PROTESTS AGAINST CAPITALISM, WALL STREET VS. POST OFFICE PLEADS TO OPERATE MORE LIKE A BUSINESS

If you think the "Occupy Wall Street" movement is "grassroots" - think again.  At first, I found it very ironic and a true testament to what works and what does not, that as the US Postal Service is begging the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to be released from the government restrictions and mandates (both congressional and union) while the leftist-products of today's public school system are protesting against Capitalism and for government take-over of Wall Street, big business (on their own admission some of them do not know what they are protesting against).  On September 6, 2011, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told the Senate committee that without enactment of legislation by the end of September (last month), the Postal Service faces default, as funds will be insufficient to make a congressionally mandated $5.5 billion payment to pre-fund retiree health benefits.


“The Postal Service is in a crisis today because it operates within a restrictive business model and has limited flexibility to respond to a changing marketplace,” Donahoe testified.  “We need the ability to operate more as a business does. This applies to the way we provide products and services, allocate resources, configure our retail, delivery and mail processing networks and manage our workforce.”


"Specifically, legislation is needed that would do the following:

• Resolve a unique law requiring the Postal Service to make $5.5 billion annual payments to pre-fund retirement health benefits
• Return $6.9 billion in Federal Employees Retirement System over payments
• Grant the Postal Service the authority to determine delivery frequency
• Allow the Postal Service to restructure its healthcare system to make it independent of federal programs
• Grant the Postal Service the authority to provide a defined contribution retirement plan for new hires, rather than today’s defined benefit plan
• Streamline the process for product development and pricing."

Additionally the Postal Service says it needs to reduce its career workforce by approximately 220,000 by 2015, but cannot do so under the terms of existing collective bargain agreements. To accelerate workforce reductions, the Postal Service is asking Congress to allow it to utilize the Reduction-in-Force (RIF) provisions currently applicable to federal competitive service employees for positions held by bargaining unit employees.


Thank you Mr. Donahoe for providing the facts of what is wrong with government and union mandates on businesses.  The Obama Health Care mandates haven't even been fully put in place and you are already asking to be released from them and those restrictions imposed on you by the failed leftist governmental and union policies of the past.

A union and a government run operation is under attack by within - someone wants to run it like a business to make it sustainable.  "Grassroots", "ironic", - I don't think so - a protest by unions/the left by design after this senate testimony against a failing government-run program is more like it.  Finally, MSNBC found a recruited "coffee party": they reported two years ago after the uprising of the Tea Party that the "coffee party" was looking for members.  This is so funny it is sad.

Update to previous (last post):  Obama's American Jobs Act has still not been co-sponsored (introduced) as a bill by a single Democrat in the House of Representatives.