Will Republicans Hold The Senate And House?
Poll
 | 7 votes (43.75%) | ||
| | 7 votes (43.75%) | ||
| No votes (0%) | |||
| | 2 votes (12.5%) |
16 members have voted
Quote: billryanLet me tell you of a situation most of you are probably unaware of.
I've recently been selling some military miniatures on eBay. They mostly sell for under $20 and cost about $6-8 to ship.
After I sold a bit, I was contacted by representatives of Chinese companies, offering to dropship for me. Due to some archaic postal treaty, it is cheaper for me to ship an item from China to an American eBay buyer than to ship it domestically. Most packages from China would run less than $3. It also means no shipping to me and no storing merchandise.
The crazy thing is in the case the business explodes, most jobs created will be in China. Instead of a warehouse and employees in Nevada, everything ships from China.
All because the U.S. Post Office undercuts itself.
I read Trump is threatening to end this treaty. It certainly needs to be looked into.
I could be wrong, but I didn’t think it was a treaty.
I thought it was the Chinese Government that heavily subsidized mail to the US, so that manufactures could sell direct to consumers at completely unbeatable prices.
They leave heavy packages outside my gate on the sidewalk. Anyone could just walk off with it. No doubt they would be caught on camera, but I doubt that would matter. I have a doorbell on my gate, but they are too dumb or lazy to ring it. I would put up signage saying ring me, however, I think that would lead to pranksters. The smaller stuff they just toss over the gate sometimes landing on stuff I planted or in the water.Quote: djatcPost office is literal trash
EDIT: I was maybe operating a motor vehicle and couldn't expand on my thoughts here:
Every person I've known that ordered something online from Amazon always has to go through a bottleneck: the post office. These guys never knock on your door to deliver your stuff, and when you order something 2 day shipping, it better be there in your place if you were home all day and was waiting for the mailman aka mailperson so we don't offend snowflakes. Then they carry your stuff the entire day and a half so you can't intercept it at the post office pickup spot, which is open till like 5pm or something, which is just the time for breakfast so you'll miss it.
Some, not all, the people working there make it known they have a federal job and can't be fired in their attitude. I can't see how this place would make money in the private sector.
Quote: gamerfreakI could be wrong, but I didn’t think it was a treaty.
I thought it was the Chinese Government that heavily subsidized mail to the US so that manufactures could sell to consumers here directly at completely unbeatable prices.
"Subsidized postal rates for China cost the U.S. $300 million a year, with a discount ranging from 40% to 70% on an average shipment, according to the administration official."
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-moves-to-end-deep-discounts-for-packages-from-china-1539791629
Quote: AZDuffmanIn most parts AMZN is delivering their own stuff now. USPS contracted out most parcel post to UPS long ago (or was it Fedex?)
If that is true, then that is just completely opposite of how multiple post office locations my pops has been postmaster at the last several years have run then. UPS for sure, possibly Fedex both drop off parcels for USPS to deliver daily as well as an Amazon truck unloading in varying frequency depending on season (daily late fall.) Rural-ish midwestern areas, so I could see a possibility metro area doing it differently.
He’s had a carrier position vacant for a month (maybe two now?), has three people interested, but they can’t start the process because the job hasn’t posted yet. He was verbally reprimanded and told “it takes time” when asking about the hold up posting the job the last two weeks it didn’t post. Lol.
Quote: djatcThen they carry your stuff the entire day and a half so you can't intercept it at the post office pickup spot, which is open till like 5pm or something, which is just the time for breakfast so you'll miss it.
As I live about 1500ft from my post office I experience this. For some reason they load the truck full with the most distant packages loaded last, so as the truck moves back to the PO it will be empty on arrival.
However this makes no sense to me. Immediately delivering all the closest customers first reduces the dead weight faster making it more fuel efficient doesn't it?
Driving from the farthest point with a completely empty truck is the most fuel efficient, seems like, than any other scenario.
(except postal worker dumping mail in dumpster before delivery)
Quote: Dalex64Did you read what the article said? The employees had 2.1% raises scheduled that they will not receive.
They will receive a raise for another year at pay grade. It is just the grade pay that will not change.
As a side note, isn't this small raise just "crumbs" that they don't need? What the Democrats are saying about the GOP tax cut.
Quote: mcallister3200If that is true, then that is just completely opposite of how multiple post office locations my pops has been postmaster at the last several years have run then. UPS for sure, possibly Fedex both drop off parcels for USPS to deliver daily as well as an Amazon truck unloading in varying frequency depending on season (daily late fall.) Rural-ish midwestern areas, so I could see a possibility metro area doing it differently.
He’s had a carrier position vacant for a month (maybe two now?), has three people interested, but they can’t start the process because the job hasn’t posted yet. He was verbally reprimanded and told “it takes time” when asking about the hold up posting the job the last two weeks it didn’t post. Lol.
USPS was doing AMZN on Sundays in these parts a few years back. I see a 53' AMZN van trailer almost daily on the interstate. I know people that do the local delivery. It is not sustainable at what AMZN wants to pay, but for now it is how they do it.
It does make sense to have AMZN deliver to the hubs then USPS drop off at routes they are going onto anyhow. But as Trump has pointed out, USPS needs to drive a harder bargain.
Quote: AZDuffmanThey will receive a raise for another year at pay grade. It is just the grade pay that will not change.
As a side note, isn't this small raise just "crumbs" that they don't need? What the Democrats are saying about the GOP tax cut.
All you are doing now is moving the goalposts.
Quote: Dalex64All you are doing now is moving the goalposts.
Not really. I said all along each individual will get their annual raise. Still sticking to that.
The raises canceled would have been to the base pay, as a cost of living increase.
Quote: billryanI don't believe most Federal employees get raises based on years in grade. A G12 with three years in grade makes the same as one with one year. Each grade GS1 to GS16 if they have added that, also has steps. There are ten steps at every grade. These are minor promotions, sometimes based on time but also based on performance and completing a required course.
The raises canceled would have been to the base pay, as a cost of living increase.
It is why I said I only worked with the military charts. No matter what it is not as if all pay was "frozen" for all employees. Just the pay rates for each job. Like it is in the real world most years.
Quote: AZDuffmanNot really. I said all along each individual will get their annual raise. Still sticking to that.
Er, we - and I mean "we"; I'm a 34-year Federal "general schedule" employee - don't get automatic annual raises. While we do get "step" increases (not grade increases; I did go from GS-7 to GS-9 pretty much automatically after one year and then to GS-11 after another, but after that, I had to earn them, and even today, if you're not management, GS-13 is usually as high as it gets), it's every year if you are Steps 1-3, every other year if you are 4-6, every three years if you are 7-9, and if you're a step 10, that's as high as it gets. Unless the entire General Schedule gets an across the board increase, I will not get a pay raise.
Quote: ThatDonGuyEr, we - and I mean "we"; I'm a 34-year Federal "general schedule" employee - don't get automatic annual raises. While we do get "step" increases (not grade increases; I did go from GS-7 to GS-9 pretty much automatically after one year and then to GS-11 after another, but after that, I had to earn them, and even today, if you're not management, GS-13 is usually as high as it gets), it's every year if you are Steps 1-3, every other year if you are 4-6, every three years if you are 7-9, and if you're a step 10, that's as high as it gets. Unless the entire General Schedule gets an across the board increase, I will not get a pay raise.
Thanks for chiming in. That's what I'm talking about. The majority of fed employees will get no raise at all this year, because that's how it's structured in the steps. But the cost of living keeps going up whether you get a raise or not. And no retired feds will get cola increases either.
Quote: billryanCost of living in and around DC has gone thru the roof.
IIRC because of this Trump has suggested moving some back-office work out to other parts of the nation. Even in the "old days" there is no reason so much of the lower level work has to be done right in DC. Downsides are initial cost and spreading the swamp attitude to the rest of the nation. Upside is lower costs all around.
Quote: TigerWu???
I wasn't spinning anything. I was stating facts. Fivethirtyeight gave Hillary a 71% chance of winning overall by 67 electoral votes, and you're right, she obviously didn't get the electoral votes (and I never said she did). But the popular vote was predicted in Hillary's favor by 3.6%, and she actually "won" that by 2.1%. So that specific prediction was correct, but didn't give her the win, which is why I put "right" in quotation marks when referring to the accuracy of the prediction.
There are no electoral votes in play for the midterms. Just popular votes. That's all I'm saying.
They also are not going to take the house by winning orange county by 5 million votes.
Quote: terapinedGot a 100.00 riding on this with Wellwellwell regarding the House
I can still lose
but
I like me chances :-)
Congratulations terapined.
You win.
Quote: wellwellwellCongratulations terapined.
You win.
Thanks for popping in and giving me congrats
You have been MIA for a while
Welcome back
I sent Acesandeights a pm regarding my win.
I've lost some money on this site, football pool, mcnuggets challenge, Trump Kim meet,
Its nice to finally win one :-)
Acesandeights is taking care of me
I highly recommend him as a 3rd party to hold our bets :-)
Quote: billryanNothing against any of the people involved in the bet, but if I need a third person to get involved, its not a bet worth making. Both parties either trust the other or its no bet, in my book. I cant see anyone here not paying off their losing bets.
There are a lot of members here that if I had a bet, no need for a 3rd party.
I have made many bets on this site without anybody holding the money
This was different, this was a new member
Quote: terapinedThanks for popping in and giving me congrats
You have been MIA for a while
Welcome back
I sent Acesandeights a pm regarding my win.
I've lost some money on this site, football pool, mcnuggets challenge, Trump Kim meet,
Its nice to finally win one :-)
You’re a good dude, willing to wager on your beliefs. After all this is a site for gamblers.
And for the record, Terapined is as quality of a member as we have here.
