Postmaster General Gets Pay Bonus as Agency Falters

[Robert Toy]

As the U.S. Postal Service considers cutting delivery service in the face of dwindling mail volume and rising costs, the postmaster general received a big pay raise and a performance bonus last year, all authorized by Congress.

Postmaster General John Potter's base salary climbed to $265,000 last year from $186,000 in 2007. He also received a performance bonus of $135,000. In all his total compensation -- salary, bonuses, retirement benefits and other perks -- topped $850,000, a spokesman with the U.S. Postal Service told FOXNews.com on Wednesday.

At the same time, the Postal Service, an independent federal agency, is crumbling alongside the economy and as online communications increase competition. The Postal Service lost $2.8 billion last year when total mail volume recorded 202 billion pieces of mail, its largest single drop in history -- down more than 9 billion pieces from a year earlier.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/18/postmaster-general-gets-pay-bonus-agency-falters/

Way to go guys, remember the Wall Street CEOs?

[robeiae]

The USPS has been a sham for quite some time. It's only meaningful source of revenue is bulk-mail--the stuff that everyone throws away--and packages. And it really can't turn a profit. The books are cooked as a matter of course, with some expenditures--like pensions and capital purchases--being separated from the service, thereby creating an illusion of profitability.

And look at all the store-front postal centers that have been built. What a waste. But it looks good...

[blacbird]

Part of that same "Take the money and run" mentality that permeates our "leadership" seemingly everywhere. You just know that Potter will step away from USPS at some point and right through the door of a Boardroom to become a Director at one or more corporations, and be involved in the entire good ol' boy net that directs all this high-level compensation. And siphon off his own "share".

caw