Congress goes postal….

[JoB]

katman..

LOL.. take all the time you need.

i have seen topics resurrected here a year or more later ;->

i should point out that i agree with you that there is little excuse for poor management…

but singling out one organization for what has become a cultural norm bothers me.

what is that program.. Office ? that makes a joke out of poor management?

That joke is only possible because it carries to extremes what people encounter every day in their own corporate environment.

And before i get jumped on by others..

I do know there are exceptions.

I could name a few of them myself…

and yet.. i do see people who work in those houses laughing just at hard at the comedic moments of that show as everyone else …

so they must resonate there too.

i apologize for not remembering the name of that program. It’s not my kind of humor .. too painful for me.. so i tend to go find a book or a home improvement program when hubby goes for it.

but then, i am the woman at the table who smiles while all the cultural references her nerd hubby, kids and grandkids fling fly over her head

sigh ;~0

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[kootchman]

well so far… redblack wants to spend 25 billion a year so the Mennonites can get first classs mail, and JoB saves two hours. Compelling. Very compelling. I am sure there were disappointed old grannys when that ole cowboy stopped delivering the mail. But redblack says things like ” sole reason they are not viable is the have to pay their pensions on time.. ok redblack that covers 51/2 billion… they are losing over 4 billion per quarter… so they need to raise 11 billion more… raise those letter prices to about $3.00 or more. Sorry granny.. sorry ya don’t like internet… but that’s where it’s at.

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[miws]

Them’s fightin’ words, Mister!

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[kootchman]

Query: Did they cut off the Pony Express before the train came through?

Yes… they did. The telegraph wire.

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[JoB]

kootch…

After my purse was stolen, i spent a morning getting my license replaced.

i received my permanent picture ID through the US mail… which btw is how i received my passport.

i am feeling really good about our investment in the post office right now.

where would i be without those documents Kootch?

and that’s the point, isn’t it.

your campaign against the post office is simply one more way to deny those who have lost life’s lottery opportunity.

without the post office, you can’t receive your picture ID in the mail. Without your picture ID, you can’t open a bank account. Without a bank account you can’t have your checks direct deposited.

But.. large lending institutions can still give you access to your money via a debit card that limits the amount you can withdraw and that you pay a monthly fee for plus transaction fees..

or you can still cash your check for a 10% fee at the money lending store…

maybe even without a picture ID

because this is America

and Teapublicans believe that denying business the right to make money off your check before you receive it is un-American

and so are unions.

and any kind of public service

which makes the post office a very very bad place

kootch says so…

well kootch, today i tried to help someone pick up his check.

some clerk didn’t bother checking the pick up the check at the office box at data entry and it was sent to a non-existent roadside address.

they were so sorry… it will be available in 15 days if no-one else has cashed it.

And that person will get his next check by the end of the week at the correct postal address if someone else didn’t mess up..

and another the week after that if he can manage to keep his job without funds for bus fare..

The problem with relying on computerized input is that you are relying both on the data entry clerk who inputs your information

and the software engineer who designed the form.

and the idiot who decides when and how long you will have access to your information

oops!

you didn’t really need to prove someone screwed up, did you?

because you will need paper for that.

paper delivered by the US Postal Service

preferably certified

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[kootchman]

You do know that there are online banks… and those online banks issue debit cards? Not a single mess up in years. And I pay bills and receive transferred funds too. what a miracle. … ans the cool thing… is I don’t have to wait while the bank converts to US dollars or puts a hold on it… it’s spendable as soon as the transfer is complete in dollar denominate funds. No need to use a check cashing service at all… if ya need to send a lot of cash…. wire transfer. Freebie service…

http://www.ally.com, 1-877-247-ALLY

Minimum needed to open account: None

Monthly Fees: None

ATM Fees: None – fees charged by other banks are automatically reimbursed at end of the month

ING Direct

http://www.ingdirect.com, 1-800-ING-DIRECT

Minimum needed to open account: None

Monthly Fees: None

ATM Fees: Free at 43,000 Allpoint-affiliated ATMs, otherwise fees from the ATM-owning bank apply

Connexus Credit Union

http://www.connexuscu.org, 1-800-845-5025

Minimum needed to open account: None

Monthly Fees: None

ATM Fees: Reimbursement for up to $25 a month in ATM fees incurred

Interest Checking: Yes (called Xtraordinary Checking) with 2.0% APY up to $25,000, but with caveats

Online Savings: Regular savings accounts like Holiday Club, a kids account (Koala Youth Club), others with minimum balances

INSTANT confirmation… no wait for certified mail….

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[miws]

kootch, would you care to address JoB’s points about getting her ID in the mail, and about folks not being able to get a bank account for direct deposit without picture ID?

Mike

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[JoB]

miws..

no, he wouldn’t.

and he wouldn’t like to address the fact that on-line banking isn’t very effective when you don’t have internet access either…

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[kootchman]

See those online banks? No picture needed… just a SS number … or federal tax number. Se the word o-n-l-i-n-e? Oh god job.. every public library, seniro citizen center, church, school, has access… and for an ID you would spend 25-30 billion? That’s a good use of federal dollars. You could use any license bureau or private mailbox company if you just had to have paper copy. “Hold for pickup” is a very common term.

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[miws]

Must be wonderful in the world of kootch, where everything is so god. damn. simple!

Everything anyone needs is there, and there are absolutely no barriers to access!

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[DBP]

>>You could use any license bureau or private mailbox company if you just had to have paper copy.

OK, so the way things are now, this nice lady comes by my house every day and puts the mail in my mailbox, right outside my door. But with the NEW! IMPROVED! kootchman plan, all I’d have to do to get my mail is get in the car and go a mile down the road to the private ($$$) mailbox company.

Thanks for bright idea, kootch. I promise you we’ll give it all the consideration it deserves.

At this time I also need to remind you that we have a process for submitting suggestions here on the Blog. In the future, please don’t forget to use the official suggestion box.

   

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[miws]

But you don’t matter, DPB!

Corporations are the only people that matter!

Human people don’t matter!

Human people aren’t people!

Human people have no rights!

Except when it comes to GUNS!

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[JanS]

sadly, there are always exceptions. Senior citizens are not just 65 or 70 years old. They are my parents…87 and 88, in failing health, failing eyesight, and have absolutely no internet smarts. Mom is 80% blind, dad blind in one eye, and his comprehension skills are lacking these days. They may live into their 90’s, but…they do not utilize their computer much. While on-l-i-n-e may come easily for Kman, it does not come easily for many seniors out there. There is no perfect system. And..internet connections are not free..not everyone can afford the fast connections. Oh, yeah…you will then throw out dialup…or public computers. Seriously? Not everyone falls into your “everyone” can do it categories. Sorry. Fail !

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[miws]

You realize all of that, Jan, I do too, as well as probably most everyone here, including kootch.

Difference is, he doesn’t give a rat’s.

Mike

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[DBP]

Let’s say kootch is right and we could save $30 billion a year if we dumped the Post Office. (That’s a very optimistic savings projection, of course, and doesn’t account for the social costs of the hundreds of thousands of workers who would be thrown out of work by this.)

Anyway, if you do the math, it works out to a savings of $100 per American per year. ($30 billion divided by 300 million Americans = $100)

Well I just got off the phone with a guy named Barry at Mailbox West (6521 California). One year rental for a small mailbox (6″ x 6″) there is . . .

. . . wait for it . . .

          $180

OK. So we’re only in the hole $80 on this deal so far.

But wait! That’s not counting the gas/busfare we have to spend getting to the mailbox store.

Or the extra time we have to take getting there.

Or the dollar bill we press into the hand of the unemployed postal worker sitting outside the mailbox store.

http://tinyurl.com/8k53pmm

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[kootchman]

The connections are free at those various places… now I am thinking… would not that 30 billion be better spent on something else? How many seniors there in their 90’s? …. well according to he census bureau….. above 85… is les than .005 per cent of the population. I am thinking that 30 billion or so could be put to better use… for them even! miws? how much you paying for your library connection? C’mon.. we are getting ridiculous here… it’s an obsolete system with a declining market share, that cannot meet operating costs. And as USPS readily admits the trend is going to continue. At what point do you say it’s another pork barrel program.. when we are down to 50 users and 500,000 federal employees? DPB gonna keep em all until when? The lose another 30% of their volume in a decade? And what will happen to prices if Barry has 50 competitors? My safety deposit box is free! I suppose if you never left your house DPB or your relationship with your neighbors is such they won’t give ya a lift… you might have a point. Never have to get out and run errands? I didn’t know things were that way for ya… that 300 million? 118 million are not of working age… better do a recalculation… and one household can share one box.

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[DBP]

I’d be ok with 3/x per week delivery.

I’d be ok with 10-day turnaround on first-class service.

I’d be ok with raising the price of 1st class.

OK with freezing pensions.

Raising pension contributions.

Freezing pay.

Not OK with just killing it off.

 

I got my first ACME product in mail, dude!

 

Got my first love letter . . . way back when.

 

 

 

Didn’t you ever get a love letter?

 

 

(Would you like one?)

 

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[miws]

Well, kootch, although I may be a (temporary) leach on society by not being in permanent housing at this time, I did, for 30 years, contribute to fund the library, whether directly through the property taxes I paid as a homeowner, or indirectly through the rent I paid at apartments, I think I have perhaps earned a little bit of library usage.

Especially considering I rarely used the library system during most of those years.

Mike

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[katman]

kootch I’ve never seen a Safety Deposit Box at Mailbox West or at a US Post Office. Has anyone else??

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[JoB]

kootch..

“Hold for pickup”

funny.. that’s what my friend thought was supposed to happen to his check

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[JoB]

kootch

“it’s an obsolete system with a declining market share,”

market share…

the market, that’s what everything comes down to for you, isn’t it?

if the declining market share you relate is a reality kootch

why would any private business want to take on that market?

the cost of an overnight letter on private carriers is kept competitive by the USPS.

How much are you willing to pay to have something delivered cross country in 2 or 3 days? $20? $30? $50?

the sky is literally the limit

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[JoB]

katman..

well nooooo…

but don’t expect a little reality check to slow this bus down

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[kootchman]

The point was miws… not that you are a leech… I am delighted you are connected and while circumstances were tough… you did have free access and your social network was kept intact, if not expanded. That is my point. I am glad the library is there for public use and all of us have access to online services at no charge.

I have one at the bank… comes with the program dude. And should the post office die off …. there is no shortage of alternate box locations… being the point. Safeway? Rite Aid?, anyone who wants to run an independent postal franchise… and provide mailbox service… heck even fits with the Starbucks business model… it gets foot traffic in… I am betting a PO Box that gets you Rite Aid 2X, 3X a week would be mighty cheap. Cheaper. The USPS is in decline… has been … and will continue to be. Those are the facts.

Yea JoB.. it is all about market share.. the consumer HAS voted.. they aren’t using the damn system enough so that it can support itself. That’s why we had the national helium gas reserve in Colorado … 100 years after the barrage balloons were inflated over the trenches of WW1… I bet you would have kept them for another 100 years…. I mean… who’s paying the taxes for them? want more money for schools? I know where there is 20-30 billion… if you were a USPS worker and weren’t going to night school the last 5 years… or expanding into a new trade…. you can’t sit still in a dynamic world… changes come.

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[kootchman]

No it is not… kept more competitive. A company whose labor overhead is 80 per cent of its cost structure? Remember… FedEx and UPS are prohibited by law from charging lower rates than USPS.

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[Genesee Hill]

kootch…your statement in post 74 is absolute nonsense. I guess you just make stuff up to fill your BS posts. Post 74 by kootch is total BS.

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