Probably they totaled $50-60.00. So I didn't insure them. I mean what could go wrong, right? When I called my daughter a few days later she said the books didn't arrive but the box did. This is what she received from a caring USPS:
Not exactly what I sent. AND, this is not the first time this has happened. A few years back another book I sent to them was lost. This package came back to me sans book. Someone between Palm Springs and Memphis must like books and is too cheap to buy them.
"We Care" like hell. In fact mail service has been deteriorating since about 2017 when Louis DeJoy, a huge donor to Trump's campaign was appointed Postmaster General by the 45th president. His stated goal is to privatize the post office, an American institution since it was created by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, even before our Revolution. Benjamin Franklin was the first postmaster.
The post office department was established in 1792 establishing postmasters across this nation. Being appointed postmaster was a plum job with good pay and often was a reward for party support DeJoy follows a long list of questionable appointees in our history. In fact DeJoy's salary of $301,000+ rivals the President of the United States who makes $400,000.
To be fair however, the cuts and slimming down started under the previous postmaster. It was DeJoy however who closed processing centers, removed mailboxes and ordered new gas powered mail trucks rather than electric vehicles the government was mandating. In fact it was widely believed he did everything in his power to delay or stop mail in voting in the 2022 election. There weren't irregularities at the polls, it was the bags of undelivered mail hidden or attempted to be blatantly destroyed.
Service has definitely slowed down as well. A letter that arrived from Memphis say in three days, has recently taken 16 days IF it arrives at all. I have proof. I now date stamp all my mail.
I don't have a good history with USPS, especially since moving to Palm Springs. Finishing a divorce I had to send notarized papers, Priority Mail, from Palm Springs to my lawyer's office in Century City, Los Angeles, CA, a distance of 122 miles, door to door. It took 9 days. I could have driven there in half a day despite the horrendous LA traffic!
Then a few years ago the birthday present I sent my sister was stolen from the McIntosh, NM post office. I didn't believe her until checking her story I read about the robbery in the Albuquerque, NM newspaper. This begs the question of how secure mail really is?
I see First Class stamps are going up yet again from 68¢ to 73¢. Paying more but getting less seems to be a new American trait. Am I wrong? Go say to the grocery store and see for yourself. Or, eat out. You blame the President but never the corporate Republican CEO's that are doing this.
If DeJoy is REALLY trying to cut costs, let's look at what the "Franking Privilege costs taxpayers. For those that don't know many government officials are allowed to send mail to their constituents for free. It seems each Congressman gets a yearly total of 300,000 franked letters while a Senator gets 540,000 a year. They said in 2015 this costs taxpayers $8.3 million. It seems the average cost in contested districts runs about $172.00 for a vote for unsafe districts and $63.00 a vote for safe districts. Let's look at this figure. I would question this at 68¢, the cost we taxpayers pay for a first class letter for "1" ounce. Calculating the cost at "real" prices we pay that comes to :
300,000 x first class rate of 68¢ = $204,000 per Representative x 435 Representative = $88,740,000.00.
This figure alone is 10 times what they said. Wait there's more1
Senators 540,000 pieces x .68 = $367,200.00 x 100 Senators = $36,220,000.00 for a grand freebie total of just Congress of $124,960,000.00. Remember out cost is climbing to 73¢ July 19, 2024. Better stock up on those forever stamps now. Christmas is around the corner.
Another money draw that clutters up our mailboxes with cheap mailings (10¢ cent on average) has been the proliferation of non-profits begging for money. You support one and another 100 pleas arrive. And don't get me started on catalogs. I get more than a 100 a month. Sure I have ordered from a few but 100's? No. If they all paid their fair share there would be a lot fewer and the USPS would be healthier financially. Look up the salaries of non-profit CEO's and catalog owners. You will be amazed. It's legal snake oil.
What's missed by the powers that be is it costs as much to deliver a free or non-profit letter or catalog as a first class letter. Repeated damaged mail and 16 day delivery times are unacceptable. Maybe it's time for the postmaster general to be an UNDERCOVER BOSS and see what's really happening!
You want to cut losses then make everyone pay their fair share. It was once the American way!
No comments:
Post a Comment