Post office had $329 million loss in first quarter

[Playinghardball]

Source: The Associated Press

The reason? A requirement to make advance health care cost payments

WASHINGTON — The post office continues to lose money at a rapid pace thanks to a requirement that it make advance payments to cover expected health care costs for future retirees.

The agency said Wednesday it had a loss of $329 million for the first quarter of the fiscal year — Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2010.

That was up from a $297 million loss in the same period the year before, which ended with a total loss of $8.5 billion.

Without the requirement for advance health care payments, the post office would have had a net profit of $226 million for the quarter, the agency announced.

Read more at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41491943/ns/business/from/toolbar?GT1=43001

[Wilms]

1. "advance health care cost payments "?

More like ransom to the insurance companies.

Single-payer is what the civilized nations of the world do.

[SoCalDem]

2. The problem the post office has is that they have too many former employees stilll alive & kicking

and our government threw the post office under the bus..and of course bazillions of people now use computers to do stuff they used to use the post office to do. Our poor mailman is little more than a conduit between junk mail people and neighborhood trashcans.


UPS, FedEx et al stepped in & made shipping boxes easy & cheap and then put Mailboxes etc places all over the place. People are willing to pay a bit extra to NOT have to go to the post office.

Sadly, the post office is a relic from a time that has passed, but there are still employees who gave up raises for decades so they could have a decent pension..; should they all be "eliminated" so things are "easier" for congress?

Long term planning is something we do not do in this country.. we use OMG PANIC BUTTON planning..:(

[LisaM]

5. Except it's not a LITTLE extra for FedEx and UPS.

It's a LOT more. I mailed all my Christmas packages, to all over the country, for about sixty dollars. They all got there in three days.

I absolutely do not want to lose the services of the Post Office. I can get a letter to someone in this country in three days for less than 50 cents. I've never had the P.O. lose anything. This is something I strongly want my tax dollars to support.

FedEx and UPS are way, way more.

[SoCalDem]

9. I agree with you, but many people barely use the PO anymore

and if enough republicans are among them, I don't hold out much hope for the PO.:(

Our rail service was pretty good until the govt said it had to "make money"..and look at how far behind we are now..

same for the PO.

[damntexdem]

3. No, the USPS needed $329 million more in subsidy from the Treasury . . .

to cover its important services to the nation.

[DavidDvorkin]

4. Peanuts compared to the DOD quarterly loss.

[Obamanaut]

7. Well then, since it is only a couple hundred million per quarter we're

dealing with, peanuts, we taxpayers should indeed be willing to shoulder this 'minor' bowl of peanuts.

:sarcasm:

[leftstreet]

6. unRec for an anti working class article

Not you, the article


:puke:

That 'loss' is based on lack of funding

[Obamanaut]

8. Do you mean anti the working class that is paying this quarterly loss

via taxes that could be going elsewhere?

[Wilms]

10. The money should go elsewhere...like into healthcare...not insurance.

But once the campaign lecterns were folded the public speeches about single-payer ended, and the back-room conversations began about guaranteeing "entitlements" to insurance company execs.

Ain't that right, Rahm?

[Old Troop]

11. I think they should keep looking for it. Maybe they put it under some

papers or something.

[Vinca]

12. Another problem single-payer would solve.

[msongs]

13. USPS needs to raise the rates of the trash it delivers dirt cheap...all that advertising junk nt

[PBS Poll-435]

14. I don't remember their stated purpose was to turn a profit

:shrug:

Who knows.

[Dawson Leery]

15. The United States Post Office is a valuable service.

It is worth the subsidy (not being a private for profit corporation) as it costs much less to use the post office than UPS of even worse, FedEx.