Who’s losing the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars a day? Is it UPS, which missed its quarterly earnings projections? Or maybe FedEx? The correct answer is neither. It’s the United States Postal Service, according to CNSNews.com:
The U.S. Postal Service has been losing an average of $42,335,766 per day in fiscal 2012. On Thursday, the service reported a third quarter (April 1-June 30) net loss of $5.2 billion, bringing its fiscal year-to-date net loss to $11.6 billion. …During the third quarter alone, when the Postal Service lost a total of $5.2 billion, the service was losing money at a rate of $57,142,857 per days.
USPS officials blame much of its losses on Congressional mandates to prefund retiree health benefits, costing $3.1 billion Q3. It defaulted on its August 1 prepayment of $5.5 billion and could default again on September 1. But there’s more:
The USPS said its operating revenue of $15.6 billion decreased by $153 million–less than 1 percent–while operating expenses of $20.8 billion went up by $1.9 billion, for a 10.2 percent increase. …[Postmaster General and CEO Patrick] Donahoe said that the postal service says it is taking steps to get back on track, but is still looking to Congress to pass legislation that would ease the pressure.
“We remain confident that Congress will do its part to help put the Postal Service on a path to financial stability,” Donahoe said Thursday. “We will continue to take actions under our control to improve operational efficiency and generate revenue by offering new products and services to meet our customers changing needs,” Donahoe said.
Looking to Congress for guidance on financial stability? No there’s a solid business plan. It’s time to end this outdated government bureaucracy’s—and taxpayers’—misery.