The Postal Service recently issued its 10K annual report for fiscal year 2015 pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In a move that should not shock stakeholders, the Postal Service spun negative commentary from generally positive results, including a $1.2 billion year-to-date revenue increase and a $1.2 billion surplus in operational costs.
This perpetual cycle of disinformation is nothing new. The Postal Service continues its practice of skewing positive finance statements with reports of unrealized paper losses, which are largely attributed to the unenforced and unenforceable pre-funding mandate for the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund. No other business with a basic amortization chart would entertain the insanity of prefunding retiree health costs for 75 years into the future. Nonetheless, the USPS has been burdened with these financial obligations since passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act during the 109th Congress in 2006, at which time the Postal Service was at its peak in mail volume and in surplus monies.
The Service reports controllable income for 2015 was $1.2 billion compared to $1.4 billion in 2014 — all without burdening the American taxpayer whatsoever. This operating profit is not a coincidence; it is a reflection of an improved economy, increased consumer spending; and increasing productivity of Mail Handlers and other postal employees.
The Service should be embracing the trend towards increased package shipping revenue. “The Postal network should be enhanced, not consolidated and dismantled. Any further move to dismantle the network and reduce service standards is a step in the wrong direction. We are facing an improving economy with an opportunity to move forward with constructive and responsible postal reform legislation that will protect the services we provide to the American public, today and into the future,” said NPMHU National President Hogrogian.
