What they should do is review the subsidization of Chinese companies shipping to U.S. customers, often at the expense of makers and merchants in the U.S.:<p><i>According to the terms set out in Universal Postal Union treaty, the USPS in 2014 gets paid no more than about $1.50 for delivering a one-pound package from a foreign carrier, which makes it hard to cover costs. [1] The USPS inspector general’s office estimated that the USPS lost $79 million in fiscal year 2013 delivering this foreign treaty mail. (The Postal Service itself declined to provide specific figures.)<p>In an effort to ride the e-commerce boom, the Postal Service signed a deal in 2010 with China’s state carrier to sell a special service for small packages entering the U.S. For a small premium, the USPS offered tracking and delivery confirmation, an essential feature for online retailers, as well as expedited shipping.<p>... In 2012, USPS was paid only 94 cents on average for each piece of Chinese ePacket mail, according to a February report from the Postal Service’s inspector general’s office. That report estimated that the Postal Service was losing about a dollar on each incoming item, adding up to a $29.4 million net loss in 2012.<p>Forums on eBay are filled with angry notes about ePacket. “I must say that it is simply an economic disaster for US Sellers,” one person wrote. “One product that we sell for 2.00 with 2.50 shipping a chinese company is selling for .99 with free shipping,” another complained. </i><p>Washington Post: USPS loses millions each year on local delivery of mail from abroad (2014) <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/09/12/the-postal-service-is-losing-millions-a-year-to-help-you-buy-cheap-stuff-from-china/" rel="nofollow">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/09/12/...</a><p>Discussion: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14651884" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14651884</a>
The package delivery business side of the USPS is a profitable venture. The USPS is in the state it is in not because of Amazon or last mile delivery that is doing for other businesses. The core problem is Congress and the requirement they put is the USPS that they prefund 75 years of pensions. A requirement placed on no other institutions in the US.
In the last week I've received packages shipped via DHL and via Fedex that used SmartPost, where the USPS actually delivers the package. I don't remember ever having a UPS-to-SmartPost shipment. If the USPS is cheaper than these global shippers for the last-mile deliver, it might be a sign that they're not charging enough. At least in my town, they also don't seem to be very efficient - two Saturdays ago I was working in the yard and the post office went by four times during a six hour period. I can understand that the package delivery might be a different than their normal service route but shouldn't the three package deliveries have been one vehicle on our street one time? UPS is a master of route efficiency.
Short term bump in the road for Amazon. They will not need USPS in the long run anyway:<p>- Build out own network (AMZL, Amazon Flex)<p>- Buy UPS/Fedex/etc<p>- Drone delivery<p>It is unfortunate that AMZN is taking the fall for whatever this executive order is actually trying to accomplish.
Amazon is going to rush in with its own delivery service, Amazon Flex: <a href="https://flex.amazon.com/" rel="nofollow">https://flex.amazon.com/</a>
This is one of those things where, even if it were an issue, shouldn’t there be about 4,321 better ways for the federal government (much less the president) to choose their focus?<p>And it’s not like he has to go far to find bigger problems. How about “ordering a review” on poverty and homelessness for instance?
The Postal service seems to be a stepping stone for Amazon. It appears that before human delivery people are replaced with drones, Jeff Bezos plans to replace postal employees with people at least contracted to Amazon.
Looking at the bigger picture here, US has always been the closest thing to the Free Market idea, but lately, the government has been taking some measures that go against this idea, this is one of them.
Dupe of <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16826446" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16826446</a>
Slimy hit piece at Trump. But it does raise some interesting points for discussion.<p>As a consumer, I love Amazon. The convenience and selection are incredible.<p>But jobs have clearly suffered. (This is a point often raised by those on the left side of the political aisle).<p>What's the right thing to do, regardless of who's president?
The whole "USPS is a in a fiscal hole" thing is part of the privatization playbook. It <i>is</i> in a hole, but it's a deliberately created hole:<p><a href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/10/the-right-wings-assault-on-the-post-office-smashing-the-myth-that-its-in-financial-trouble.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/10/the-right-wings-assa...</a><p>Note who owns the newspaper cheerleading for privatization:<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/09/28/should-the-postal-service-be-sold-to-save-it/" rel="nofollow">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/09/2...</a><p>I wonder if they have any ideas about potential buyers?
I wonder if he's trying to distract people from other news that makes him look bad.<p>Can anyone think of any news or investigations he'd want to distract people from?<p>If this attack doesn't work, he may start a war, which is guaranteed to distract.