For those of you interested in the continued existence of the Postal Service, Sen. Bernie Sanders—who is trying desperately to save the agency from the folly of its leadership and from some Republicans who want to essentially kill it off and sell the remains to the private sector—appeared on The Ed Show last night, after the Senate voted to pass a bill that only partially addresses USPS’s problems:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
The Erstwhile Conservative: A Blog of Repentance 
ansonburlingame
/ April 26, 2012To all,
WHY should American’s HELP the Post Office? If it fails to deliver the services desired by “paying” Americans do we need it?
All I receive each day is “junk mail” by and large. All of my personal business, paying and receiveing bills, tax collections, etc is done online by and large. I don’t NEED the Post Office to deliver “junk mail” which I trash upon receipt.
OK, cerified mail, return receipt requested for legal matters, fine with me until industtry figures out a way to do so online, which is coming.
Am I worried about the “little old lady” with no computer, yes I am and she should get delivery “by mail” But I do not need it today and do not want to pay for it.
Today I might mail one letter a month, simply because I cannot find an email address to sent the message, of all sorts, business or personal.
I would be more than happy to cancel all mail to my home expect for “certified mail, of a legal nature. If I or most Americans had to pay for every thing coming through my mail slot, I would opt to pay NOTHING for any of it. And I mail hardly anything to anyone todayl.
That is the wave of the future for sure, in my view. But of course Duane will campaign for continued full up Postal Service for the “sake of the employees” in his union, right?
It is yet again another discussion of the role of labor in a changing world.
Anson
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Sharon Burkhalter
/ April 26, 2012No matter what the topic we can count on you to express disdain with your narrow and shallow mind. Thank you for not disappointing us.
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R. Duane Graham
/ April 29, 2012Sharon,
Anson almost never disappoints in that regard. It’s one of his strengths. I mean, it can’t be easy to be so consistently disdainful and narrow-minded.
Duane
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KABE
/ April 26, 2012AB, I recommend that you read Ralph Nader’s letter to the Postmaster General calling for his removal. You know as well as anyone that the pre-funding onus on the USPS is grossly unprecedented and unnecessary at its current rate. We have discussed all this before.
Also, if you do not want mail, remove your box from your house. Problem solved.
Kabe
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Scott
/ May 2, 2012The post office has been self-funding since the early 80’s, Anson.
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brucetheeconomist
/ May 3, 2012The dilemma is how to have an economy that allows flexibility in how its labor force is used,but provides some widespread prosperity for working folks.
I think its increased training (some of it at least) paid for by the government.
Not every job can be for life and at times the left sounds like it expects that. On the other people’s transition when needed should be facilitated. Just telling people to buck up won’t due, and that seems to be the Republican perspective, especially of late.
Overall, I find the sink or swim perspective worse.
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R. Duane Graham
/ May 4, 2012That is indeed the problem, Bruce. I don’t disagree at all with your suggestion of increasing the training (and retraining) paid for by all of us (the government) in order to get folks qualified to do the more technical jobs available.
And the Darwinian approach–a survival of the fittest that has become the guiding philosophy of social policy for many on the right–is morally nauseating in the context of a civilized society. And on the practical side of it, I have asked local conservatives if they want to step over folks lying all over public places, should we take their “sink or swim” approach. Because that is what would happen, until those folks figured out that theft or force is an option for “swimming.”
As for the left’s alleged expectation that a job “can be for life,” I am not one who thinks so in many cases, but in some cases there should be an expectation that if one works hard for a company or organization or agency, giving it the best working years of one’s life, then one shouldn’t find himself or herself out there at, say, age 55 looking to start over without adequate help.
Duane
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ansonburlingame
/ May 4, 2012Scot first,
Then how has the Post Office covered its cost overruns for many years, including the onnerous payment to keep its pension fund afloat. What was the deficit last year, some $7 Billion or so?
Now Bruce,
Go read the Whitford column in Friday’s Globe about “handouts”.
THERE is a huge dilemma, how to handle the “Daves” in America.
In my view, the “left” refuses to acknowledge the “Dave’s” in America. And I do NOT mean just the homeless drunks. There are many “Dave’s” in our public schools today. No they are not drunk, adicted, etc or even homeless. But they are very “poor in spirit” while still young.
My grand daughter is graduating from JHS this month. Without any prompting from me she expressed the view that only about 25% of her classmates are willing to put forth the effort to be a successful high school graduate.
Some, not all, but some of the remaining 75% will turn out to be “Dave’s” at least to some degree. And that does not even count the drop outs from that class.
As for government job training, we already have exactly that, right before our eyes. It is the traditional system of public education K12 that has been around for a very long time. But that system is FAILING us today, miserably.
Fix public education and the need for more job training later in life goes down by a huge measure, in my view. Any business worth its salt would be more than willing to take a good, hard working high school graduate with the basic skills to know how to study and learn for a lifetime, to teach him how to use a lathe or other machine, just for starters.
But the number of students leaving high school today, all over the country lack such knowledge, study habits and basic societal skills, by and large. just ask my grand daughter.
And in case JanesReaction is lurking, my grand daught is NOT a snob.
Anson
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