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Don Soifer of Consumer Postal Service discusses the mounting debts of the government agency.
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The nation's largest mail carriers union releases its own postal rescue plan today.
The -- proposing.
Expanding mail delivery.
And raising stamp prices it also says its members are willing to make quote -- sacrifices.
To save the postal system.
Don't saw -- from the consumer.
So this is here.
-- I noted -- something of a critic of the Postal Service so wanna -- first of all what's your reaction to the union saving the Postal Service plan.
Well thanks to.
At first well you have to remember the last few -- -- -- PW you sign for its 200000 members -- new contract with no layoffs -- cost of living increases in sourcing requirements.
And no transfers closets.
Meanwhile -- -- mail volume is dropping revenue -- mail volume is dropping.
So you don't make much of it is not that plan doesn't look is that we -- Well in in if if you every time you go to the post office and buy a 45 cent stamp currently.
You half of that 45 cents is going to subsidize institutional overhead seems to me with the PW use only offering to do is to just continue to increase that institutional overhead.
Until it really becomes the taxpayer's problem OK -- quickly -- I -- just take a look at this ad it's from the American Postal Service union only listen to it.
Members of the American postal workers union handle more than 165.
Billion letters and that's about 34 million pounds of mail every day.
Ever wonder what this costs you -- taxpayers millions tens of millions hundreds of millions not shingles.
This time they say.
That's than we'd attacks by -- don't pay contribute a single cent to the Postal Service that's what that and said is it accurate.
Historically the Postal Service has always been funded by proceeds from selling stamps.
But the Postal Service is losing billions of dollars a year and it's projected to lose 200 billion dollars in the next in the next ten years and that's the postal service's own.
Estimates and that that.
Really is that very much indeed reform and kind of attacks there bets it is -- treasury going to write a check for 200 billion dollars in the next ten years to the Postal Service.
Congress is part of the problem of big part of the problem because it constantly interferes with the Postal Service management's ability to control its own car that I have -- on is that.
And accurate it said it doesn't cost you and I and other tax -- as a diamond.
-- -- does not go into the Postal Service is that accurate.
The postal services pushed its fifteen billion dollar debt limit this is totally unprecedented and it could absolutely come down on the taxpayers it it could but it hasn't yet.
That's right but there's a deficit and there's certainly no postal revenue -- to -- that deficit isn't the Postal Service in trouble because of the pensions that they have to payout.
Well that's a major problem -- and especially with the union deals like they've been giving the four major labor unions for years and years.
I'm there there's really there's really a collision course coming where we could be looking at a Detroit size auto bail out.
A that the taxpayers would be on the hook for this potential 200 billion dollar postal deficit a lot of which is is.
Retirement benefits so the alternative is massive -- -- close to a thousand post offices drop a 150000.
Workers that's the alternative.
It's idol or is it.
Unless mail volume and now revenue increases and we're sure not seeing those trends in the market.
All right don't -- -- we appreciate you being with us a short -- -- to the point we loved that thank very much don't.
Profits at Goldman --
