US Postal Service expects to run out of cash in a year without help from Congress

[Wingnut]

And this is a problem, why? If the USPS ended tomorrow, how would your life be affected.


WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Postal Service will run out of cash within a year unless Congress lifts a decades-old cap and allows the agency to borrow more money, the new postmaster general warned in an interview.

If it doesn’t, the Postal Service might not be able to pay its employees or vendors by February 2027, with potentially dire consequences for mail delivery, Postmaster General David Steiner told The Associated Press.

“How long are employees going to work and vendors going to show up if we’re not paying them?” Steiner said in an interview on Wednesday.

The postmaster general is scheduled to testify before Congress later this month about the Postal Service’s financial struggles and the need to change longstanding rules and regulations that he considers burdensome. He singled out the $15 billion cap on borrowing that has been in place since 1990.

The Postal Service is an independent agency that is funded mostly through postage revenue and the services it provides. Steiner said it has all the burdens of a government agency, such as having to deliver mail six days a week to every address, but none of the benefits, such as an annual appropriation from the federal budget.

“We have to have a conversation with the American public,” Steiner said. “If you want us to deliver everywhere, every day, we’ll do it. That’s not a problem. But who is going to pay for it?”

Steiner, a former CEO of the nation’s largest waste management company and a former member of the FedEx board of directors, took over the struggling Postal Service last July. He said raising the borrowing limit is the easiest thing lawmakers can do immediately to help the agency.

“That will buy us the time to make the fixes we need to make, and we can sail on down the road,” he said.

https://www.kptv.com/2026/03/05/us-postal-service-expects-run-out-cash-year-without-help-congress-postmaster-says/

[mountaineer]

If they're handling half of the physical mail now, have they cut the workforce by half? It doesn't help that at least three unions represent postal employees.   

[Free Vulcan]

I don't mind paying more for stamps, and why aren't they negotiating with entities like Amazon for rates that will keep them flush?

[catfish1957]

Just wonder if that idea of "Foerver Stamps" has come back to bite.

I know I probably got enough to last from way back to last until the 22nd century.  Just hope the glue lasts. 

[Fishrrman]

The post office will survive, one way or the other.

Is it not one of the few governmental agencies/services specifically authorized by the original Constitution?

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

  Privatize it? I know it's authorized by Congress but that doesn't mean it's essential.

[Hoodat]

Congress runs out of cash every year without help from the Fed.

[libertybele]

Our post office is always very busy  Last time I was there, there was a line out the door and there were only 2 postal employees working. 

One things is for certain regardless what happens, the prices of postage and shipping is going to rise yet again. I think that's been  happening on  a yearly basis.  I remember when stamps were two cents.   

What I find interesting is that so many people pay bills on line, so why is there such a need for a post office?  Ours is new and was built in the past 5 years.

[rustynail]

Make a law for a virtual stamp on every text and email.

[Smokin Joe]

Make a law for a virtual stamp on every text and email.

Oh, joy! another tax.

It doesn't cost the Government anything for me to send an e-mail.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Make a law for a virtual stamp on every text and email.

Please don't give them any ideas.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Just wonder if that idea of "Foerver Stamps" has come back to bite.

I know I probably got enough to last from way back to last until the 22nd century.  Just hope the glue lasts.

More likely this type of behavior is biting their behinds.  I wonder if Oshkosh Defense was a no-bid contract.

Billions Spent, Few Trucks Delivered: The USPS EV Fiasco
By Craig Eyermann
December 18, 2025

At any given time, the U.S. government is spending taxpayer dollars that are being wasted. Today’s example is being delivered by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

That’s a shame, because with around 533,000 career employees and another 106,000 non-career employees, the Postal Service accounts for about one out of every five of the U.S. government’s three million civilian employees. From post offices to stamp machines, mailboxes, and mail trucks, they represent the most visible connection Americans have with the federal government in their daily lives.

But that connection doesn’t prevent them from squandering the resources of the taxpayers whose interests they are supposed to serve.

In August 2022, when the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act became law, taxpayers provided over $3 billion to government contractor Oshkosh Defense to design and build 35,000 electric battery-powered mail trucks. These supposedly environmentally friendly vehicles were intended to replace the Postal Service’s fleet of gasoline-powered mail trucks.

It has been described as both “unusual” and “ugly.” It’s certainly very different than the very familiar vehicles that have preceded it, as the video below describing its development history makes clear.

Three years later, the U.S. Postal Service is far behind schedule in its ambition to switch over to battery-powered mail trucks. As of November 10, 2025, it is operating a total of 612 electric battery-powered mail trucks. https://www.independent.org/article/2025/12/18/billions-usps-electric-vehicle/

[roamer_1]

I don't mind paying more for stamps, and why aren't they negotiating with entities like Amazon for rates that will keep them flush?

Because FedEx and UPS are often cheaper and better, and email cheaper and better still. Pretty hard to compete with free.

[Timber Rattler]

Because FedEx and UPS are often cheaper and better, and email cheaper and better still. Pretty hard to compete with free.

Therein lies the problem...FedEx and UPS are no longer better.  We've had a LOT of problems with both at my wife's business, and there is no way to contact a live customer service rep....their management hides behind an online wall, and if you call or email with a time sensitive issue, all you get is an AI response or chatbot.

The truth is that a lot of people still depend on USPS and ending it altogether would be disastrous.  Lots of checks still move through it, and business still depend on it for shipping and mailings, because FedEx and UPS are not available in every community.

[jmyrlefuller]

First class mail is pretty much obsolete anyway. Bill payment is almost exclusively digital now (and the few who refuse to adopt it will die off soon), nobody writes letters anymore, and its main purpose seems to be junk mail and Christmas/birthday cards.

The one thing the USPS does that is government-protected as a monopoly is now dying. The rest of the stuff it does already has ample private competition.

So, yeah, an agency built upon an outdated mode of communication is inevitably going to face a reckoning.

[Timber Rattler]

First class mail is pretty much obsolete anyway. Bill payment is almost exclusively digital now

That's not necessarily true.  As I have said, my wife is a small business owner and, annoying as it is, she still has to deal with shipping and mailed checks and invoices because not everyone is online.  And FedEx and UPS are not everywhere, and there service is very spotty these days.  Not like it used to be.

[verga]

Make a law for a virtual stamp on every text and email.

Hey i think Idiot hacked you account.

[catfish1957]

First class mail is pretty much obsolete anyway. Bill payment is almost exclusively digital now

And why I have almost a life time of Forever stamps.

Auto-pay was a miracle after paying utility checks for four places alone which seemed like a full time job.

[Free Vulcan]

Because FedEx and UPS are often cheaper and better, and email cheaper and better still. Pretty hard to compete with free.

I know that FedEx and UPS don't carry Amazon packages below a certain amount, and the USPS has picked that business up. Near everything I've ordered for the last year has been handled by them.

They aren't known to be good at negotiating, I would hope they are making money off that pickup, but I worry they aren't.

[libertybele]

First class mail is pretty much obsolete anyway. Bill payment is almost exclusively digital now (and the few who refuse to adopt it will die off soon), nobody writes letters anymore, and its main purpose seems to be junk mail and Christmas/birthday cards.

The one thing the USPS does that is government-protected as a monopoly is now dying. The rest of the stuff it does already has ample private competition.

So, yeah, an agency built upon an outdated mode of communication is inevitably going to face a reckoning.

Well, our post office for some reason is packed so I would be reluctant to claim that first class mail is pretty much obsolete.

Our painter, lawn maintenance and pest control companies and others don't accept credit or debit cards; cash or checks only.  So I'm still writing checks and mailing out payment. 

[libertybele]

And why I have almost a life time of Forever stamps.

Auto-pay was a miracle after paying utility checks for four places alone which seemed like a full time job.

The only companies we have on auto pay are our electricity and water, those keep our house going in case something happens to us.

I have purposefully not put others on auto pay, especially Comcast -- good luck trying to stop the auto pay should you need to.  Mr. Bele but Netflix and Amazon prime on auto  pay  -- what a nightmare.  I think we're finally down to being billed once a month.

[catfish1957]

The only companies we have on auto pay are our electricity and water, those keep our house going in case something happens to us.

I have purposefully not put others on auto pay, especially Comcast -- good luck trying to stop the auto pay should you need to.  Mr. Bele but Netflix and Amazon prime on auto  pay  -- what a nightmare.  I think we're finally down to being billed once a month.

Haven't encountered those problems........    yet.   

[roamer_1]

Therein lies the problem...FedEx and UPS are no longer better.  We've had a LOT of problems with both at my wife's business, and there is no way to contact a live customer service rep....their management hides behind an online wall, and if you call or email with a time sensitive issue, all you get is an AI response or chatbot.

The truth is that a lot of people still depend on USPS and ending it altogether would be disastrous.  Lots of checks still move through it, and business still depend on it for shipping and mailings, because FedEx and UPS are not available in every community.

I was FedEx for the longest time, paying through the nose for their superior tracking and reliability And their dock is way across town... But it was worth it to have no headaches.

Anymore I just let the UPS store deal with it... It's more convenient,  and pretty cheap for full service. Heck, I don't even wrap or box  anything anymore. They feel better about insuring the pkg if they know how it's wrapped... Which is fine by me. I just show up and dump junk on their counter, and off it goes. 

[roamer_1]

I know that FedEx and UPS don't carry Amazon packages below a certain amount, and the USPS has picked that business up. Near everything I've ordered for the last year has been handled by them.

They aren't known to be good at negotiating, I would hope they are making money off that pickup, but I worry they aren't.

I think electronic mail just wrecked em. They re-rigged to become a package company, but the fun-tickets were in them letters... And I don't think they will ever recover.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Therein lies the problem...FedEx and UPS are no longer better.  We've had a LOT of problems with both at my wife's business, and there is no way to contact a live customer service rep....their management hides behind an online wall, and if you call or email with a time sensitive issue, all you get is an AI response or chatbot.

The truth is that a lot of people still depend on USPS and ending it altogether would be disastrous.  Lots of checks still move through it, and business still depend on it for shipping and mailings, because FedEx and UPS are not available in every community.

Well maybe those that rely on it should pay more for it. 

Personally 99% of my mail goes right in the trash.

[Fishrrman]

I still write checks to pay bills and will keep doing so as long as I can still write them out.

The only "auto-pay" I use is for internet service because they offer a discount for doing so.

For city bills (property taxes, water & sewer) I take cash to city hall and pay in person.

These days, if I had to ship something valuable and fragile, I'd choose the Post Office over UPS and FedEx. Both of the latter seem to be going downhill in recent years.

[Smokin Joe]

First class mail is pretty much obsolete anyway. Bill payment is almost exclusively digital now (and the few who refuse to adopt it will die off soon), nobody writes letters anymore, and its main purpose seems to be junk mail and Christmas/birthday cards.

The one thing the USPS does that is government-protected as a monopoly is now dying. The rest of the stuff it does already has ample private competition.

So, yeah, an agency built upon an outdated mode of communication is inevitably going to face a reckoning.

The only reason I make payments online or over the phone is that I cannot trust the USPS to deliver my payments on time. Most are made in person.
Outdated?
Try to send me car parts (or anything else I order) over the phone.

[corbe]

   H/T to @catfish1957

   With Blondie in charge nothing becomes of this.

The military's EV mail truck FAILURE

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ekXZfQZxcVM