NYC Letter: The Accidental Truth III, Part III

Day 302 of CHOPE

Brush up here and here.

Now, I recognize, though, you make a legitimate -- you raise a legitimate concern. People say, well, how can a private company compete against the government? ... I mean, if you think about -- if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are. It's the Post Office that's always having problems. (Laughter.)

Mr. Obama,
comparing competitive government-subsidized
health insurance with the government-subsidized
United States Post Office
HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM TOWN HALL
PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire
August 11, 2009 (White House)

Mr. Obama here compares his public option -- government subsidized health insurance cut loose from the market -- to the government-subsidized Postal Services monopoly. [Pause.] It's pretty exciting.

US POSTAL SERVICE HAS $3.8 BLN LOSS IN FISCAL '09

WASHINGTON November 16, 2009 (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service reported a $3.8 billion net loss for its fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, as some $6 billion in cost savings were not enough to keep pace with plunging mail volumes.

... The 12.7 percent drop in mail volume to 177.1 billion pieces from a year earlier was more than double any previous decline the agency has seen, said Joseph Corbett, the agency's chief financial officer. Mr. Corbett:

Primarily it was the recession which drove the volumes down so quickly and with very little warning to us.

An ongoing recession since December 2007, yeah, that caught a lot of people by surprise.

The loss would have been worse except for legislation which allowed the agency to postpone the recognition of billions of dollars in prefunded retiree health benefit payments.

... Without changes to the delivery week and benefits payment schedule, the Postal Service forecast a net loss of $7.8 billion for 2010 with mail volume falling by 11 billion pieces.

Just a reminder, Obamacare will be this good.

CHOPE.

Profits not needed.