POSTAL SERVICE DEFICIT PREDICTED TO BE $238 BILLION OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS-ANOTHER GOVERNMENT MANAGED BUSINESS MANAGED INTO THE GROUND!

Let me see, if I had the monopoly on first class mail, and had a business which had revenues of $70 billion, I would definitely make at least $1 a year profit, instead of the projected $238 BILLION losses projected over the next 10 years by that lumbering giant, the US POSTAL SERVICE!

No rational, normal operating business could operate under a business model that projected to lose $238 BILLION over the next 10 years, except one that was managed by the ineptitude and cloak of our government. This is just normal. This loss has to come out of somewhere...why not look at the operations themselves first.

Nothing but nothing has been done by the USPS to reduce the monstrous employee costs which in the last quarter equaled a staggering 81% of revenues! No business could survive any such operational costs. Yet this entity continues to increase these costs, year after year. Nothing was done to change the compensation programs, for instance for new hires to start say at $12 an hour for new hires and to have a limited pension program at least for the new hires.

The retirement costs alone are almost $6 billion annually FOREVER!

The USPS is on an unsustainable business model, without changing the employee compensation costs, and raising the postage rates. But, raising the rates is the ONLY consideration at this time, so the problem is never being solved, just delayed.

For instance, cutting the new hire rates, cutting back 20% on existing compensation and raising the first class rates to a self sustaining 50 cents for the first ounce, would not only balance the USPS budget, but would provide for a surplus to start paying off its massive debt.

Come on, 50 cents to mail a letter anywhere in the 50 states is CHEAP!

Better yet, selling the entire USPS business, or transforming it into a publicly traded corporation though an IPO, would be another way to go, which would cost the taxpayers NOTHING!

If you want to mail a letter, you will pay the price, otherwise do something else. The future is clearly going to provide for less and less letters, as other forms take precedence. For instance, due to the sometimes unpredictable delivery or non delivery of mail, especially in the large cities, I do not want to take a chance on sending a payment by check in the mail when I can simply pay my bills on line for safety, security and NO POSTAGE EXPENSE.

Have you ever tried to find a lost item through the post office? This aggravation is just not worth it. Customer service...??? What's that????

It's a new era, the post office has had its time and now it must adapt or lose.

Do we really need a post office building in every town? In many town it would be a great PR move for a business like a supermarket to have a POST OFFICE there.

Is it really necessary to have delivery right to your home? How about Saturday, can we really not wait to get a bill till Monday?

How about a $1 stamp for home delivery and 50 cents for pick up at a post office box?

Every service must be provided at the cost it takes to deliver that service, not below..that is called the right business model.

There are many other means to accomplish the mail delivery and at a cost that does not burden the taxpayer, but is a direct cost to the user.