Postmaster General John Potter
Speaking to a town hall of mostly ObamaCare supporters on August 11, 2009, the President compared the money-losing U.S. Post Office as an example of how a government-run program can compete with private enterprise. Oops!
In explaining why he believes the government-run health option would not eliminate private insurance, he said:
My answer is that if the private insurance companies are providing a good bargain, and if the public option has to be self-sustaining, I think private insurers should be able to compete. They do it all the time, I mean, if you think about it, UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? No, they are. It's the Post Office that's always having problems."
The image that immediately comes to mind is U.S. Post Office = Government run health care?
The U.S. Post Office is on track this year for an operating loss of between 6 billion and 12 billion, a debt surpassing $10 billion and a $1 billion cash shortfall.
According to Postmaster General John Potter the Post Office has lost $4.7 billion so far this year and expects it to be $7 billion in the red by the end of the fiscal year because of the recession and the movement of letters and bills to e-mail. Several hundred offices are being studied for possible closing and the agency has proposed other cost-saving moves including cutting mail delivery to five days a week.
It loses billions of dollars each year and Obama uses this is an example of how his health care reform would complete with private enterprise? Oop! The cat is out of the bag!
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Comments
The US postal Service is going the way of the neighborhood five and dime store - forced out by bigger chains. In this case, UPS and FEDEX are more efficient than USPS. Why? They don't have a government business model! I am sure BHO is catching it from his staff today for that gaffe, but he perfectly described the situation. Someone please cite a government-run operation that competes effectively with private industry. Cat got your tongue?
it wasn't a gaffe...conservatives are arguing that a government run program will NOT put insurers out of business...they will do like fedex and ups and compete and thrive...if the government run program goes the way of the post office, so much the better...by then, it will have done it's job (much as USPS did) and bring down prices, while making competitors more efficient...without the post office, fedex and ups would be charging several times what they do now...you'd better hope the post office does stay in business, just to keep prices down.
That is the whole point of "Obamacare"...Bring down prices to make it affordable and make the "players" more efficient and cost-effective.
sorry, the line should have been:
conservatives are arguing that a government run program will put insurers out of business...Obama was using the USPS sample to prove that it doesn't put competitors out.
That isn't even the point. UPS and FedEx deliver high-priority packages but they do _not_ deliver first-class mail. They're not allowed. The law gives the U.S. Postal Service a monopoly on delivery of most mail, and private businesses may not compete. The President could not possibly have picked a worse example of private industry competing with the government.
It was a great and illuminating gaffe in that it will be the taxpayers that get to pony-up the $7Billion every year to bail out the USPS. In addition to the 800+ USPS offices closing, can you imagine the waste, fraud, and abuse of government healthcare? Anyone 'google' Medicare fraud reports? That's a $2B industry in and of itself and our Gov is only spending $15M/year to audit & investigate?
So, EVERY American gets the 'opportunity' to pay higher taxes in order to keep competition in the health insurance marketplace?
Really, I mean really?
Where can I sign up for more 'opportunities' like this? I vote with my dollars and reward great service, value, and customer orientation. I can't vote if I am too busy being taxed...
BTW: Did anyone catch BHO talk about shortening the patent laws on Rx so that we can get to generics faster? Can anybody see the 'laws of unintended consequences' playing out horribly for America? You can't shorten patent laws for only one industr
walrus is a gated community LIEberal and a QUAKEBUTTOCK.
US POSTAL SERVICE deficit $3 BILLION
MEDICARE unfunded liability $89 TRILLION
SS unfunded liability $18 TRILLION
www.ncpa.org/pub/ba662
Please explain to me again WHY you think this government can manage your families health? And do it right?
They couldn't manage the MUSTANG RANCH BROTHEL and "Three years after seizing the famous Mustang Ranch brothel, the federal government announced plans today to demolish it."
WHY do you want to trust them?
walrus, Obama wasn't using his mr. tele and screwed up without it.
What a tool to use the USPS as an example of private/government enterprise.
Using Obama's logic of the C4C boondoggle, he said it proves it is a success because the program ran out of money.
Well, I guess you could say the USPS is WILDLY successful too then. Ahhahhahhahhha!!!
Watch him sink like the Titanic!
walrus says: Bring down prices to make it affordable and make the "players" more efficient and cost-effective.
Lets see. Add the so called 40 million uninsured to the plan and it will cut costs? Hmmmm.....
walrus says: Obama was using the USPS sample to prove that it doesn't put competitors out.
But he inadvertently PROVED that government cannot ruan anything with efficiency.
did anyone on here think about how many gov't agencies we rely on EVERY MINUTE? FCC, FDA, FDIC, etc etc. the list goes on and on. The gov't already runs a lot of things, so all of your arguments are moot... morons.
TAP: "I can't vote if I am too busy being taxed..." good. please don't vote. People like you genuinely do NOT deserve your freedom. Your arguments are too stupid to even bother responding to. Really.
"FCC", "FDA", "FDIC", you just incriminated yourself as an IDIOT, genius. Must be another Obumble trying to speak without the TELEPROMPTER.
USPS Postmaster General's salary for 2008 was valued at more than $800,000, according to Postal Service financial records.
Lose $3,000,000,000 and get a bonus of $135,000 in 2008.
Thank you Mr. Potter.
FDA – Services are provided to protect Americans, much like the Armed Forces or CDC. The FDA is a COST ($2.4B) center for the USA, and the only way it is ‘revenue neutral is through adding, raising, collecting more taxes & fees. (fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/Reports/BudgetReports/2009FDABudgetSummary/ucm116060.pdf)
FDIC – Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDIC) is a paper insurance that guarantees ‘the banks’ with the full faith and credit of the USA. It serves the banks, not people.
Why don’t you list Medicare or Medicaid?
Medicare: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_(United_States)#Costs_and_funding_challenges
Medicaid: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicaid#Budget
VA: A single-payer government-run health-care system, and the American government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense with a total 2009 budget of about $87.6 billion.
VA only treats Vets, can you imagine the cost for "everyone insi
Everyone knows the gov't can't run anything efficiently why? They have no accountability. Before someone jumps ugly on me and tells me that elections are the accountability factor, let me remind you of Dodd, Baheny Fwank, Murtha et al... it seems we have lost our ability to elect the correct people for the job and kick their silly bums to the curb when they fail to follow the Constitution and do their jobs correctly. They are to be about the business of the people.
The Post office is not run by the government. Please read and do not rely on the tv or radio.
Today, for the fourth time in three weeks, I received my order of photos terribly creased. I am sure this creasing did not happen at the film processor. The envelope is bent all over and looks like it was run over by the mail truck. When I mentioned this to the mailman he just shrugged his shoulders and laughed. Something needs to be done about the horrible service the USPS provides before nobody uses them any more.
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