Private enterprise to the rescue?

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The Internet, as everyone knows, has devastated the U.S. Postal Service. But what if the same forces could be harnessed to resuscitate the money-losing federal agency?


That’s what U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donohue is hoping today as he unveiled a deal to provide Sunday package delivery for Amazon.com.


Government mail carriers will begin delivering Amazon boxes this week in Los Angeles and New York, as the Los Angeles Times reported, and the service will expand next year to Dallas, New Orleans, Phoenix, and other cities.


More than anything, the agreement suggests that there is a future in the digital age for the 238-year-old agency, which lost $15.9 billion last year largely because of the disappearance of first-class mail and the law requiring it to pre-fund health care for its retirees.


The USPS lost 21 percent of its volume between 2008 and 2012, making any viable future seem far from evident.




Good idea, or not?

Discuss...







http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-11/amazon-puts-mail-carriers-to-work-on-sundays
 
You want me said:
The Internet, as everyone knows, has devastated the U.S. Postal Service. But what if the same forces could be harnessed to resuscitate the money-losing federal agency?


That’s what U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donohue is hoping today as he unveiled a deal to provide Sunday package delivery for Amazon.com.


Government mail carriers will begin delivering Amazon boxes this week in Los Angeles and New York, as the Los Angeles Times reported, and the service will expand next year to Dallas, New Orleans, Phoenix, and other cities.


More than anything, the agreement suggests that there is a future in the digital age for the 238-year-old agency, which lost $15.9 billion last year largely because of the disappearance of first-class mail and the law requiring it to pre-fund health care for its retirees.


The USPS lost 21 percent of its volume between 2008 and 2012, making any viable future seem far from evident.




Good idea, or not?

Discuss...


http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-11/amazon-puts-mail-carriers-to-work-on-sundays
Click to expand...

Any "market based" solution is a good idea. However, let's not forget that another reason the USPS has lost market share is that UPS and FedEx deliver a better service at competitive prices which has significantly eroded USPS revenue.

The USPS is notorious for losing packages and denying claims. I have experienced both. I won't ship important documents or goods using the USPS.
 
If it remains a govt agency, I dont think it can compete. Too many restrictions, too rigid. True private corps like Fed Ex and UPS have more flexibility.

The US Postal Service is a giant bureaucracy, replete with dead weight and incompetence. (You'll find that anywhere but in a fed bureaucracy it's practically impossible to get rid of them.)


And why would you ban people from the one, exceedingly rare, possibly constructive thread that you started?
 
Lorca said:
And why would you ban people from the one, exceedingly rare, possibly constructive thread that you started?
Click to expand...

Perhaps because they are dimwitted thread trolls and topic hijackers that seldom add anything intelligent to any discussion?
 
Lorca said:
If it remains a govt agency, I dont think it can compete. Too many restrictions, too rigid. True private corps like Fed Ex and UPS have more flexibility. The US Postal Service is a giant bureaucracy, replete with dead weight and incompetence. (You'll find that anywhere but in a fed bureaucracy it's practically impossible to get rid of them.)
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should read the article referenced in the OP.

It's not a question of "competing", it's a question of a cooperative agreement between private enterprise and the USPS which may benefit both.

Hope that helps.
 
You want me said:
Perhaps you should read the article referenced in the OP.

It's not a question of "competing", it's a question of a cooperative agreement between private enterprise and the USPS which may benefit both.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

???? If it's not competitive why would they continue it? It would be a failure. Are we not discussing business?
 
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