Postal Service Blaming it's Financial Trouble on Pre-Funding Healthcare Requirement
By: Michael C. Fehn
Updated: January 11, 2013
The U.S. Postal Service is facing its own Fiscal Cliff.
By March, the service expects to have about one-billion dollars in cash. That may sound like a lot, but postal officials say that's barely enough to run the service for four days. And if no action is taken, cutbacks delivery service and jobs could be on the horizon.
The trouble seems to have started in 2006, when a Congressional mandate forced the Postal Service to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees. Officials say before that, the service had no debt. Adding to the problem is the fact that fewer people use the mail for bill paying and keeping in touch, thanks in part to technology.
Postal officials are now hoping Congress will step in to help get the agency out of this financial bind.
By March, the service expects to have about one-billion dollars in cash. That may sound like a lot, but postal officials say that's barely enough to run the service for four days. And if no action is taken, cutbacks delivery service and jobs could be on the horizon.
The trouble seems to have started in 2006, when a Congressional mandate forced the Postal Service to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees. Officials say before that, the service had no debt. Adding to the problem is the fact that fewer people use the mail for bill paying and keeping in touch, thanks in part to technology.
Postal officials are now hoping Congress will step in to help get the agency out of this financial bind.
