Post Office Financial Update ... It's Getting Uglier by the Day

Government wastes taxpayers' money --- hundreds of billions of dollars each year --- needlessly.

The post office is a great and ongoing example of wasting money for mediocre or worse results, as are many of our too expensive and underperforming public sector K-12 schools and colleges.

This is the result when top-down government elitists monopolize any industry which would be equally or better served by allowing individuals free choice and encouraging private sector participants to compete with government on a level playing field.

All too often, public sector union leaders combine with government officials to lead the charge against acting in the best interests of individual taxpayers and "customers."

Postal Service Registers $5.2 Billion Loss has the breaking news:

"WASHINGTON—The U.S. Postal Service on Thursday reported a $5.2 billion loss for its fiscal third quarter, an indication that the agency's financial woes are deepening.

The loss for the quarter ended June 30 was 68% larger than the $3.1 billion loss reported for the same period a year earlier. First-class-mail volumes continued to decline, and the Postal Service is unable to keep up with obligations to its retirees.

The agency projects that it will nearly run out of cash before the fiscal year ends next month. With little money on hand, the Postal Service said it plans to default on a $5.6 billion retiree health-care payment due Sept. 30.

The agency already defaulted on a $5.5 billion payment due earlier this month.

The Postal Service said it will be forced to prioritize payments to employees and suppliers to ensure it can deliver the mail. The cash situation should improve in the final months of 2012, when holiday deliveries typically lead to increased revenue.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe on Thursday again called on Congress to institute reforms to shore up the agency's operations. The Senate passed a bill earlier this year, but the House has yet to take action."

Summary

Congress is on recess and the President is running for re-election.

They'll both be far too busy campaigning for re-election to talk about these billions of losses in the coming months.

In Washington, it's always first things first, of course.

Staying in office, in other words.

Politics sucks.

Thanks. Bob.