this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2024
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This is pretty normal in military / federal positions. It is well known and a part of training that you are responsible for returning overpayments.
Isn't the postal service a wierd grey area tho? I'll look it up but I think they're not a government department they're a privately held company but answer to the government at the same time. I wanna say it's something fucked up like that where they're a one of a kind operation. I'll edit after I get back from the rabbit hole.
Edit: Oh shit it is wild. Paraphrased from wikipedia: USPS is ran by 11 appointed officials by the president. The postmaster, his #2, then 9 governors chosen by president and approved by senate for 7 year terms. The USPS recieves $0 of taxpayer revenue. All financing is done by USPS produced revenue. The problem is the USPS has reported almost $70billion in losses between 2008-2018.
So they are an independently financed government branch answering to a board of elected officials appointed by the President and Senate. Fuck that sounds like a waaaaaaaay more efficient operation than tax funded government programs. Like health care. It's could be adapted into a revenue producing independently financed industry answering to a a board of elected officials. I know i digress but am I crazy?
I wanna keep an eye on this now to see how federal budget precedents apply to an independently financed program. Do the board of elected officials have any cards at play? I know there are issues with the USPS but as a whole it has operated as efficient and effective as a privately held company subject to the laws of the open market compared to any other government ran program or department. What I mean is, if the operations of rhe USPS are controlled by this postmaster boardroom, are they compensated by salary/stocks/profit sharing? Might have to dive deeper down the rabbit hole, brb.
John Oliver did a great dive into the Post Office, and I think that segment is up on YouTube for free.
It's actually even more impressive than you think. The only reason it looks like it's losing money is that conservatives passed a law that forces them to fully fund the USPS workers' pensions today, rather than investing some money and letting it grow. No private companies fund pensions this way, nor does the rest of the federal government.
In 2022, PSRA was passed which removed this requirement and the postal service has turned a profit ever since. It operates better and more efficiently than any privately held parcel service, because it takes advantage of truely massive economies of scale.
And as an American living in a country that privatized their postal service-- god damn do I miss the USPS. It was both cheaper and more reliable than what we have here.