D’oh! Debt-Ridden Post Office Loses $1.2 M After Printing a Billion ‘Simpsons’ Stamps
- Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:00pm by
Erica Ritz
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(Photo: AP)
The United States Post Office lost more than $1.2 million after printing a staggering one billion commemorative Simpsons stamps, then selling only 318 million, Bloomberg News reported.
The notoriously debt-ridden agency apparently thought twice as many Simpsons stamps would sell as Elvis Presley ones, widely missing its mark. A Postal Service inspector general’s report estimated that the agency could save $2 million annually if it stopped the overproduction of stamps– but the organization predicts it will still be down about $15 billion for the year by September 30 without drastic changes.
“If the Postal Service can’t address a simple matter such as determining how many commemorative stamps to produce, it shows they can’t address the larger problems,” Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, remarked.
(Related: ‘Outrageous’: Amtrak Employees Likely Stealing Between $4-$7 Million in Food Each Year)
The organization could radically affect its budget by cutting Saturday delivery and choosing to forgo pre-paying for employees’ retirement benefits, the Washington Post notes, but would need approval from Congress before making the changes.
Watch a Bloomberg panel discuss how Homer Simpson is “bringing down the Post Office”:
The Washington Post relates:
The Postal Service, in a response to the report, said it already addressed the problem by creating the “forever” stamp, which can be used to mail a letter any time in the future. The Simpsons products were printed when most stamp values were fixed, meaning they could no longer be used by themselves to mail a letter after postal rates increased.
“The forever stamp has gone a long way in preventing overproduction,” said Janet Sorensen, director of marketing and service in the inspector general’s office and leader of the audit team that produced the report. “They need to get a better process for projecting the need, and they are implementing that type of process.”
Working from recommendations by a citizens’ advisory board, the Postal Service produces about 20 commemorative stamp designs each year featuring historic events, geographic spots and pop-culture icons such as Homer Simpson.
Commemorative stamps are bought by collectors as well as people intending to use them to mail something. Most collectors buy stamps soon after they are issued, the report said, leading the inspector general to recommend limiting initial production of stamps and printing more if demand warrants.
The Post Office apparently destroys the stamps it fails to sell.
One can almost hear Homer Simpson saying, “D’oh!”
(H/T: TV Tattle)
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tick-tock2012
Posted on August 23, 2012 at 11:03amIt’s rational decions like this that makes me so excited and feel so confident about government operated health care.
Report Post »watashbuddyfriend
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 8:09pmWhich of the Congressmen/women allowed this to happen, and who were the cronies who benefited from this exercise?
Report Post »skippy6
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 4:20pmJust one big example how government programs can never end even when the program is red, I mean in the red!!!!!
Report Post »neoconpunk
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 4:03pmOnce Amazon and EBay get their new “lockers system” setup and rolling it should put the USPS out of their misery finally.
Report Post »frust@ted
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 3:40pmThe capitalist in me is thinking this
Report Post »Only 318 Million sold
Remainder of Stamps Destroyed
There is a story behind the stamp of overproduction and destruction.
This sounds like it has the potential to end up being a stamp worth money down the road and I wonder if it will become a collectible because of this.
commoncents5
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 2:48pmWhy do they waste all that money for tv advertisements?
Report Post »JUSTANOTHEROPINION
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 1:02pmSeems to me a simple way to recover the money spent on the printing would be to only offer them out for sale until they are all gone. People might grumble but they are not going to stop sending letters because they don’t like the stamps they have to use. People grumble all the time about the the postal service anyway. I guarantee you if the USP was a private firm that is exactly what they would do because they would be working with their own money and not what is perceived in Goverment as a bottomless bank.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 1:12pmThe New York farrier union will go on strike along with the creampuff printing contract union that the PO purchasing dept gives to their DC mob partners.
Report Post »starchy
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 1:15pmHow about only having 1 design for your stamp? No additional setup charges, design fees, etc. Makes it easy – need more stamps, place an order. They are used to send mail, we don’t need 20 different designs to choose from!
Report Post »encinom
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 2:25pmOf course the truth is that if the GOP didn’t force the Post Office to fully fund its pension plan for the next 75 years in 10, the Post Office would be profitable.
But never let the facts or the truth get in the way of a story on the Blaze.
Report Post »teebubba
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 2:26pmDestroying the stamps is stupid on all levels. The Post Office is not diminishing the investment value of the commemoratives since it was always planned to sell the whole printing lot and many stamp collectors do not make special purchases but specialize in cancelled stamps from their incoming mail. They should give the excess to the postal clerks to sell to the walk in stamp customers.
Report Post »booger71
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 2:48pmencinom
Report Post »Posted on August 22, 2012 at 2:25pm
============
Let us see your version of the facts. The post office was losing money during all the years of a democratically controlled congress.
frust@ted
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 3:04pmEncinom
I’m assuming you are refering to. H.R. 6407 (109th): Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act
Sponsored Tom Davis (R)
Co Sponsor Danny Davis (D)
Co Sponsor Henery Waxman (D)
Co Sponsor John McHugh (R)
thats called bipartisinship,
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/109/hr6407
you are right that a big reason for the recent truble with the post office stems from this bill but you are not facutally correct about it being a GOP thing.
Report Post »SCREW-WINDOWS
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 9:13pmDoes anything they do make sense ?
Report Post »Lets see complain email has cut the amount of mail being sent but distributes AOL CD’s at the post office.
Complain stamp sales are down but promotes stamps online or print your own.
Sounds like they just don’t think at all.
502_eagle
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:43pmThey should use the extra stamps to pay salaries.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 1:00pmLike Trident Layers Gum? I like it….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tviPLpD8VG8
Report Post »OldGeek72
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:37pmWe used to have a stagecoach industry. There used to be a few companies that made 8-track tapes. Lots of other companies/industries that have had to either modernize with the times or go under. Our post office was there at the start of our country and have a long history. eMail/FedEx/UPS have changed the picture, they need to change or go under. They are a business and not a right and it‘s a bit much to me for them to expect handouts to keep ’making horseshoes’ in the 21st Century (20th Century if you’re the vice-president of the U.S.)
Report Post »elosogrande
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:37pmWe can begin to solve the post office problems by identifying the top twenty-five executives at the USPS and firing them, without pensions or healthcare. If things don’t improve, do it again.
ANYONE who wastes our money, in ANY government job, should be fired.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 1:01pm“ANYONE who wastes our money, in ANY government job, should be fired.”
I’d add “out of a cannon.” but that’s just me…
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 3:12pmUnfortunately the Post office is shackled by congress , with it’s testicles in a specially made guillotine.
They cannot close post offices, nor the financial structure ….unless congress approves the action.
OH wait … now I see obama’s America—- run like the post office.
Report Post »bigdaddyt46
Posted on August 23, 2012 at 5:42amthe post office is a GINO organization. they are not substantiated with taxpayer money. not alot of people know that although they are Government, they are not Government subsidized
Report Post »Tri-ox
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:34pmWell, the solution s simple: Print 800 billion stamps featuring obama and Big Mo, and then pass legislation forcing all Americans to buy the stamps or pay a fine – Problem SOLVED!
Report Post »South Philly Boy
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:33pmAnd the Fed Govt wants to RUN the HEALTH CARE SYSTEM… TOTALLY CRIMINAL
Report Post »encinom
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 2:26pmNo, whats criminal is that the Post Office is profitable, if the GOP didn’t force them to fully fund their pension plan for the next 75 years within the next 10. Learn the truth, cause its not what the Blaze reports.
Report Post »frust@ted
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 3:12pmEncinom again you are refering to a bill that was bipartisan that passed the senate in 2006 with unanimous consent. That means that President Obama then senator also agreed to pass the bill. To place this on the GOP is inacurate.
I’ll repost this for you.
Report Post »http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/109/hr6407
bigdaddyt46
Posted on August 23, 2012 at 7:14amencinom you’re talking out your butt again. you obviously know little to nothing about Post Office operations. they to remain neutrol as far as money is concerned. historically the way it has always been done is one year you make a profit, one year, you lose money, and one year you break even. the 3 years balance each other out that is why they recieve no Government funding. the different levels of the Post Office(IE a level 15 profits during their fiscal year,then a level 18 is suppose to lose money that same year) it is never ever been a for profit entity. blaming the GOP is lame as it was nothing to do with GOP, or that bill you refer to. the trouble goes back to 1996 when they appointed to Post Master General (can’t think of his name off the top of my head)the man who was booted out of the Tennesee Valley Authority. he made drastic changes, and none for the good. trying to run it as a for profit business. have you talked to hundreds of Post Masters between 1994 and 2000? i have on a daily basis during that time frame. so before spouting your leftist garbage get your facts straight you moron.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:32pmA Billion? What a dumba$$. Doesn’t say whether they fired him or not (should have.)
Report Post »Now we have to worry if they come out with Family Guy, Cleveland Brown and other left-wing animated sit-coms stamps.
Mikev5
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:27pmThe problem is it’s a UNION people Unions stop all intelligent thinking from ever happening it’s all geared to benefit the postal workers not the people they serve another Union disaster
They no longer serve us they serve themselves first then we get second place
Not to mention the lethargic clerks at the post office it’s like they are all on drugs to slow themselves down to a crawl they only have one speed very slow. Half the time they act like we are some bug to be tolerated and look at us like we are the stupid ones!
Report Post »truthisnotsubjective
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:20pmThe USPS has enough revenue coming into it if it cuts back on the ridiculous salaries and benefits it pays its employees. It is transitioning into a parcel delivery service at a far lower price than UPS or Fedex.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:20pmWhy do we need special stamps for anything? Print one stamp and call it good, if it saves money. Sorry stamp collectors, take up bird watching.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:17pmAre the Simpsons dead? How else could they be featured on a stamp?
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:23pmThey were never alive, they are fiction, oh, wait, maybe we can put Obama on a stamp, his policies are dead, and his presidency is fiction.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 1:18pmYou couldn’t pay me to lick that Darmok.
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 1:38pmGonzo, if they made that stamp, it would be made out of teflon, and would not “Stick” to anything. But if anyone did lick it, it would taste bitter, cause blindness and insanity, and would leave you with a craving for dog.
Report Post »skippy6
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 4:17pmI don’t think the Simpsons are dead but they should have ended a while ago….
Report Post »Landon410
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:17pmI once got into a facebook argument about the post office, some jerk’off was trying to tell me the post office has no debt, I was posting copies of the post office’s financial statements and he still wouldnt change his mind.
Report Post »Whats amazing isn’t only that the post office runs so much debt, but that at the same time there are several companies doing the same job and MAKING MONEY, fedex ups etc….
rosegrower
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:43pmAnd the USPS has lobbied to put both FedEx and UPS out of business. It is very common for companies to stuff a FedEx overnight envelope with intercompany mail and send it off – the USPS tried to make sending anything deemed to be “mail” through avenues other than the USPS illegal. They failed – and also fail to realize that when it takes 10 days for a first-class letter to go from Indianapolis to a Chicago address, there might be some internal logistical problems that need to be addressed.
Report Post »hi
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:16pmJust sell them for half off and they will be sold very quickly. Then the PO will only lose 500 million.
Report Post »Mattsbay18
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:21pmSorry, but that makes too much sense. The governmentally run post-office would never go for your logical solution.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:49pmNope, they’ll pay someone else $1,000,000.00 to destroy them…
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 1:04pmHey, wait a minute….
I gotta make a phone call…
Report Post »hatchetjob
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:11pmBoo-hoo.
Report Post »MrKnowItAll
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:11pmThe Post Office is a Dinosaur. Another example of how Stupid so many people are by thinking Government solves problems. Whoever did not know the Post Office was on it‘s way out in the early 90’s is in the STUPID Category.
Report Post »lylejk
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:10pmD’ohhhh, dat, dat, dahh, dahh, dat, dat,dah, d’ohhhhh, Dahhhh. lol
Report Post »huey6367
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:09pmPrivatize the mail system. Obviously gubment involvement is nt working.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on August 22, 2012 at 12:57pmI haven‘t sent a piece of mail in 20 years that couldn’t have, almost as cheaply, been sent UPS/FedEx.
Who the hell still writes “letters” and sends them to people these days? Just think of the trees we could save if we put Junk Mailers out of business and made them do something less irritating…
I just can’t find a single negative to disbanding this den of incompetent union thieves right now.
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