03 October 2013 (13:06 UTC-07 Tango)/28 Dhu ‘l-Qa’da 1434/11 Mehr 1391/29 Ren-Xu (8th month) 4711
“Shelter in place!”-order issued by DC Capitol Police
Gee, when aren’t there gunshots ringing out in Washington DC? So why the martial law prison style lockdown?
So far no info on casualties. News reports interviewed people locked down in their workplaces. Gunshots reported by Hart Senate office building.
The following statements are from John Boehner’s interview with the Wall Street Journal:
“My problem is not with our 89 freshmen, my problem is with a few senior members who—they always want more. They always want more than what you can produce….[Nancy Pelosi] went through the same problem with her side.”
“We got 435 members. It’s just a slice of America, it really is. We got some of the smartest people in the country who serve here, and some of the dumbest. We got some of the best people you’d ever meet, and some of the raunchiest. We’ve got ’em all.“
“I told them they have ocular rectitis. That’s when your eyes get confused with your butt, and it develops into (an unnecessarily fecal) outlook on life.”
When asked what was behind political scandals, money or sex, Boehner replied: “Rarely is money an issue.”
“If you don’t like what the postal service has put forward (to cut costs) by closing processing facilities and post offices and eliminating jobs, then come up with a better approach. It’s a challenge we need to accept, and this agreement with the postal service gives us that opportunity.”-Richard Durbin, U.S. Senator for Illinois
The U.S. Congress and the Postal Service has reached an agreement, that will delay closing of hundreds of processing centers and thousands of post offices. Instead of starting that shut down in March, the USPS will wait until May.
This is because members of Congress promise they will return to negotiations regarding how to make cuts, and minimize the effects on postal employees and the economy. Back in November Congress indicated they were shelving any discussions about the Postal Service until after elections in November 2012. However that’s far later than the December 16 default date set by President Barack Obama. I suppose members of Congress got an earful, about the draconian cuts looming for the USPS, from their constituents.
The Postal Service operates on money that comes from you and me buying postal products, not taxes!
“It feels like Helena and Cosby are caught in the cross hairs. There is a big battle going on and we are the ones that are going to suffer.”-Marianne Price, Montana resident who relies on the U.S. Postal Service
Recently, the President of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Fred Rolando, said certain actions by Congress, or lack of action, could put the USPS into a “…death spiral…”.
A CNN Money report says political analysts have reason to believe the U.S. Congress will not consider any more bills to save the U.S. Postal Service, until after the 2012 elections. That guarantees the USPS will default.
The U.S. Postal Service, which does not use taxpayer money to operate, employes 557,000 people directly. Several companies, like FedEx, also provide service under contract. South eastern Idaho postal workers told me that if the USPS defaults, at least 200,000 postal workers will immediately lose their jobs! It will also mean cut backs for those contractors working for the Postal Service.
The USPS is actually a contractor itself. Under President Richard Nixon today’s Postal Service was created (it was the Postal Department before then). The Postal Service operates on money that comes from you and me buying postal products (not taxes). Under President Ronald Reagan stamps were added to the list of products the Postal Service could make money from (before that the government got the money from stamp sales). The only tax money used for postal services are for mail for the blind, for mail in election ballots sent from U.S. citizens living overseas, and, for providing address information to state and local child support enforcement agencies.
For reasons not publicly known, some elected officials, and the main stream media, are misleading the public into thinking that cuts to the USPS would save taxpayer money. It won’t!
A Cornell University professor says the U.S. Congress is fully to blame (as I’ve stated in past postings): “A lot of these decisions are fundamental business decisions about quality and frequency of service, and they should be in the hands of the executives running the Postal Service. But Congress won’t let them do that!”-Richard Geddes, Cornell University associate professor
While many officials blame the Postal Service management and the unions, the fact is that USPS management and unions have been working together to make drastic cuts. Their latest agreement could cut $20 billion in postal worker health care benefits, but Congress has to sign off on it.
Just a couple of weeks ago, President Barack Obama extended the deadline for default by the U.S. Postal Service. The new deadline is December 16. If the CNN Money sources are right, then bye bye USPS (unless Obama just keeps extending the deadline)!
“The Postal Service still seems to hold the misguided belief that accounting gimmicks and an increased reliance on taxpayer support will give it flexibility to push back insolvency for a few more years.”-Darrel Issa, Republican Representative from California
California Republican Darrel Issa has just revealed himself to be a liar or an idiot!
First off: Postal officials have been straight forward with their financial mess. And most of that mess has been caused by Congress!!! Read my September posting of the PBS interview with the Postmaster General, and the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers union.
Secondly: The United States Postal Service does not make money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge (prices are controlled by U.S. Congress, not the USPS), and other products they sell. The cuts being made to the USPS will have no affect on U.S. government debt!!!
Darrel Issa is a California Republican, yet he doesn’t know that two other California Republicans pushed for the USPS to become self supporting? Yeah, those guys were Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan!!!
In 1970, under Nixon the Postal Reorganization Act was passed and signed into law. This act ceased tax payer funding for the USPS (prior to the Reorganization Act it was known as the Postal Department), and forced it to become self supporting (although it does not have to make a profit).
In 1982, under Reagan, another act was passed and signed that added U.S. postage stamps to the “postal products” that the USPS could support itself with (until then the Government took all the money from sales of stamps).
Perhaps Darrel Issa is talking about the “Postal Service Fund”? This is a fund set up by Congress, paid for with taxes, to cover the postage free mailing for all legally blind persons, and for mail in election ballots sent from U.S. citizens living overseas, and, for providing address information to state and local child support enforcement agencies. It does not cover any other operations of the USPS!
Perhaps Darrel Issa wants to end the free mailings for blind people, for absentee election ballots, and for providing addresses to state and local child support agencies?
Whatever the reason, this is a clear case of politicians, and the media, of being incompetent, or intentionally misleading the general public.
“Both bills have elements that delay tough decisions and impose greater constraints on our business model.”-Patrick Donahoe, Postmaster General of the United States
The Postmaster General was referring to bills proposed by the U.S. Congress. He’s still pushing for the more drastic changes he wants, like ended Saturday deliveries, and laying off more employees than proposed by the Congressional bills.
The biggest postal union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, says it’s close to a cost cutting deal with the Postmaster General.
The USPS is dealing with a 20% drop in letter business, just for this year. Also, Congress created rules that forced the self supporting USPS to pay into Federal retirement programs. The payments stolen by Congress, I mean, paid in advance, amounted to a decade’s worth of retirement fund payments. So far Congress has refused to refund the over payments, although their proposed bills would give some money back, but only for use to buy out thousands of Postal workers.
When Postmaster General Donahoe talks about a “business model” he’s referring to the fact that in the 1980s Congress forced the USPS to become self supporting, meaning no more tax payer support. The plan meant for the USPS to operate as a private business, so far Congress has actually interfered with that.
Whether Congress gets its way, or the Postmaster General, the result will be thousands more people unemployed.
The United States Postal Service does not make money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge (prices are controlled by U.S. Congress, not the USPS), and other products they sell. The cuts being made to the USPS will have no affect on U.S. government debt!
On November 2 the U.S. Senate presented a plan to “save” the USPS.
That plan would pay back U.S.$7 billion of the funds Congress stole, I mean, that Congress forced the USPS to overpay in retirement funds. However, the $7 billion is to be used to buy out employees (a nice way of laying people off, as many as 100,000 employees will lose their jobs in the buy out). It would also require a two year study before ending Saturday deliveries. The draconian retirement fund payment schedule would be ended as well (it’s the main reason the USPS is in financial trouble).
Then on November 7, the U.S. Postmaster General announced that he will officially present plans to “save” the USPS on November 21!
His plan will include laying off thousands of workers, closing offices and sorting facilities, and ending Saturday deliveries. He’ll make his official announcement at the November 21, National Press Club Speakers luncheon in Washington DC.
Local Idaho postal workers told me what ever plan is official announced that it’s basically a sham, what’s going down with the USPS is a “done deal”.
I stated in earlier postings that the U.S. Congress is behind the USPS crisis! Now postal workers, risking job loss, are protesting the actions of Congress in destroying the Postal Service.
Recently, PBS Newshour’s interviewed U.S. postmaster general, Patrick Donahoe, and Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. They both pointed out that the U.S. Congress is holding back on money earned by the USPS, and that was a primary reason the Postal Service is in trouble.
Also, U.S. Congressman, and the main stream media, continue the false notion that the USPS gets money from taxpayers, and therefore cutting the USPS would help the government’s budget cuts. Many citizens still believe that the USPS is paid by tax money!
The United States Postal Service does not make money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge (prices are controlled by U.S. Congress, not the USPS), and other products they sell. The cuts being made to the USPS will have no affect on U.S. government debt!
Now members of all five unions representing postal workers will go on strike, violating their contracts (to be safe the postal unions are not calling them strikes, they’re calling them “rallies”). Why violate their contracts? Why not? It’s become obvious that the U.S. Congress wants to shut them down anyway!
Congress is demanding that USPS make another $5.5 billion in payments to Congress (supposedly to meet required Federal benefits). But this is what’s causing the problems. Last year Congress overcharged the USPS, then refused to give a refund!
One union official says the U.S. Congress has actually overcharged the USPS to the equivalent of 75 years worth of Federal retirement plan contributions. This leads me to believe the Congress is using the non-taxpayer Postal Service funds to pay for running a broke government!
The United States Postal Service does not make money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge. The U.S. Congress controls what the USPS can charge, and, according to testimonies by the U.S. postmaster general, Patrick Donahoe, and Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, the U.S. Congress has forced the USPS to over pay into several federal funds.
Remember, the money made by the USPS does not come from taxes, and yet they’re being forced to over pay into federal funds.
Postmaster Donahoe has asked Congress to refund the over payments and they refused! Congress is also refusing to allow the USPS access to it’s own money in the other funds. Why? Can it be that the U.S. Congress is using the non taxpayer Postal funds to pay for the day to day operations of the Congress? Afterall, the U.S. government is broke, and they sure haven’t had any problems stealing from the taxpayer funded Social Security accounts!!!
September 6, PBS Newshour’s Gwen Ifill interviewed U.S. postmaster general, Patrick Donahoe, and Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. They both pointed out that the U.S. Congress is holding back on money earned by the USPS, and that was a primary reason the Postal Service is in trouble.
FREDRIC ROLANDO: “I’m here to tell you that the Postal Service is not broke. The Postal Service just needs access to its own money. And Congress needs to get busy and give them that access.”
“The $20 billion-plus dollars that you read about in losses is nothing more than a congressional mandate that requires the Postal Service, required the Postal Service to take all of their cash and put it into a pre-funding account.”
“The Postal Service actually has somewhere between $50 billion and $125 billion in their other funds that is not taxpayer money. They haven’t used a dime of taxpayer money in over 30 years! And the Congress just needs to act responsibly and quickly to give them access to that — those funds.”
PATRICK DONAHOE: “Fred is exactly right around the issues that we have faced in the last few years.”
“In that same time, we have been required [by Congress] to prepay employee retirement funding.”
GWEN IFILL: “What does Congress have to do with that? When you say that Congress needs to make changes to get you access to this cash, what can Congress do?”
PATRICK DONAHOE: “There are two proposals on the table, the one Fred referred to, where we would get money back. The other proposal is the Postal Service taking over our own retirement system, operate it just like a private business. And we would no longer need that pre-funding.”
“…we have overpaid [forced by Congress] into our other retirement fund $6.9 billion. We want all that money back right now.”
FREDRIC ROLANDO: “What Congress needs to do is give the Postal Service access to, like I said, between $50 billion and $125 billion…”
“There’s $50 billion to $75 billion in surplus pension funds. There’s about $42 billion in the future retiree health benefit funds, again, all postal funds, no taxpayer money involved.”
“…this is just cash money that the Postal Service needs access to. We’re not looking to in any way diminish what needs to be done for future pensions or future retirees. It’s just that you don’t have to do 75 years worth of pre-funding in a 10-year period. You could re-amortize what needs to be done.”
“…because any business wouldn’t put $20 billion of cash into future pre-funding, nor would they leave $50 billion to $75 billion of pension surplus in that account, when they’re going through the transition that the Postal Service is going through right now.”
“If Congress doesn’t act, the postal industry, about nine million jobs are in danger…”
PATRICK DONAHOE: “We will be out of cash next August. That’s the issue.”
The United States Postal Service does not make money off taxpayers, they are solely funded by the postage they charge (prices are controlled by Congress, not the USPS), and other products they sell. The cuts being made to the USPS will have no affect on U.S. government debt.