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  1. #51
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    About the same time of the contract award, Mr. Blum’s private investment firm reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it and related affiliates had purchased more than 10 million new shares in CBRE. The shares were purchased for the going price of $3.77; CBRE’s stock closed Monday at $5.14.
    Ouch - insider trading as well. Of course, thats perfectly allowed in the US, especially if the corrupt politicians are the ones making the cash from it.

  2. #52
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    ^ you refuse to read all the other posts on this thread?

    You are exposing yourselves as an idiot (like that is new). You are quoting junk sites. The Washington times is a rightwing laughing stock. Only idiots think that is real news.

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by pseudolus View Post
    About the same time of the contract award, Mr. Blum’s private investment firm reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it and related affiliates had purchased more than 10 million new shares in CBRE. The shares were purchased for the going price of $3.77; CBRE’s stock closed Monday at $5.14.
    Ouch - insider trading as well. Of course, thats perfectly allowed in the US, especially if the corrupt politicians are the ones making the cash from it.
    What is most dangerous about people like you who claim to possess so much knowledge is that you are in fact white trash (geordie).

    It has become clear through your posts that you are ill educated. You are not dumb per se, however you are stupid and uneducated.

    I have had to countless times correct your naive and absurd comments. The simple fact that you cling to long discounted conspiracy theories reinforces your stupidity.

    I would have more respect for you if your learned from your own stupidity.

    Sadly you have proven incapable.

  4. #54
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    ^ you refuse to read all the other posts on this thread?

    You are exposing yourselves as an idiot (like that is new). You are quoting junk sites. The Washington times is a rightwing laughing stock. Only idiots think that is real news.
    Well understood what the Washington Times is and isn't, Snub.
    It reeks establishment bias and propaganda.


    Be curious to know what you choose as your trusted American media du jour?

  5. #55
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pseudolus View Post
    From a more "respected" (by you anyway) media source.
    EXCLUSIVE: Senator's husband's firm cashes in on crisis - Washington Times
    First you post a smear job from World Net Daily and then follow that up by saying the Washington Times website is "respected".

    Fuck me, when can we expect an exclusive from Alex Jones?

    Any idiot can identify these as rabid right wing bollocks. Except you, it seems.



    And where's the link for this puppy, he should be in jail if he traded shares on the back of a tip off of a contract award.


    About the same time of the contract award, Mr. Blum’s private investment firm reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it and related affiliates had purchased more than 10 million new shares in CBRE. The shares were purchased for the going price of $3.77; CBRE’s stock closed Monday at $5.14.
    Ouch - insider trading as well. Of course, thats perfectly allowed in the US, especially if the corrupt politicians are the ones making the cash from it.

  6. #56
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    If you actually look at the facts of the story,
    Which are a leading Dumbocrat - Nancy Pelosi's husband is making > a billion - that's billion with a B bucks on the deal.

    So deal with that
    So Booners, if you'd like to show me how you arrived at the figure of ONE BEEEELLION DOLLARS, then please feel free.


  7. #57
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    So Booners, if you'd like to show me how you arrived at the figure of ONE BEEEELLION DOLLARS, then please feel free.
    I'm guessing he used that figure because 10 Billion sounded implausible even to him!

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by pseudolus View Post
    About the same time of the contract award, Mr. Blum’s private investment firm reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it and related affiliates had purchased more than 10 million new shares in CBRE. The shares were purchased for the going price of $3.77; CBRE’s stock closed Monday at $5.14.
    Ouch - insider trading as well. Of course, thats perfectly allowed in the US, especially if the corrupt politicians are the ones making the cash from it.
    What is most dangerous about people like you who claim to possess so much knowledge is that you are in fact white trash (geordie).

    It has become clear through your posts that you are ill educated. You are not dumb per se, however you are stupid and uneducated.

    I have had to countless times correct your naive and absurd comments. The simple fact that you cling to long discounted conspiracy theories reinforces your stupidity.

    I would have more respect for you if your learned from your own stupidity.

    Sadly you have proven incapable.
    Snub you really are being a bit silly. Do you think that the thread is so hard to grasp? A load of politicians from both sides want to make money, so they pick something that is working OK, play it down, try to make it seem crud, and carry on regardless. If Harrytittletattle could tear himself away from the Oscar runway dresses or whatever he is reading all the time, even he could grasp that it is that simple.

    Your ascertaion earlier that Republicans are funded by nastier money that obomba is absurd and yet you lean on that to justify your sycophancy to BRAND OBAMA because regardless off your claims to anarchy and yearning for a revolution, you are nothing more than a flag waving, divided and conquered main stream media sock puppet and no different at all to Boon Mee with his Republican flag waving.

    We often agree on a lot of points, but then you get all protective about your politically correct Brand Obama in the same way harrytittletattle does when someone says iPhones are shit or American Idol is bollocks.

    So sorry if you don't get it. They are all the same. All of them. Obamas money is dirty and nasty just like every republicans is. You know this. Big business, bankers, pharma... the banks that support him... where do you think they invest? Dirty nasty industries. All the same and the nasty kochs could not get as rich and powerful as they have been without the banks being behind them.

    Sober up, stop believing the rot. You want to save the Postal service? Well you can't. Republicans will kill it, and both them and the democrats will make heaps of money carving it up, laughing all the time at gullible fools who believe they actually give a shit.

    Oh, and I'm not a geordie, and I have a degree. I don't claim to be clever, but I am smart enough now not to fall for the shit and bollocks that you keep worshipping.

    harrytittletattle - a link just for you Apps for iPhone that will wow your friends: iPad/iPhone Apps AppList

  9. #59
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    ^ Blah Blah Blah. You have it all figured out. You are a genius, the center of the universe..

    If the world was really that simple.
    Last edited by bsnub; 19-01-2015 at 04:01 AM.

  10. #60
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    Quote Originally Posted by bsnub
    the center of the universe..
    If the universe is infinite, then there is no center...Not even pseudolus...

  11. #61
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    If you actually look at the facts of the story,
    Which are a leading Dumbocrat - Nancy Pelosi's husband is making > a billion - that's billion with a B bucks on the deal.

    So deal with that
    So Booners, if you'd like to show me how you arrived at the figure of ONE BEEEELLION DOLLARS, then please feel free.

    You got it, bud!

    SEN. FEINSTEIN’S HUSBAND’S COMPANY TO BAG $1 BILLION FOR GOVERNMENT DEAL



    As the New York Post notes, “Blum’s company, CBRE, was selected in March 2011 as the sole real estate agent on sales expected to fetch $19 billion. Most voters didn’t notice that Blum is a member of CBRE’s board and served as chairman from 2001 to 2014.”

    Feinstein’s office denies that she had anything to do with the USPS decision.

    This is not the first time Feinstein and her husband have come under fire for engaging in crony capitalism.

    In 2013, a construction group partially owned by Blum’s investment firm scored a construction contract for California’s high-speed rail project valued at $985,142,530

    Senator?s husband stands to profit big from government deal | Page Six

    Dianne Feinstein Still Dogged by Allegations of Conflicts of Interest - Breitbart

    Dianne Feinstein's Husband Bags High-Speed Rail Construction Contract - Breitbart
    A Deplorable Bitter Clinger

  12. #62
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    If you actually look at the facts of the story,
    Which are a leading Dumbocrat - Nancy Pelosi's husband is making > a billion - that's billion with a B bucks on the deal.

    So deal with that
    So Booners, if you'd like to show me how you arrived at the figure of ONE BEEEELLION DOLLARS, then please feel free.

    You got it, bud!

    SEN. FEINSTEIN’S HUSBAND’S COMPANY TO BAG $1 BILLION FOR GOVERNMENT DEAL



    As the New York Post notes, “Blum’s company, CBRE, was selected in March 2011 as the sole real estate agent on sales expected to fetch $19 billion. Most voters didn’t notice that Blum is a member of CBRE’s board and served as chairman from 2001 to 2014.”

    Feinstein’s office denies that she had anything to do with the USPS decision.

    This is not the first time Feinstein and her husband have come under fire for engaging in crony capitalism.

    In 2013, a construction group partially owned by Blum’s investment firm scored a construction contract for California’s high-speed rail project valued at $985,142,530

    Senator?s husband stands to profit big from government deal | Page Six

    Dianne Feinstein Still Dogged by Allegations of Conflicts of Interest - Breitbart

    Dianne Feinstein's Husband Bags High-Speed Rail Construction Contract - Breitbart
    So let's get this straight, you arrived at that figure by reading it off a right wing website.

    And you didn't read it properly, nor - obviously- did you read the post where I actually clarified his stake in CBRE.

    CBRE is not "Blum's company". His investment firm holds about 4.5% of CBRE's shares.

    So....... can you tell me how he got this imaginary billion dollars from CBRE?

    No you can't, because you're still an overexcited twit who posts without thinking.


  13. #63
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda
    No you can't, because you're still an overexcited twit who posts without thinking.
    Is that wrong? Are we not supposed to do that?

    This could mean the end of the internet as we know it!

  14. #64
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Pseudolus, I'm still waiting for your evidence of insider trading.



    "And where's the link for this puppy, he should be in jail if he traded shares on the back of a tip off of a contract award."


    About the same time of the contract award, Mr. Blum’s private investment firm reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it and related affiliates had purchased more than 10 million new shares in CBRE. The shares were purchased for the going price of $3.77; CBRE’s stock closed Monday at $5.14.
    Ouch - insider trading as well. Of course, thats perfectly allowed in the US, especially if the corrupt politicians are the ones making the cash from it.

  15. #65
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    If you actually look at the facts of the story,
    Which are a leading Dumbocrat - Nancy Pelosi's husband is making > a billion - that's billion with a B bucks on the deal.

    So deal with that
    So Booners, if you'd like to show me how you arrived at the figure of ONE BEEEELLION DOLLARS, then please feel free.

    You got it, bud!

    SEN. FEINSTEIN’S HUSBAND’S COMPANY TO BAG $1 BILLION FOR GOVERNMENT DEAL



    As the New York Post notes, “Blum’s company, CBRE, was selected in March 2011 as the sole real estate agent on sales expected to fetch $19 billion. Most voters didn’t notice that Blum is a member of CBRE’s board and served as chairman from 2001 to 2014.”

    Feinstein’s office denies that she had anything to do with the USPS decision.

    This is not the first time Feinstein and her husband have come under fire for engaging in crony capitalism.

    In 2013, a construction group partially owned by Blum’s investment firm scored a construction contract for California’s high-speed rail project valued at $985,142,530

    Senator?s husband stands to profit big from government deal | Page Six

    Dianne Feinstein Still Dogged by Allegations of Conflicts of Interest - Breitbart

    Dianne Feinstein's Husband Bags High-Speed Rail Construction Contract - Breitbart
    So let's get this straight, you arrived at that figure by reading it off a right wing website.

    And you didn't read it properly, nor - obviously- did you read the post where I actually clarified his stake in CBRE.

    CBRE is not "Blum's company". His investment firm holds about 4.5% of CBRE's shares.

    So....... can you tell me how he got this imaginary billion dollars from CBRE?

    No you can't, because you're still an overexcited twit who posts without thinking.

    Heh...& let's this straight - you don't read or comprehend information that doesn't fit your left-wing agenda

    Feinstein is dirty no matter how you attempt to spin it.

    Senator?s husband stands to profit big from government deal | Page Six

    Dianne Feinstein Still Dogged by Allegations of Conflicts of Interest - Breitbart

    Dianne Feinstein's Husband Bags High-Speed Rail Construction Contract - Breitbart

    The NY Post is a right-wing website?
    __________________

  16. #66
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Which are a leading Dumbocrat - Nancy Pelosi's husband is making > a billion - that's billion with a B bucks on the deal.

    So deal with that
    So Booners, if you'd like to show me how you arrived at the figure of ONE BEEEELLION DOLLARS, then please feel free.

    You got it, bud!

    SEN. FEINSTEIN’S HUSBAND’S COMPANY TO BAG $1 BILLION FOR GOVERNMENT DEAL



    As the New York Post notes, “Blum’s company, CBRE, was selected in March 2011 as the sole real estate agent on sales expected to fetch $19 billion. Most voters didn’t notice that Blum is a member of CBRE’s board and served as chairman from 2001 to 2014.”

    Feinstein’s office denies that she had anything to do with the USPS decision.

    This is not the first time Feinstein and her husband have come under fire for engaging in crony capitalism.

    In 2013, a construction group partially owned by Blum’s investment firm scored a construction contract for California’s high-speed rail project valued at $985,142,530

    Senator?s husband stands to profit big from government deal | Page Six

    Dianne Feinstein Still Dogged by Allegations of Conflicts of Interest - Breitbart

    Dianne Feinstein's Husband Bags High-Speed Rail Construction Contract - Breitbart
    So let's get this straight, you arrived at that figure by reading it off a right wing website.

    And you didn't read it properly, nor - obviously- did you read the post where I actually clarified his stake in CBRE.

    CBRE is not "Blum's company". His investment firm holds about 4.5% of CBRE's shares.

    So....... can you tell me how he got this imaginary billion dollars from CBRE?

    No you can't, because you're still an overexcited twit who posts without thinking.

    Heh...& let's this straight - you don't read or comprehend information that doesn't fit your left-wing agenda

    Feinstein is dirty no matter how you attempt to spin it.

    Senator?s husband stands to profit big from government deal | Page Six

    Dianne Feinstein Still Dogged by Allegations of Conflicts of Interest - Breitbart

    Dianne Feinstein's Husband Bags High-Speed Rail Construction Contract - Breitbart

    The NY Post is a right-wing website?
    __________________
    I would suggest you post evidence rather than gossip if you want to be taken seriously.

    You still haven't told me how having a 4.5% stake in a company that *might* have earned $19 billion from a contract results in Feinstein's hubby getting ONE BEELION DOLLARRRRSSSS.


    Maybe it's just because you're shit at maths?


  17. #67
    Thailand Expat Boon Mee's Avatar
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    Well, we all know that Snopes is aggressively pro-left:

    "In 2011, the CB Richard Ellis Group (now CBRE Group, Inc.), the world's largest commercial real estate services firm, was awarded an exclusive contract to market USPS facilities which provides CBRE with a commission of 2 to 6 percent on the sale of those properties. This award has been the subject of some controversy, as CBRE's Chairman of the Board is Richard C. Blum, the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein, who represents the state of California in the U.S. Senate.

    snopes.com: CBRE/Richard Blum and USPS

  18. #68
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    BM, just so we know are you going to be referring to this as FeinsteinGate, DianeGate, PostGate, CBREGate (that one is a bit of a mouthful and Steve Doocy will probably screw it up and there's no way the teabaggers will have any idea what is going on) or some other ~Gate?

    Also, please indicate the severity of this issue on the following scale:
    [ ] A bit Benghazi
    [ ] Somewhat Benghazi, but not REALLY Benghazi
    [ ] Totes Benghazi, but still not the full Benghazi
    [ ] Whoo Boy! We've got a real live Benghazi here, with a side order of Benghazis
    [] ZOMFG!!!! BENNNNNGHAAAAAAAZIIIIII TO THE MAX!!!

    (I took the liberty of pre-filling the form for you, but please feel free to correct me if I am wrong)
    bibo ergo sum
    If you hear the thunder be happy - the lightening missed.
    This time.

  19. #69
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boon Mee View Post
    Well, we all know that Snopes is aggressively pro-left:

    "In 2011, the CB Richard Ellis Group (now CBRE Group, Inc.), the world's largest commercial real estate services firm, was awarded an exclusive contract to market USPS facilities which provides CBRE with a commission of 2 to 6 percent on the sale of those properties. This award has been the subject of some controversy, as CBRE's Chairman of the Board is Richard C. Blum, the husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein, who represents the state of California in the U.S. Senate.

    snopes.com: CBRE/Richard Blum and USPS
    Yes.... so CBRE made a profit on a contract it won in a competitive bid.

    So now, can you work out what 2-6% of the alleged $19Bn is?

    And when you've done that, care to share the dividends that Blum's company got for his 4.5% share in CBRE?

    Obviously I'm expecting your simple maths to come up with the answer of ONE BEEELIONNN DOLLARRRRSSSS so you might have to make up some shit like you usually do.


  20. #70
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    What We Lose with a Privatized Postal Service

    Did you know that when you ship a package through Federal Express, the U.S. Postal Service often carries it the last mile?
    Last year, the Postal Service delivered 1.4 billion packages for FedEx and UPS. In fact, it delivers the last mile for almost a third of FedEx packages. The 618,000 Postal Service workers also delivered nearly 66 billion pieces of first-class mail — that’s more than 100,000 pieces per carrier.
    The Postal Service can reach all 150 million American households because it’s a public system that we’ve been investing in for over 200 years. Our Constitution tasked the federal government with creating a national postal system and told the Postmaster General to report to the president.
    But in 1971, Congress made the service into an “independent agency” managed by a board of governors. And since then, it’s been under attack by politicians who never met a public program they liked.
    Yes, the rise of UPS, FedEx, and the Internet has created new challenges for your local post office. But the purported “fiscal crisis” is a manufactured one.


    In 2006, Congress required the Postal Service — known as USPS for short — to “pre-fund” 75 years of its retirees’ health benefits. This added $5.7 billion to its costs last year.
    No other private company or federal agency has to pre-fund retirement health care benefits. If they did, many corporations would run huge deficits or tumble into bankruptcy. Without these retiree health payments, USPS would actually turn a profit.
    Using the deficit created by this requirement as an excuse, the USPS board of governors is closing distribution centers, cutting worker hours, eliminating delivery routes, and slashing jobs. Over the past five years, USPS has cut 94,000 positions.
    The job loss alone is a travesty, but a bigger principle is at stake.
    Our nation’s founders understood that a universal, affordable, and yes, public postal system helps knit us together as a nation. They recognized that commerce requires a common infrastructure and public institutions that belong to and benefit the entire country.
    Instead of shrinking the Postal Service, we should build on it. That means, first of all, appreciating that the USPS can be much more than a delivery service.
    In many small towns, the local post office continues to be a community hub, a place to meet neighbors and get news. And postal carriers don’t just deliver letters — they often keep an eye on the elderly and homebound, and alert first responders if things look amiss.
    They could do even more. The Postal Service’s fleet of vehicles — the largest in the country — could be equipped to detect air pollutants and report potholes, water leaks, and other infrastructure repair needs.
    Why stop there?
    The USPS could raise tens of billions of dollars each year by reinstating post office savings accounts and banking services, which it efficiently provided for 55 years in the first half of the 20th century.
    Customers received 2-percent interest on their savings accounts, and the post office loaned their money to community banks, which then made loans to local businesses. This virtuous circle benefitted the entire community. At its peak, 4 million Americans took advantage of these services, saving $36 billion in 2014 dollars.
    Today, 34 million American families live in places without traditional banking services. High-interest payday lenders and check-cashing services charge low-wage working families in those communities an average of over $2,400 a year. Experts estimate that low-cost banking services could save American workers a trillion dollars a year.
    Instead of selling off the assets we built together over two centuries, let’s invest in our Postal Service — a public system that has served our nation since its birth.


    What We Lose with a Privatized Postal Service

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  22. #72
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    Trump, Amazon and the Postal Service: The story behind the tweet

    The republican requirement to force the post office to prefund retiree health benefits is the reason why the post office is not making a profit right now. You see they passed that law because the post office is big guberment that actually works. They just can't have that.

    On Friday morning, President Donald Trump decided to take on the U.S. Postal Service.

    "Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer?" he wrote on Twitter. "Should be charging MUCH MORE!"

    The tweet gave Trump the opportunity to slamAmazon (AMZN), which has been a frequent target of his ire. But with the tweet, the president also waded into a long-running, Byzantine debate over how much the Postal Service should charge for its services.

    In short: Trump is likely right that the Postal Service charges less than it really costs to deliver packages, and Amazon is one of its biggest customers. But that's not the root of the agency's fiscal problems.


    Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer? Should be charging MUCH MORE!
    — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2017

    First of all, the U.S. Postal Service is unlike any other business. It has a government sanctioned monopoly over first-class mail, which it is obligated to send to every corner of the United States for the cost of a stamp.

    At the same time, it competes with FedEx and UPS to deliver parcels — but its rates are approved by a board appointed by the president, and almost every aspect of its operations are governed by Congress.

    With email replacing snail mail, that first-class mail business has declined dramatically — it's down by 40% since peaking in 2000. Meanwhile, the parcel delivery business has exploded. But the Postal Service hasn't been able to compensate for collapsing mail volumes due to a 2006 law that capped price increases at the rate of inflation and also limited the proportion of its budget that could be devoted to its parcel business.


    Still, the Postal Service might be able to eke out a profit if it weren't for another way in which Congress has tied its hands:It requires the agency to pre-fund its retiree health benefits and count them as operating expenses. In fiscal 2016, the Postal Service brought in $69.4 billion in revenue, was liable for $5.8 billion in retiree health benefits and reported a $5.6 billion net loss.

    It makes sense to look to package delivery as a way to turn those fortunes around.

    An analyst note by Citigroup from April found that prices would have to go up by $1.41 per package in 2018 — or about 40% — to reflect the true cost of delivery. (Those calculations are based on an analysis by UPS (UPS), which along with FedEx (FDX) stands to gain enormously if the Postal Service raises its prices, so they should be taken with a grain of salt.)

    That could be a big hit to Amazon, which is one of the largest users of that parcel delivery service. The Citigroup analysts estimate that would add $2.6 billion to its current shipping costs, an increase of about 28%. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

    Perversely, that could end up benefiting the Seattle retail behemoth. According to Citigroup, Amazon already gets bulk pricing discounts because of its enormous volume, and is rapidly building out its own distribution network, which will give it more delivery options down the line. For that reason, the Citigroup analysts predict that a Postal Service price hike would hurt other retailers more than Amazon.

    "Such a scenario should further increase Amazon's cost advantage to consumers," Citi's note reads. "While the higher shipping costs would likely hurt Amazon's margin in the short-term, increased purchase frequency and customer density should benefit margins over time."

    So, is any of this going to happen?

    In the short term, partially. The Postal Regulatory Commission just completed a year-long review of rate-setting policy, and recommended that the Postmaster General be given the authority to raise rates a couple percentage points above inflation, which could bring the agency closer to breakeven.

    Meanwhile, the Postmaster General has urged passage of legislation pending in Congress that would give the agency more control over its operations and relieve it of the burden of pre-funding health benefits. Looking forward, a coalition of unions and public interest nonprofits have advocated for allowing the Postal Service to provide other services, such as banking, through its vast network of post offices.

    Trump has sway over the Postal Service. He's made three board nominations, who are currently awaiting Senate action. By law, it's supposed to have nine appointed members, and currently it has none.



    Trump, Amazon and the Postal Service: The story behind the tweet - Dec. 29, 2017
    Last edited by bsnub; 30-12-2017 at 11:40 AM.

  23. #73
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    Federal judge blocks Postal Service changes that slowed mail

    SEATTLE — A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them "a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service" before the November election.

    Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he was issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by 14 states that sued the Trump administration and the U.S. Postal Service.
    The states challenged the Postal Service’s so-called "leave behind" policy, where trucks have been leaving postal facilities on time regardless of whether there is more mail to load. They also sought to force the Postal Service to treat election mail as first class mail.

    The judge noted after a hearing that Trump had repeatedly attacked voting by mail by making unfounded claims that it is rife with fraud. Many more voters are expected to vote by mail this November because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the states have expressed concern that delays might result in voters not receiving ballots or registration forms in time.

    "The states have demonstrated the defendants are involved in a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service," Bastian said.

    He also said the changes created "a substantial possibility many voters will be disenfranchised."

    Bastian, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a written order later Thursday that closely tracked the relief sought by the states. It ordered the Postal Service to stop implementing the "leave behind" policy, to treat all election mail as first class mail rather than as slower-moving categories, to reinstall any mail processing machines needed to ensure the prompt handling of election mail, and to inform its employees about the requirements of his injunction.

    Postal Service spokesman Dave Partenheimer said the organization is reviewing its legal options, but "there should be no doubt that the Postal Service is ready and committed to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives."

    Lee Moak, a member of the USPS Board of Governors, called the notion any changes were politically motivated "completely and utterly without merit."

    Following a national uproar, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major donor to President Donald Trump and the GOP, announced he was suspending some changes — including the removal of iconic blue mailboxes in many cities and the decommissioning of mail processing machines.

    But other changes remained in place, and the states — including the battlegrounds of Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada — asked the court to block them. Led by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the states said the Postal Service made the changes without first bringing them to the Postal Regulatory Commission for public comment and an advisory opinion, as required by federal law. They also said the changes interfered with their constitutional authority to administer their elections.

    At the hearing, Justice Department attorney Joseph Borson sought to assure the judge that the Postal Service would handle election mail promptly, noting that a surge of ballots in the mail would pale in comparison to increases from, say, holiday cards.

    He also said slow-downs caused by the "leave behind" policy had gotten better since it was first implemented, and that the Postal Service in reality had made no changes with regard to how it classifies and processes election mail. DeJoy has repeatedly insisted that processing election mail remains the organization’s top priority.

    "There's been a lot of confusion in the briefing and in the press about what the Postal Service has done," Borson said. "The states are accusing us of making changes we have not in fact made."
    Voters who are worried about their ballots being counted "can simply promptly drop their ballots in the mail," he said, and states can help by mailing registration form or absentee ballots early.
    Borson also insisted that the states were required to bring their challenge not in court, but before the Postal Regulatory Commission itself — even though by law the commission has 90 days to respond. Bastian rejected that notion, saying there was no time for that with the election just seven weeks away.

    The states conceded that mail delays have eased since the service cuts first created a national uproar in July, but they said on-time deliveries remain well below their prior levels, meaning millions of pieces of mail that would otherwise arrive on-time no longer are.

    They also noted some of the effects the changes had already wrought: Michigan spent $2 million earlier this year on envelopes that met election mail standards — only to learn that the Postal Service wouldn’t treat them as first class mail. In Madison, Wisconsin, the number of ballots that weren’t counted because they arrived late for the August primary doubled from the August 2018 primary.

    Further, they cited research from information technology consultant Mynor Urizar-Hunter, who helped start a website tracking the USPS changes, noting that 78% of the machines slated for removal were in counties won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

    The states suing are Washington, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia — all led by Democratic attorneys general.

    Pennsylvania is leading a separate multistate lawsuit over the changes, and New York and Montana have filed their own challenges.

    Federal judge blocks Postal Service changes that slowed mail

  24. #74
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    I would share the shit out of this and tell everyone else you know to do the same.

    It tells how to vote, and more importantly how to vote early.

    Better Know A Ballot | Election 2020 | How to Vote

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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    It tells how to vote, and more importantly how to vote early.
    My state has had mail-in voting for over two decades the state has the process down airtight. The post offices here disregarded the Postmaster's order to disconnect the sorting machines. So things will most likely go off without a hitch here. But I think this year I will be dropping my ballot off at the ballot box that is not far from my house just to be sure.

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