http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2013/02/06/postal-service-to-stop-delivering-on-saturdays Comments On: Postal Service to Stop Delivering on Saturdays by Paul Constant en-us Copyright 2013 Portland Mercury. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Portland Mercury readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Portland Mercury. webmaster@portlandmercury.com (Portland Mercury Webmaster) Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by Drunk & Write]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:58:07 -0800 Portland Mercury Posted by Graham]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:02:37 -0800 Portland Mercury
There’s no feasible way to fund an organization like this, regardless of if it is a for-profit or public government agency. It’s simply impossible in the long term to have massive unfunded liabilities unless you expect a massive surge in financial growth.

An analogy to this would be if you had to pay for your family’s retirement: not just your parents, but your aunts and uncles who failed to properly invest their money. Imagine if up to 30% of your paycheck was taken away, and yet you still had to pay for your own housing, transportation, food and other expenses. You would then create a system where it would be impossible for you, as an individual, to invest your own money and secure your own future, since all of your surplus cash would be allocated to your family. Your only hope would be to come across a huge amount of cash, somewhere down the road, but that’s only a wish, not a plan. Take this example and apply it to an organization: 30% of their revenue going to pay for retired people, which means their overall profits are significantly reduced, which means that investments into innovation (R&D) are reduced, and in the end, the organization suffers significant losses, eventually causing a collapse because they’re paying too much to people who do not contribute.

Publically funded retirement is a poison to healthy economics. The best way to retire is to make long term diversified investments, the bad way to retire is to count upon the Federal Government or another organization cutting you a paycheck. We need to stop eating this poison and tell public agencies and unions the truth: you need to take care of your investment and retirement portfolio yourself. If we keep guaranteeing retirements, eventually services will be impossible to fund (this is happening now! Look around!).

I’m all for keeping the post office around, I think they’re actually the most worthwhile service our government offers, and I think we should expand their services. However, there are fundamental changes that could be made: for example, how about we fire people after they’ve worked at the post office for 10 years? Why do we keep this stupid idea that people can work at the post office – the damn near laziest job out there in government – and after 20 years of work they can expect a 20-year retirement? Have you seen the people working the counters at the post office? Fire them, and hire energetic young people. Make it a revolving door, not a pension plan. Don’t let any future employees retire from the post office unless they’re the best-of-the-best.
Posted by fidelity_axiom]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 11:36:03 -0800 Portland Mercury
Want to know why the city's budget is perpetually in crisis, look at the police and fire pensions that we pay directly out of current tax dollars because no money was set aside over the years that these promises were being made. (That and Urban Renewal - my personal baileywick.)

I can't speak to how it was implemented here, and I support the USPS. But the idea that it is some terrible Tea Party idea to actually set money aside for the pensions and health obligations your making is false.
Posted by Blabby]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:59:08 -0800 Portland Mercury
6-day a week paper mail service in the age of the internet is simply unnecessary. If I'm running things, parcels get delivered 2-3 days a week and paper gets delivered once, twice tops. The whole thing is just a ludicrous waste of resources to immediately provide materials that nearly always aren't time-sensitive.
Posted by Commenty Colin]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:49:03 -0800 Portland Mercury Posted by Aestro]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:46:37 -0800 Portland Mercury