A partial solution

 

1. I don’t know why you’re so against bulk rates. All businesses negotiate bulk rate discounts. If Wal-Mart buys more widgets, they expect a bulk discount; otherwise they may find another, cheaper, supplier.

   The Post Office just does the same. As for junk mail, just throw it away – and be glad that the mailer paid for it! When Ben Franklin set up the Post Office the RECIPIENT paid the postage…

   A couple of things:

   1) Article One, Section Eight: Congress shall establish Post Offices. It’s Constitutional. Doesn’t mean it has to be a monopoly. Congress could open up some competition. (I can hear NALC union-thug president Young screaming at me already…)

   2) If we are going to eliminate the bulk rate, let’s also eliminate Congress’s franking privileges. Do you have any idea of how much crap your Senators and Representatives mail out for free? Why should they get a break at taxpayer expense? Make them pay the postage out of their salaries, which they raise automatically each year.

   BTW, on May 11th, postage for a 1-ounce First-class letter goes to 44¢. Everyone should stock up on the Forever stamps before May 11. Forever stamps currently cost 42¢ and will be worth 44¢ after May 11. No need to add any additional postage to a Forever stamp. They are the stamps that say ‘Forever’ and have a picture of the Liberty Bell. So stock up. I am.

   Posted by Christopher       04/01/2009  at  08:57 PM  



2. Stopping Junk Mail is only part of the Problem.

   The Local Fishwrap has a “Shopper” hand Delivered.

   There is no way to Stop it.

   They will not comply with requests to discontinue Delivery.

   The Bundle is Dumped on your driveway and Piles up if you are on Vacation.

   I view this as a Security Issue as Much as a Waste Issue.

   All the Burglars just look for the Piles to know you are Not at Home.

   Posted by SwedeBoy       04/01/2009  at  09:16 PM  



3. I’m against bulk rate because it’s all junk, all the time. It’s 80% of my mail, every damn day. It’s a waste of my time, the Post Office’s time, and a huge waste of paper.

   And businesses can “negotiate” whatever price they can ... because the PO isn’t playing fair. Charge businesses what it costs, fine. They don’t. They do bulk rate AT A LOSS. And every fargin year the price of stamps goes up. I get a Land’s End catalog every 3 days. And I’m tired of it all.

   Letters cost a nickel when I was a kid. With all the online communications, and the fact that almost everyone has a telephone in their pocket these days, I’d bet a bunch that actual person to person mail has greatly decreased, and that paper bills to people have flatlined. So I’m not buying into the price of MY stamps going up cuz the PO is sending so much more REAL MAIL my way. No, they’re sending MORE CRAP my way, and my stamp prices go up annually to fund it. Screw that!

   So yeah, I want a National Do Not Send List. We did the same with the telephone, and that nearly put telemarketers out of business. The phone used to ring off the hook here all the time. These days? Nada.

   Oh, and you CAN stop the local fishwrap. Call them up and say you don’t want it anymore. It will stop. And I agree that it’s a security issue.

   Posted by Drew458       04/01/2009  at  11:48 PM  



4. In this time of ‘green’ living you’d think that SanFran and all environmentalists would be out in the streets en masse on this one - as it is a waste of paper and resources.

   It would be nice if it was simply a once weekly deal - but as said above we get it thrown on our drive and in our mailbox.

   I don’t need it - but the ocassional - like an item I wanted to discuss with hubby - appeared in this week’s flyer - he could see it before even going to the store. And every once in a while - a real good deal sneaks through. It is the more involved (catalogs, high quality paper, a ‘sample’ that I know adds the $$$ to the cost of items - why do it) mailings that really get to me.

   I get the online ‘ads’ too - have gotten to the point where I automatically delete them.

   Junk mail is junk mail - no matter what the venue.

   However I have found the bestest (as I’ve phoned, mailed and repeated - The Do Not Send List - over and over again) way to thin our actual mail was the joining of Lifelock - between that and the Do Not Call - well, we are at rock bottom.

   Posted by wardmama4       04/02/2009  at  06:12 AM  



5. I think (not certain) there is a do not mail list here.  We’re not plagued with as much as there was back home in states.  Also, mail gets dropped through our letter box.
   Swede is correct about the security issue. 

   As for stamps in the USA. A Forever stamp?  Wow.  When did that start Christopher? I don’t recall it at the time we left the states.

   Mail here is going up (again) on April 6th.  But here’s something that really surprised me.
   The first and second class stamps here just say 1st or 2nd with no price printed.  The wife’s mother had a lot (not in the hundreds of course) but a few laying around that now are used.  But, we can buy a ton of em now and use em for years I am told. I would think the PO loses on that.

   Posted by peiper       04/02/2009  at  06:25 AM  



6. The problem is that Congress needs to change the law. In the original Constitution, given the attitudes of the founders, the core problem was likely seen as one of freedom to communicate. Well, communications technology has changed just a little since then, the government doesn’t have to fail at yet another segment of a viable private sector economy in order for me to communicate with people more than a day’s horseback ride away. The need to insure communications among 1)the free rebels 2)expecting external attack at any time, 3)living in a low-tech 4)frontier colony civilization.... well let’s just say some factors in that problem have changed, yeah?

   Posted by GrumpyOldFart       04/02/2009  at  01:10 PM  

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