We all are familiar with the rest of the variations on this phrase describing the dedication of the US Postal Service (USPS) in delivering the mail. Well, snow and rain may not be keeping the Post Office from delivering the mail, but financial problems within the USPS may soon halt delivery.

This has not gotten much publicity, but the USPS is in real trouble. The USPS is an independent, but wholly-owned entity of the federal government. It is designed to be self-supporting such that the rates it charges will cover the costs of delivering the mail. This worked for a long time. Obviously, for over 200 years. But, not so now. After earning modest profits from 2004-2006, the agency started hemorrhaging money in 2007. Between 2007 and 2010, it has lost over $20 billion. These losses are now accelerating in 2011 with a loss, in the first 3 quarters of this year, amounting to $5.7 billion. The USPS has already borrowed the maximum $15 billion it is allowed to borrow under the law and has already deferred another $4 billion in payments to its employee retirement fund to cover these losses. The Continuing Resolution adopted by the House last week… Read More

No this is not a theological essay. But I can go there if you want me to.

I am constantly amazed at the blind faith that so many people have in government. Government can and does make colossal mistakes. So do businesses, charities, and religious organizations but the big difference is that these other institutions are not monopolies. A business does you wrong and you move on. A government does you wrong and you have no choice but to get in line again.

The post office has stolen from me. I ordered a lamp and did not check the shipper. When it did not arrive I found out that it was shipped USPS the monopoly bureaucracy. By their own website I was able to track the shipment to the local postal station. At that point it disappears never delivered. I called the office and later submitted a postal theft complaint form. Nothing. Not even the courtesy of an acknowledgement.

CalTrans is risking lives. Sherry and I just returned from a trip to Spokane. Traveling I-5 in the summer is always a challenge. I appreciate that summer is the best time for road work but I also see how CalTrans is not held accountable for its errors. Too often there were… Read More