Author Archives: Robert R. Schrum
A Bailout in the Mail?
Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch
The U.S. Postal Service has announced that it would raise stamp prices by a penny, to 45 cents, in January 2012.
USPS is in dire need of cash. It lost approximately $5 billion in FY 2011 — [Read More...]
Post Office Must Change to Survive
Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram
This month, the U.S. Postal Service will raise prices for many of its products and services. The agency also just proposed rules that would make it easier to close excess post offices.
Both measures are meant [Read More...]
U.S. Postal Service’s Chronic Woes
Philadelphia Daily News
The Postal Service recently announced it would seek to raise stamp prices to 46 cents in 2011. The agency claims the 4.5-percent rate hike is necessary to help cover the nearly quarter-trillion-dollar shortfall it faces over the [Read More...]
Deliver Us from the Mail: Aggressive Cost Cutting Can Pave the Way Toward Privatization
USA Today
Last Tuesday, Postmaster General John Potter outlined a rescue plan for the U.S. Postal Service, which is predicted to lose $238 billion over the next decade. “The crisis we’re facing gives us an historic opportunity to make changes [Read More...]
Can Public Sector Deliver Post Office from Fiscal Ruin?
Issue Brief
The U.S. Postal Service just closed the books on its third consecutive annual loss. Postmaster General John Potter recently stated that USPS is “facing a significant gap going forward of $5 billion.” That follows losses of $5.3 billion [Read More...]
Postal Service fails to deliver for consumers
Article published in The Norfolk (VA) Virginian-Pilot
IF YOUR wallet is feeling lighter these days, don’t look to the Postal Service for sympathy.
Despite the economic meltdown, stamp prices are rising to 44 cents on May 11. The Postal Service [Read More...]
Deals with mass-mailers, labor unions hurt customers
Article published in the Buffalo News
On Monday, the price of a first-class stamp will rise by a penny. With gas now costing nearly four bucks a gallon, a 42-cent stamp may not sound like much. But while stamp prices [Read More...]
Contractors Are an Antidote to Postal Service’s Billion-Dollar Losses
Article published in the Louisville Courier-Journal
Last year, the U.S. Postal Service lost $5 billion. It’s on track to lose at least another billion this year. The agency is trying to straighten out its balance sheet, but some federal lawmakers [Read More...]
Postal Inspector General Delivers Valuable Results
Issue Brief
Postmaster General John E. Potter has been vigilant with cost control throughout his tenure as leader of the United States Postal Service, and he has earned a reputation for being good at it. One of his most valuable [Read More...]
You’ve Been Pre-Approved for More Junk Mail!
Article Published in the Buffalo News
Is your mailbox flooded with “preapproved” credit card offers? You ain’t seen nothing yet.
The U.S. Postal Service just decided to grant Bank of America a new discount on the letters it sends. The [Read More...]