Speaking of obligations that have got to change...
US Postal Service Bailout Imminent?
It has long been known that the United States Postal Service, in its current money-losing format, is unsustainable. The media has reported in the past that in order for this bloated government anachronism to be remotely competitive in the age of email and FedEx, it would need to cut hundreds of thousands of its workers. Even the USPS, via its largest union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, has admitted that the organization will need to undergo "tough sacrifices" although as the WSJ noted, "It didn't specify what concessions it would seek from members." And this is where it gets fun: because "just the tip", or even just talking about the tip, apparently is more than labor unions in this country can stomach. Enter Ron Bloom, Lazard, and the very same crew that ended up getting a taxpayer funded bailout for GM. From the WSJ: "The Postal Service's proposal to close thousands of post offices and cut back on the number of days that mail is delivered "won't work" and would accelerate the agency's decline, according to the six-page report by Ron Bloom, President Barack Obama's former auto czar, and investment bank Lazard Ltd., LAZ who were hired by the union in October." That's right: after all the huffing and puffing about "sacrifice" and austerity, the labor union took one long look at the only option... and asked what other option is there.
"Instead, the report says, the agency should raise its stamp prices, which are among the lowest in the world, and find new ways to profit more from its built-in advantage as the only entity to reach every American home every day." Well that... And the internet. "It should also replace its multi-layered governance system with a corporate- style board of directors whose members have entrepreneurial experience." Translation - let's just continue doing what we do, but kill demand for our services even more, because it is not the massively bloated expense side of the ledger that is the issue, it is how much the USPS charges. And apparently in mailman econo-logic, increasing prices leads to increasing demand, all else equal. At least this bailout plan came in 6 pages, as opposed to the 3-page one penned by Hank Paulson. Yet the kicker is that the "other option" is well-known: taxpayers get to fund another wholesale bailout of yet another worthless, ineffective government organization. But hey: there are hundreds of thousands of labor union votes, pardon, jobs to be saved. And with elections just 6 months ahead, is there any doubt what will happen?
More from the WSJ:
The proposals are the opening salvo in what is expected to be a long series of negotiations as pressure mounts on Congress to approve legislation to restructure the Postal Service, which has said it is in danger of becoming insolvent without changes to its business model.
The union's plan is one of several competing proposals—including the Postal Service's and bills in Congress—that are promoting rescue ideas, and it illustrates the deepening divide over how to remake the 236-year-old institution for modern times.
And the shocker:
Labor groups, for instance, generally oppose cuts to service. The mailing industry opposes higher postage fees. Many legislators say the Postal Service needs to close facilities—but not in their district. And a Republican-led bill set to be heard by the full House looks askance at any proposal that would allow the Postal Service to compete with private industry. That bill's backers say the agency should act like a business—to a point. "Reducing excess capacity and adapting delivery to America's changing use of mail is exactly what any business would do as technology changes the market," said Ali Ahmad, a spokesman for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
In other words, "fix it", just don't make me lose anything in the process... or work harder of course. In the meantime...
The Postal Service is facing historic losses—more than $5 billion in its most recent fiscal year—that it attributes to a shift in communication habits in the digital age and to an unusual requirement imposed by Congress in 2006 that it fund retiree benefits decades ahead.
Ironically Ron Bloom is spot on. It is unclear however, if his statement was tongue in cheek:
The union concedes that some "shrinkage" in the system is necessary, Mr. Bloom said, but he added that the Postal Service's cuts will result in more revenue losses than savings.
He compared the Postal Service's strategy to General Motors Co. before its restructuring. "Their strategy was to lose slowly, to shrink to survive," he said.
Where Ron stopped short is that going from before to after restructuring involved billions in taxpayer cash. Yet unlike a just as bloated Chevy Volt post-reorg maker (not yet retrofitted with excess inventory Solyndra solar panels), at least the USPS can not stuff excess mail inventory in mail boxes. What it certainly can, however, is demand billions from taxpayers. Because, you know, if we just hope enough, things will change.
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It looks like it's Romney and Obama for 2012, but I'm still posting this.
Ron Paul: 'My Ultimate Goal Remains to Repeal the 16th Amendment'
On Tax Freedom Day Ron Paul issued a statement, which said in part:
Knowing that every penny the average American has earned from January 1st until today has gone to pay federal, state, or local taxes is a frightening reminder of how much liberty modern Americans have lost. Unfortunately, even after Tax Freedom Day, Americans will still suffer from the Federal Reserve’s regressive and hidden inflation tax, which erodes their purchasing power for the benefit of big banks and big-spending politicians...
My ultimate goal remains to repeal the 16th Amendment and end the tyranny of the IRS once and for all. Of the four men seeking the presidential nomination of one of the major parties – President Obama, Governor Romney, Speaker Gingrich, and myself – I am the only one who has consistently opposed increases in taxes and spending. I am also the only one who has consistently fought the Federal Reserve’s assault on the middle class’ standard of living. My campaign to Restore America Now is the clear choice for any American concerned about rolling back taxes, cutting spending, and curbing inflation.
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I laughed hard when I saw this. Then I quickly remembered that it's not really funny.
Elmo Tries to Explain The National Debt (Again)
In Humor, National Debt on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 9:41 pm
Muppets have received a lot of bad press since Greg Smith realized that he is not, in fact, a one-percenter. Fortunately Elmo’s back to reclaim his rightful place in the financial world: Making the seemingly incomprehensible comprehensible while politely pointing out what should be obvious to everyone not in diapers. That’s not so easy when the economic views espoused by everyone from central bankers to TV talking heads can only be accurately described as infantile.
It’s hard to get the right answer when you’re counting the wrong stuff, and maybe that’s why Wall Street’s minions never discuss income per capita. It’s a meaningful measure of economic strength that ordinary Americans can relate to. Well, that and it exposes “pro-growth” policies for what they actually are: An excuse to loot the country in broad daylight by focusing on GDP, where government money, no matter how horribly misspent, shows up in the “win” column. Strip away that illusion and it becomes crystal clear that their path to prosperity is our highway to hell.
In case you haven’t noticed, incomes (not GDP) pay mortgages and support small businesses. Increasing the National Debt by a can you say “parabolic?” 54% in the last 42 months hasn’t budged income per capita in nominal terms. If you adjusted for inflation, you’d find that Americans are actually about 12% poorer today than they were in 2006. We’re not “growing” our way out of this, we’re just going deeper and deeper into hock, courtesy of a government with about as much fiscal discipline as crack-whores with a stolen credit card. Here’s the thing: It’s your credit card, so maybe you should understand how much they’re spending:
Just to be clear, we’re talking about $400 per citizen per month in new charges alone, month after month after month. Here’s what me and Elmo can’t figure out: Why would attempting to break this spiral be labeled Class Warfare? Of course you don’t have to believe us, there’s far more distinguished schools of thought out there:
Fun facts:
From 1947 to 1974 US income per capita grew more than National debt per capita 25 times.
In the last 30 years, National debt per capita has grown more than income per capita 24 times.
The last time income per capita grew more than national debt per capita was 2001.
Ben Bernanke arrived at the Federal Reserve in 2002.
I’m going to ask Elmo to leave before this gets ugly…
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These guys just wanted some golf balls...
NEWTOWN SQUARE–Four people were arrested and charged with stealing golf balls out of ponds at White Manor Country Club in Willistown and Aronimink Country Club in Newtown Square early Wednesday morning.
A Newtown Township Police sergeant stopped a white van with a trailer outside Aronimink Country Club early Wednesday morning. Inside were three men, one woman and 8,000 golf balls. According to the police report:
The occupants claimed that they were collecting golf balls to be reconditioned for the course. It was learned from the occupants that they would use dive equipment to dive into the pond and retrieve the balls. During the course of their investigation, Sgt. Sebra discovered that this was not the case, and that the [actors] did not have permission to be on the property or to remove golf balls from the pond.The four suspects—Daniel P. Curry, 31, Charles D. Creed IV, 26, Robert D. Sauve III, 28 and Carisa N. Osmond, 23—all from Saginaw, Mich., were arraigned Wednesday afternoon before Judge Chester Darlington. They face charges of theft, receiving stolen property and defiant trespass.
When asked by the judge about his employment, Curry replied that he owns a ball-retrieval business called Plus 1, which he has run for seven years. Each defendant was released on 10 percent of $5,000 bail and has a preliminary hearing date in early May. After the arraignment, Curry said the arrest was due to a miscommunication. He said he has contracts with other golf courses in the area, and was told through a business associate that he could collect balls from Aronimink and White Manor for evaluation.
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