Would someone PLEASE

[ceagle]

....start an alternate letter/postal service?? For first class mail!

Fedex! Airborne! UPS or DHL!.... or any other diligent and sincere company out there.. pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeze!
I don't care if it takes a couple days longer.. it would be nice for it just to GET THERE! ;/

Comments

[expandranon.livejournal.com]

They would if they could, but the Federal Government has mandated a monopoly on letter and bulk mail delivery for the Post Office. Only way you can get around it is by sending it next-day air or something like that.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

rarrrrr!
It'd be nice if our gov't would care for us out of the goodness of their hearts... but sometimes it seems like they do the minimum mandated.... ;P

[expandranon.livejournal.com]

Au contraire, they do far, far too much, more than they were ever hired to do. :P

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

examples..?

[expandranon.livejournal.com]

In case there's confusion, I meant government in general, not just the Post Office (which the government actually pretends is an independent business). There's not a single aspect of our daily lives that isn't monitored, cataloged, regulated, taxed, subsidized, or in some way influenced by government. Leaving the relative merits aside, much of what they do is not constitutionally mandated.

[expandranon.livejournal.com]

While on the subject of mail, the *real* mail might get there more often if the post office didn't ship so damned much crap. By weight, 95% of my mail is unsolicited advertising of some kind. Having to handle all that waste only increases the chances we'll lose a genuine letter somewhere.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

*nods and hugs*
It really IS a travesty... we hardly EVER use any of that junkmail keeeerap, and the time MUST come when we can opt out of that, and save a few trees (or better yet, make it OPT IN ONLY and save Jillions of trees...)

[expandranon.livejournal.com]

The only way to get rid of all of it is to get yourself a PO Box, and then you're paying to rid yourself of junk mail. :P

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

hehe... *fuzzles ya* ... Yesh, I've had a pobox for many yeers, and you are zacly right! No junkmail there, thank goodness....

[orv.livejournal.com]

Actually, the junk mail crap subsidizes a lot of their operations. First-class post would be a lot more expensive without it.

I've actually had far more problems with UPS than with the postal service, so I'm not sure privatization and competition would really help matters...and we'd probably lose universal service. (Do you really think a private, non-regulated company would be willing to lose money on doing mail pickup in rural areas? At best they'd charge extra for the privilege of not going to the post office to get your mail.)

señor birdeee! welcome to the show!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

*wingwrapples ya*
ooo... Jus' in case ya meant lil' ole me... I purrrsonally think (in the post office's case) privatization (or at least this faux-separation) from the govt was troublesome, so nope.. in the case of the p.o., I think it wasn't a good idear.
Prices have soared and service has dwindled since this move, around a couple decades ago. And unfortunately, things globally seem to still be headed that (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/14/AR2005101402163.html) way (http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/nov2007/post-n01.shtml)... :/

What I was suggesting was (an ideal, I guess) of competition, in some markets where it might actually *be* profitable, if possible, to deliver "First Class Letters" with a guarantee of delivery, for somewhere between 25 and 40 cents.

The federally linked post office will likely never become that efficient. I just wondered if anyone thought another alternative choice could do so. *peep* :}

Re: señor birdeee! welcome to the show!

[expandranon.livejournal.com]

I'm not really sure making postal delivery totally private would yield a net benefit. Would it make it easier to mail a letter, since we currently have mailboxes almost everywhere? Unlikely. Would it be cheaper? Probably not. More reliable? Though the Post Office has been known to lose mail, it's a fraction of a percent of all the letters sent.

griffygriffygriffygriffygriffy

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

I don't support making the post office private.
Nope. Nope. Nope.
Not eeeeeven.... ;>

You may note that above I mentioned this was an unfortunate trend :/
What I was suggesting was competing alternatives in some (or all) markets where a competing firm might succeed with dependability. As a competing alternative.

This post was made in response to having Two Successive Utility Bill Payments lost. *wingfuzzles yer balloony ears*

mushroom! mushroom!

[expandranon.livejournal.com]

Two in a row? So far as I know, they've only lost one item in many years of mailing, that being something somebody sent me that never arrived. It's rare enough that they lose a letter. That they lose two in a row is a statistical near impossibility. Wouldn't surprise me if it was actually the utility company at fault.

Re: mushroom! mushroom!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

badger! ;D

yes... heh, itz troo ;P

I've been wondering if it that too!.. or even the bank! rarrrgh!

After the second one though, I went down to the payment center and paid it directly... no third strike for me, nope! rarrr! ;9 *sharpens a talon*

Re: mushroom! mushroom!

[expandranon.livejournal.com]

*purrs at the sharpening of your talon* Is that for me? (^^>

Re: mushroom! mushroom!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

mwahahahah! I thought I heard a bit of a *fooooooosh..* along your frame... ^v^ !

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the reply, squeaky! *hugs*
Your description of the post office independence facade is dead-on!

I didn't mean constitutionally required things though.. talking about things like 'pork' on bills, and stuff like good ideas exploited into waste... like, having just ONE person testing imported toys for danger (reported as such in the last few weeks on the news), instead of a more realistic solution. Chances are the money for this safety net was given a bare minimum of implementation, and a huge portion goes down the tubes (or pockets) of wasteful or unintended holes.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

First class mail? All mail should be first class ;)

[pshaw-raven.livejournal.com]

Amen to that!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

heh... it'd be great if they treated first class mail like they charge for it, yeah!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

heheheh... if only! and if only we could afford it!
Actually, thank goodness that you can still send postcards and some other items parcel post... but then again... it only matters if it gets there! *slurrrps*

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

We don't really get a choice here, sending anything in Australia, usually it goes in how fast you want it to get there. People have had bad experiences with Australia Post but I haven't.

[artfulreggie.livejournal.com]

Your anger wouldn't be further fueled by the fact that the USPS is dragging their once proud eagle mascot/symbol/logo through the gutter, would it? ;)

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Those meanies!
heh... remember those cool commercials where the guy turns into an eagle to deliver the mail...? ^V^

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Gad we just had red vans :) The old Bedfords and Ford Transits with those sliding doors that remain open.

USPS no like you....

[mammallamadevil.livejournal.com]

if it's California, try California Overnight in the future...cheaper than FedEx/UPS and nice service.

MLD

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

wow... thank you for the tip!
Sometimes DHL is good too... but, hmmmmm I wonder if there's anyone out there that'll deliver a 25cent letter... heck... take a week if ya want... but what inspired this post is that I sent TWO successive payments for the electric bill, in Sept and Oct, and NEITHER have gotten there :<
*sighs and hugs ya*

I pay the electric bill either online...

[mammallamadevil.livejournal.com]

or via phone. They lost my check last year and while it was not my fault, I knew I'd have to go "electric". I have the same problem with the gardener---checks just don't SHOW up....

good luck....MLD

Re: eggcellent point!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Yesh.... hehe.. u read my mind, nice llama lady :D
After those two, I went down to the payment center to get it done in person, and then setup the online pay also.
I still like pushing the button tho, so not auto-debit...
*fuffles yer pelt*

[genecatlow.livejournal.com]

Get there? *gasp* What heresy is this? O_O

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Even utility bills aren't sacred lately... :/ (see my previous reply)... *hugs you too*..