Nothing in the post again...

[Gob]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican-controlled House opened the envelope of postal finances on Wednesday and what it pulled out wasn't pretty.

Unless things change, the post office will run out of money by the end of the fiscal year in October, Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe told the House Oversight subcommittee on the postal service.

Donahoe said that as of Sept. 30 his agency will owe the federal government a payment of $5.5 billion to fund medical costs, in advance, for future retirees, and in November it will need to make a $1.3 billion payment for worker's compensation.

"The Postal Service will not have the cash available to make both of these payments. We need legislation this year to address that fact," he said.

If it does come down to crunch time, said Donahoe: "We will deliver the mail." Employees will be paid, as will suppliers, he said. "The thing we will not do is pay the federal government."

Without some important changes to the law the post office "cannot survive as a self-financing entity," Donahoe said.

While the post office has been battered by the recession and the movement of mail to the Internet, it has also cut costs sharply by reducing its workforce by 240,000 people in recent years. Last year it cut costs by $3 billion and expects to reduce spending by another $2 billion this year, Donahoe said.

But, alone among federal agencies, the post office is required to pay about $5.5 billion annually into an account to fund future retiree medical benefits.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/ ... 2-16-32-28

[The Hen]

Our post offices have diversified their business to incorporate the following as an option for clients:

Stationery suppliers,
Office Suppliers;
Electronic equipment suppliers;
Authorised Passport agency;
Bill paying;
Banking;
Car Insurance; and
Utility organisers.

I could go on and on after looking at their web-page ... but I think you get the gist of how Aussie Post has expanded its operations to ensure (hopefully) the survival of the post office.

[Gob]

Now tell me the UK is not insane?

A quarter of a million benefit recipients, including pensioners and those on disability allowances, will have to cash in their giro cheques at off-licences and petrol stations under government plans.
Unions and consumer groups united to condemn the decision to remove the contract to process the benefit cheques from the Post Office and give it to private sector company PayPoint. The move also flies in the face of ministers' promises to protect the Post Office by making it the "front office" for government business.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents postal workers, said that the contract award spelt "disaster for the future of the Post Office" and could lead to further branch closures, adding that it "is a betrayal of Britain's most vulnerable".

The 12,000-branch network already faces an uncertain future with the imminent privatisation of parent company Royal Mail, on which it relies for a third of its revenues. The Post Office will remain in public ownership, but there are fears there could be widespread closures if the Royal Mail uses other outlets to provide services such as posting packages.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011 ... CMP=twt_fd

Off license= bottle shop/grog shop/alcohol retailers/wine merchants

[Scooter]

Reminds me of reading about longshoremen being paid with what was called a brass check, which they would have to cash in a bar, which they could only do by letting the bartender take 5% off the top AND buying a drink besides. Once they got started, many would end up drinking right through a weeks pay.