USPS Losses in Real Time

Just how bad are the Postal Service’s losses? According to a real-time loss counter on Senator Tom Carper’s (D-DE) Web site, they are mounting by the thousands every second and amount to $25 million per day.

Just how bad are the Postal Service’s losses? According to a real-time loss counter on Senator Tom Carper’s (D-DE) Web site, they are mounting by the thousands every second and amount to $25 million per day.

The information is presented primarily as a political jab at the House of Representatives since it points out that the Senate has recently enacted a reform bill to aid the Postal Service and now it’s waiting on action by the House.

Carper is an advocate of Postal reform and says on his site that the Senate has passed a comprehensive reform bill that will aid the Postal Service in getting out of its financial malaise. He includes some numbers along with the financial loss counter to illustrate the urgency of the situation:

  • $6,500,000,000  Total FY 2012 Postal Service Losses So Far
  • $500,000,000  What New USPS Cost-Cutting Plan for Post Offices Saves in 1 Year
  • $25,000,000  What the Postal Service Loses Each Day
  • 16 Days  How Long it Currently Takes USPS to lose $500,000,000 – the same amount of savings announced in new USPS plan
  • $13,000,000,000+  Current Postal Service Debt to U.S. Treasury

The post on Carper’s site concludes, “With each day that the House fails to take action, the Postal Service loses $25 million. Further delays could accelerate an already deteriorating financial situation at the Postal Service that would threaten a mailing industry that employs over 8 million people and generates nearly $1 trillion in economic activity each year. Make no mistake, the Postal Service’s financial problems are dire, but they are solvable if Congress acts to pass comprehensive postal reform legislation.”

About the Author

Ian Smith is one of the co-founders of FedSmith.com. He has over 20 years of combined experience in media and government services, having worked at two government contracting firms and an online news and web development company prior to his current role at FedSmith.