes " Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night ."

Would congress let the postal service die? I sincerely doubt it. They may rant and rave and call for an investigation, but there are too many constituents and businesses who would not like to see it go. For one, it would be the death knell for the magazines that still remain. There is a reason that most small businesses ship packages by USPS rather than one of the other carriers. It's cheaper. Even UPS uses the postal service for final delivery of some of their packages.

Rates will no doubt go up. I wouldn't be surprised to see one dollar stamps. That seems extreme, but there was a time when I would never imagine $3+ a gallon for gas either.

Don
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I agree with Don. The career postal employees I've known have stuck with their job for the following reasons: the pay is "decent", the benefits are good, you literally can't lose your job no matter how incompetent you are, and you get a good government pension. Privatizing the postal service will likely do away with those "goodies". No "goodies" and employees will jump ship the minute a job paying 25 cents an hour more comes along. A constantly-changing workforce means that a lot of employees don't know their job.
 
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Had the one and only bill I actually mail, clipped to the mailbox as I always do, and the mailperson never picked it up since thursday....
I brought it back in and gonna stick it out there again tonite......so we'll see if it ever gets mailed! A cut back must be in place in my area but never saw it in the local news, hmmm....
 
There's been rumors about that our postal services in my neck of the woods won't make it till June. Not sure what will happen if they shut down.
 
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