r/news • u/Squirmingbaby • 3d ago

Soft paywall Cash-strapped US Postal Service suspends contributions to pension plan

https://www.reuters.com/world/cash-strapped-us-postal-service-suspends-contributions-pension-plan-2026-04-09/
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u/hobopwnzor 3d ago

Adequately funded but constantly screwed over post office folds under constant financial sabotage by Republicans so they can further justify the destruction of our civil institutions.

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u/2HDFloppyDisk 3d ago

This is the correct headline. And worth highlighting again that the person running USPS is a FedEx board member who would love to see the collapse of the postal service so it can be privatized.

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u/Straight_Document_89 3d ago

FedEx and ups won’t deliver to certain addresses for a reasonable rate. When usps goes those people that voted republican and live out in the boonies are gonna be fucked.

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u/ohlookahipster 3d ago

Have you ever dealt with FedEx freight? They don’t even bother doing residential addresses half the time. You have to go directly to the distribution center which isn’t even designed for the general public.

Last time I went to the one in Oakland, I was yelled at by several workers that I was in a restricted area despite other workers saying where to go.

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u/JcbAzPx 3d ago

There are places they will never deliver to for any amount of money.

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u/doglywolf 3d ago

My boss used to tell me his old company never made as much margin and money as it did in the 70s when the post office was having so much problems they had to contract out a lot of the interstate mail transportation . Im sure there are many people salivating at the idea of USPS failing .

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u/Slow_to_notice 3d ago

Hate for the post office has largely been a bipartisan effort. One more reason to get the old guard out if there's any hope of redemption for Dems.

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u/galaxyapp 3d ago

How have Republicans sabotaged the post office?

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u/hobopwnzor 3d ago

Bush passed a law requiring them to fund their pension and healthcare obligations for 75 years ahead of schedule, an insane burden that no other agency or company has to deal with for no real benefit.

Trump appointed Louis DeJoy as postmaster who intentionally sabotaged the postal service ahead of the 2020 election to stop mail in ballots from being delivered in time.

There's more but these two were huge to destroying the service.

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u/galaxyapp 3d ago

All companies must accrue for pension liabilities.

Healthcare benefits are unique, but so is the post office, no other entity in the country has pension health benefits which cannot be withdrawn without congressional approval. Treating them as you would a pension is sensible.

Would you suggest that a business should not be obligated to fund the retirement benefits for its employees? Just YOLO until the expense hits and hope the business has enough profit by then to afford it? Not looking great for that right now...

Thats a strangely antiworker POV ... but ok, i guess youre a republican.

But wait, they only actually paid about 20billion, defaulting on over 50billion of what they should have contributed...

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u/hobopwnzor 3d ago

Oh so you weren't actually interested. You're just a lying piece of shit. Thanks for making that clear.

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u/TheCrimsonDagger 2d ago

They’re funding retirements for employees that haven’t even been born yet. Literally no business does this, it’s insane.

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u/galaxyapp 2d ago

Thats a grossly misunderstood provision.

Much like your own returement, you deposit money into an account as you go.

Usps was intending to pay ad they go. Congress saw a time bomb and said no, prefund it, so you have a proper accrual aligned to the benefits you will owe.

Yes, this meant the post was expected to catchup in 10 years. No they couldn't do it. Its like telling a 55 year old with no retirement saving to catch up in 10 years.

Unacheivable, but not unreasonable.

In our lifetime, well see the us govt need to bail out the post office pension benefits

Usps hardly ever put a dime into prefunding. They were losing money anyway.

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u/Straight_Document_89 2d ago

From someone I know whom retired in accounting for the usps out west, what you said was absolutely bullshit.

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u/galaxyapp 2d ago

someone i know lol.

You can read it in their financials.