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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (109202)	3/2/2010 6:36:58 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

Got a question Mish.. What happens when these public union members opt to go on strike? I'm unsure of how extensively current labor law protects a worker's right to strike, but I'm fairly sure it's a high hurdle for management to outright fire them. Thus, one has to wonder whether cost savings from public "union busting" will disappear in future litigation? I still recall the PATCO strike back during the Reagan years.. But those folks were declared to be critical staff who's right to strike was curtailed. The last thing we need to see is widespread labor unrest that shuts the country down. And certainly not when it's executed so poorly that legal protections are trampled upon and opens the government's (taxpayers) up to future liabilities. Hawk

To: mishedlo who wrote (109202)	3/2/2010 8:52:45 AM
From: Jim McMannis	Respond to of 116555

This is the progression of things. USPS to propose 5-day mail schedule, major cuts finance.yahoo.com Snail mail might soon get even slower. The U.S. Postal Service plans to propose Tuesday an adjusted mail service schedule, which will likely cut Saturday delivery. The agency will also suggest closing some branches and expanding its use of self-service kiosks in grocery stores and other popular retail spots, as part of its effort to work its way out of a mountain of debt. USPS posted a $3.8 billion loss in its 2009 fiscal year, the latest in a multiyear string of whopping losses. Mail volume was down 12.7% for the year, a trend the agency expects to continue over the next decade as more consumers opt for online bill payments and message delivery. The Post Office was $10 billion in debt as of Sept. 30 -- not far off from its $15 billion debt limit, which the agency expects to hit in its 2011 fiscal year. The challenges hurting USPS's bottom line are reflective of a "macro change in society," Postmaster General Jack Potter said in a press conference Monday previewing the proposed changes. "All posts around the world are challenged, just as we are, by the diversion of hard copy to electronic medium."

To: mishedlo who wrote (109202)	3/2/2010 8:52:45 AM
From: Jim McMannis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

This is the progression of things. USPS to propose 5-day mail schedule, major cuts finance.yahoo.com Snail mail might soon get even slower. The U.S. Postal Service plans to propose Tuesday an adjusted mail service schedule, which will likely cut Saturday delivery. The agency will also suggest closing some branches and expanding its use of self-service kiosks in grocery stores and other popular retail spots, as part of its effort to work its way out of a mountain of debt. USPS posted a $3.8 billion loss in its 2009 fiscal year, the latest in a multiyear string of whopping losses. Mail volume was down 12.7% for the year, a trend the agency expects to continue over the next decade as more consumers opt for online bill payments and message delivery. The Post Office was $10 billion in debt as of Sept. 30 -- not far off from its $15 billion debt limit, which the agency expects to hit in its 2011 fiscal year. The challenges hurting USPS's bottom line are reflective of a "macro change in society," Postmaster General Jack Potter said in a press conference Monday previewing the proposed changes. "All posts around the world are challenged, just as we are, by the diversion of hard copy to electronic medium."