You referring to Nixon thinking the National Guard could deliver mail (which failed miserably lol)
We're thankful Nixon did what he did. Before the Postal Reform act every single postal worker in the country qualified for welfare, literally.
And the last big hiring blitz USPS did was about thirty years ago, those carriers are indeed starting to retire. That's also a cause for issues, lots of new carriers learning from old apathetic carriers. Not good. And stupidvisors...yeah they don't give a shit and are a huge problem.
Me personally: I do my best. I bring packages to the door and I bring the damn mail with it as a courtesy. I ring the bell, I knock. No answer I put the package somewhere I think is safe and will be obvious. I leave a 3849 form in the box explaining where. If its not safe, I don't deliver.
And to be fair I don't plan on working for USPS forever. It's just becomes irksome when people think that the financial issues USPS has had are all of it's own making. Almost as irritating as people believing they can tell me what to do because they pay taxes and mistakenly believe they pay my wages
Ah! Almost agree until yer last line. Nah, I can't tell you what to do but I can demand that you do what you're supposed to do, correctly. Why? Because ultimately, as a civil servant (surprising how many carriers don't know or claim this to be untrue)
I am your boss, as I mentioned elsewhere on this thread.
Let's not quibble about the definition of civil servant. As an "independent" but never-the-less BRANCH
of the government, the USPS is mostly staffed by civil servants.
Now, while as an independent agency the USPS receives no tax dollars for it's operations
it does receive subsidies,
from:
http://www.politifact.com/georgia/s...-union/postal-service-claim-not-fully-target/
"...Congress does give the Postal Service $100 million a year to compensate the agency for revenue loss by providing, at congressional direction, free mailing privileges to blind people and overseas voters, a congressional report noted. The $100 million is less than 1 percent of the Postal Service’s annual budget."
It's a gub'min agency:
Look, the USPS is an Agency!
from: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/consumerawareness/a/uspsabout.htm
The USPS is created as a
government agency under
Title 39, Section 101.1 of the
United States Code which states, in part:
(a) The
United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people.
No, the USPS is a Business!
the Postal Service takes on some several very non-governmental attributes via the powers granted to it under
Title 39, Section 401, which include:
- power to sue (and be sued) under its own name;
- power to adopt, amend and repeal its own regulations;
- power to "enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and necessity for, its expenditures";
- power to buy, sell and lease private property; and,
- power to build, operate, lease and maintain buildings and facilities.
All of which are typical functions and powers of a private business. However, unlike other private businesses, the Postal Service is exempt from
paying federal taxes. USPS can borrow
money at discounted rates, and can condemn and acquire private property under governmental rights of
eminent domain.
The USPS does get some taxpayer support. Around $96 million is budgeted annually by Congress for the "Postal Service Fund." These funds are used to compensate USPS for postage-free mailing for all legally blind persons and for
mail-in election ballots sent from US citizens living overseas. A portion of the funds also pays USPS for providing address information to state and local
child support enforcement agencies.
Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters. Despite this virtual monopoly worth some $45 billion a year, the law merely requires the Postal Service to remain "revenue-neutral," neither making a profit or suffering a loss.
------------------------
So, you're a civil servant but I'm not your boss even though your retirement fund is being held afloat by my tax dollars..
http://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/
Robert Shapiro—former Treasury undersecretary and chairman of the economic consultancy Sonecon—points out
in a new analysis, American taxpayers subsidize the USPS at a rate that surpasses the costs associated with any Congressional mandate. He estimates that, all told, the subsidies and legal monopolies that Congress bestows upon the post office is worth $18 billion annually.
...
L
aws that bar any other shipping service from delivering mail and packages directly to residential and business mailboxes.
Tax breaks. The Post Office is exempt from state and local property and real estate taxes, along with other burdens like tolls, vehicle registration fees, and parking tickets. These exemptions save the USPS $2.18 billion per year.
Cheap borrowing. The Postal Service, writes Shapiro, “can borrow from the U.S. Treasury through the Federal Financing Bank, at highly-subsidized interest rates.” It currently borrows the legal limit of $15.2 billion at a rate of 1.2%. Without this access, it would be paying somewhere between $415 million and $490 million per year more in interest.
See man? When us citizens get pissed at y'all losing our correspondence
and/or not delivering our vapemail on time, you're gonna have folks remind you that
USPS works for us even if they're "independent".
As a carrier you make 2 to 3 times as much as a guy working for a messenger service.
You get a pension (if you're lucky...), overtime, doubletime, medical insurance, sick days,
vacation time, and thanks to your union it's damn near impossible to lose your job unless you
steal stuff or beat hell out of your boss.
As an independent business (LOL...) stamps you sell are products
and your delivering the mail is a service. Since I buy stamps and receive your service
that makes me a customer.
The customer is always right...especially considering that in one way or the other
I pay for your over priced stamps and shitty service.
As your BOSS (ROFLMAO) I'm personally glad that you're responsible,
appreciative of your cool job, and that you do your best.
Regards,
Hazy
