USPS: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- As the U.S. Postal Service faces financial catastrophe, John Oliver discusses why the service is so important, what brought it to this point, and what we can do to help.
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As a former mail carrier, I can tell you that you get to know the dogs on your route. The postmaster and the dogs he helped bury were likely good buddies.
Walking a mile in another man's shoes. Good point.
I read that as " the dogs and the bodies that he likley buried ". I need to stop reading these before my coffee and glasses
@Birdman PB Good question. Call your local post office and speak to the postmaster about it, and/or make a report to the USPS Office of Investigations. You can file a report here: www.uspsoig.gov/hotline
@@dr.z1657 I appreciate you. Not my question but it made me happy to see how helpful youre being, and I also wouldn't know what to do in the situation.
@@dr.z1657 Stop being nice and helpful. This is the internet, you are supposed to be a mean spirited insulting troll :O
Mr. Oliver, you didn't mention the fact that military stationed overseas and ships in the middle of the ocean works in part with USPS. It is a huge logistics to support troops.
is that right?...
@@buddieizreal I am a Logistics Specialist that works for the US Navy stationed overseas here in Japan. USPS is the only way we get stuff from States side, that includes Amazon, Macy's, etc.
@Deacon Frost yeah, thousands of military families live in / around US military Bases around the world. Instead of going though foreign post offices, they move their mail through USPS post offices on their respective base. It’s an essential service for them.
@@wds4097 we don't pay international fee, instead we pay domestic fee because FPO and APO addresses are considered domestic regardless of geographic location. Fun fact.
@@darkmatter32x "I'm not doing it on my own. Japan is bringing PlayStations"
I am a nurse and recently cared for a patient whose mail carrier noticed he was not collecting his mail, and called police for a welfare check. The mail carrier saved the man's life. He had fallen and lain unresponsive for a full week and had full-thickness wounds that he is healing from now.
really great point, thanks!
That is impossible you would die after 3 or 4 days of not drinking water and a few days later of starvation.
@@stillaliveplus1forme I'd ask yourself this question: Which one of us has professional credentials and is actually caring for the patient, and which one of us is arguing on the Internet about it?
veevee306 ask yourself this question. Would a real nurse not know that without water no patient could possibly survive a FULL week? And the key word there is also patient. If this person is elderly and or sick or injured then they would more than likely survive even less time without water. It is impossible, the kidneys fail.
@@stillaliveplus1forme It's possible they meant he fell and was unresponsive while in the hospital, and this nurse was the one caring for him (they can send water and nutrients to the body in other ways when people are unconscious).
John, I recently became a member of the Postal Service as is my father who has been working there for 22 years. This video slightly worried me when clicking on it because I was afraid of realizing my workplace was corrupt when in actuality it’s the opposite. Speaking from experience, it is a fantastic place to work, and I truly hope I can get some time there to let my dad retire because he has truly worked his tail off for over two decades. Thank you for bringing this to light and I genuinely hope this can garner some kind of change
I had to send a package to the UK and ups wanted over two hundred bucks to send like two t shirts. Usps was like not even fourty bucks I think twenty or thirty I always try to use them now!
Sounds like you've got a great office. Too many of them are terrible. Postal management is a joke.
I am 26. I have worked with the postal service for four years in Michigan. I was worked overtime for basically three years until I went salary (full time) because our office was overwhelmed and almost always understaffed. We work hard, but we rarely get the things we need. Our vehicles are almost 30 years old. I am younger than the truck I drive. We finally got our first face masks for all coworkers on Saturday. A month and a half after our state's Stay at Home Order went into place.
Please support the USPS and your mail carriers.
I read this as my own story, practically. Also 26. Went regular after 3.5years as a sub. Now a RC in SC, but I drive a POV. We got face masks two weeks ago and that god awful cooler for "washing our hands". Told we can't have two people in a case even though I'm training a new sub who has to ride with me to learn the route. SMH.
My dad is a postal worker. The same thing with him. The trucks are old, they literally got their masks not too long ago, and they are always understaffed. It’s kinda upsetting to think my dad could lose his job considering this is the same one he’s had for 10+ years. He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.
@@katiefrechette5290 they have outsourced our mail carriers to minorities that don't even look like couriers - i don't know if this is the Post Office cutting costs, laying off people or what...doesn't look good.
@@wrxzboost what do you mean by "outsourced to minorities"?
I went to pick up my held mail at the distribution center last week, and my postal worker was wearing what appeared to be an oven mitt strapped to his face.
Six degrees of how is this about me?
This could be the best line ever written.
That was standout! Its 100% true. I will be using this in conversation. 6° of how policy effects Trump is our new foreign and domestic policy statute.
@@emtdevbradley4019 Quick question here: What is the "6 degrees" refering to? Or in other words: I didn't geht that one. Thanks!
@@JonasBunse there's a game, Six Degrees of where you have a starting celebrity and try to name the movies and actors that bridge the gap from celebrity A to celebrity B within six degrees, or, steps or jumps, whatever is easier to understand
@@JonasBunse RUclips Kevin Bacon 6 degrees. I believe he started this fun curiosity concept a few years ago to get us to realize how connected we really are.
@@jorfice Cheers, mate!
When I was a kid we'd ordered a bunch of chickens through the mail. We got a call at 11pm one night from the post office saying, "Can you please come get your birds? They're very loud."
We ordered chicks through the mail a few times. The first time, our mailman thought it was hilarious and brought them to our door to say so. The following times he brought them to our door just to make sure we noticed them quickly. It was very sweet.
It would’ve been even funnier if you DIDNT order a bunch of chickens! We’ve ordered chickens through the mail before and the company we ordered them from accidentally sent 13 of them to Minnesota, we live in Florida! So they had to send a second batch to us(they made it) but whoever it was accidentally sent two batches of 13 to us!! We got the second ones a week later 😂🤣 We ended up with over 20 chickens.
Lol, cool.
But why?!? Lol why are live chickens being ordered through the mail. I need to know
@@Nxt6 so that you can raise chickens. I grew up on a farm, and we ordered at least 50 baby chicks a year to raise for meat. (We would split the meat with a few neighbors) The hatchery was not close enough to go to, so mail becomes the best way to get them.
We did find out that we could get them cheaper if we bought from the local farm store (they bought in bulk from the hatchery, so they paid less for postage). But if we wanted specialty birds, we ordered them direct.
I will add that this video is a bit misleading. At least when I was a kid, you couldn't just order 1 bird. I think the minimum was a dozen. I could be wrong on that, though. Perhaps the fog of time has me mis-remembering.
"The Post Office should raise the price of a package.."
Yeah except for the literal law saying they can't!
Nadica 🍀
@@nadicapetrovic3232 Bodhi 🍲
yeah the law is just a piece of paper, so...
Pfffffft you don’t think the LAW is something he cares about, do you?
@@pedropradacarciofi2517 this is suprinsingly Naive if you htink gonig private is an upgrade for this type of service.
Last year, I had a car wreck that left me bed bound for a few months. I am a video editor, so I had a friend mail me some harddrives so I could continue working, except he put the wrong address. I didn't realize until the package didn't arrive when it was supposed to. But the USPS assigned someone at my local branch specifically to track the package down and deliver it to me. I would have lost so much work if they hadn't found it. Bless the USPS!!
Everything in the USA is awful including the USPS!
The best argument for the USPS was by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show "They come to your house, pick up any piece of crap you feel like writing and deliver it to Wyoming in two days by air for forty cents"
They also take pictures of everybody's letter sized mail, (the claim being so that people can know what is coming to them in the mail and when it will be there, via email). Do those photos make their way to the NSA? 'National "Spies" ' is more like it. Or so it currently seems.
Surely postage would be cheaper if the USPS did not take and store pictures of everybody's letter sized mail. We are paying the Government to spy on it's own people. When will 'We The People' wake up? The US Government is supposed to be working for 'We The People', not against 'We The People'. Even the NSA is paid for with taxpayer's money.
Lets say Trump or one of the Republican donors private mail company and someone find out that company has been filtering out Democrat voter or Democratic state census requests and absentee ballots the last 20 years. And for some unknown reason to the average persons frustration, Republicans and an unchecked corrupt oligarchy has controlled the country for the last 20 years. If you have driven on local roads rural areas you know the postal network driving these roads every day anyways is the most efficient way to get deliveries there for smaller items.
@@charlesbrightman4237 you sound like you have brain damage. None of what you said made any sense. Maybe chill with the nutjob conspiracy theories?
@@xlockedbmw Visit a local Post Office and/or check it out on their web site. You can sign up for a 'FREE' service that the Post Office will send you via email pictures of what is coming in your mail and when it will be there. How do you believe they obtained those photos to send people?
And then there is the Patriot Act which allows government agencies to share information between them. Put 2 and 2 together. Think like a corrupt politician or human.
@@charlesbrightman4237 Are you dumb or are you dumb. You do realize that it does not even have to be your actual name or address on the mail at all, the Post Office does not even have your personal info. Why bother to take pictures of mail if the NSA can just tap your phone, computer, bank account, and car. There is so much more information about you on the Internet than in the mail.
You are really not that important, no one would even care. The NSA or the postal service does not care about you at all.
Get a life and get out of your basement
My dad's a mail man in rural il and his favorite days are when he gets to deliver the baby chicks
My dad ordered baby ducks thru the mail one day when I was a kid. We lived in a suburb of Chicago (which is not a rural area). Yeah, some people shouldn't be able to do things just because they can, but it was a fun summer with my ducks
That’s super sweet
That comment made my day.
@Rowan Halm As a fellow Illinoisan with family in rural areas, I just ask that you tell your Dad a very big THANK YOU from all the families he serves! Truly, some of my relatives, including my Mom (who isn't rural located but affected all the same), rely on their carrier for life saving medication. People like your Dad are making sure people like my Mom stay alive and have a shot at recovering from crippling health conditions like strokes and heart attacks. So thank you to him and all carriers, for caring and continuing to show up through this crisis. ❤❤❤❤❤
In France, postal services are banks, mobile contractors, online shops for office stuff, and now they even have offers for gardening/DIY (which isn't then), driver's manual lessons, and even care for the elderly. Can't wait to see their next idea
shout out to my childhood postal lady Ms.Shirley, she delivered to my grandpa's building for over 20 years and had the longest, most iconic, bright red acrylic nails i'd ever, and she worked those claws and sorted the shit outta that mail.
one summer when I was struggling to learn how to tie my shoes, she even brought me these neon, curly, just 90s AF shoelaces that didnt need to be tied, so I could run around the park without busting my ass.
damn, USPS is really a fuckin mess now, but i'm sure there's still a bunch of Ms.Shirleys out there being an MVP in their communities, so...... * *buys stamps* *
If this is true everything about this show and particularly that woman is epic as supernova. Buy stamps....
I bought 3 booklets
But will buy more :)
OP still can't tie his shoelaces.
Damn dude.....you reached out and you touched a brotha's heart. Love to you and that Postal Lady
🤗
I doubt he'll read this but Thank You John. I'm a clerk with the USPS and I've wanted you to do an episode on us and that horrible law for some time now. Thank you for helping us.
GOAT
Greatest Of All Time?
As someone who lives in the rural USA, the Postal Service offers us access to things we simply cannot get without driving hundreds of miles. There are no book stores out here, no electronics stores, hobbyist shops, kosher grocers, exotic pet stores; if you have ANY kind of interest beyond shooting guns, gardening, and watching TV, you're not going to find a lot of help in the sticks. But, through the post office, I'm able to study languages, get books on Supreme Court decisions, and buy specialist supplies to look for reptiles.
Rural people have the same needs and dreams as everyone else, and our government shouldn't even remotely consider cutting us out of society like that. Oh, and working for the post office is one of the few middle class jobs out here, so don't take those away from us!
Plus, the people at the post office are so friendly and helpful. AND, they always remember to ask if you need any stamps!
But yet rural aMeriCa continual votes for people can give a poop. So cry me a river when YOU need something.
Scratch watching TV even. We don't get reception where we are, and we don't have good enough internet for streaming. What we watch on TV is all movies and series that we've bought the disks for and HAD THEM MAILED TO US THROUGH THE POST OFFICE>
EDIT: Posted at break from work because that's the only place I have half decent internet.
@@mikedawson4291 Uhm.......I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, Obama twice, Bernie in the primary, researched down-ballot races, and looked up the decisions of my local judge candidates to see what their writing looks like (and, by the way, there aren't many online resources for local court cases).
There are, indeed, a lot of idiots out here (there's a swastika on a bridge near our farm, and it terrifies me). But I've lived in cities too, and there are plenty of idiots there! You can't write off 99% of the landmass of the United States as nothing but ignorant, rebel flag-waving, truck-driving, wife-beating, Trump-zombies. We've got Jewish, queer, black, asian, Indian, Catholic, Indian, Lati@, and many other varieties of human. When you pretend like we don't exist in rural America, you're playing into the narrative of the people who drew the swastika, "There is only one kind of person allowed in this place."
@@diamondflaw We were there a few years ago, but the local phone co-op got fiber internet out here, and it changed my life :D
Good luck making it through the pandemic with such crappy internet. I legitimately feel your pain.
Bless the people who make this show. How is every episode so funny and so intelligent at the same time
Something seems to be clearly missing from this episode: an investigation as to why that 2006 act was passed by Congress. Often, in a situation like this one, you would find, after some digging, that the motivation was to fulfill the wish of some lobbyist who want to weaken a competitor or privatise a formerly profitable public company on the ground that it is losing money.
Yes this exactly. Going to look it up myself though
I think you’ll find that the reason for that law was to ensure that the Postal Service pension is fully funded.
But that doesn’t fit with the narrative here, so they skipped it.
No need to look far. All that is in the Act itself
Here you go...
fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40983.pdf
It's probably FedEx and UPS lobbyists.
@@autophile525i Name another gov organization that had to prefund its pension for 50 years. Why this one?
My dad is a 40 year veteran of the USPS. I have fond memories of finding him on his route when I was young and people giving him cards and treats over the holidays. Not to mention all the dogs he befriended. I have a great affinity for the postal service and thank John Oliver for doing this piece on it. You are the best, John!
Thanks to your dad for his hard work!.
I hear you about befriending dogs. I was one of the last delivery boys for the Pittsburgh Press., as a teen. Making friends with dogs, and cats, is a job requirement for all delivery persons.
Wishing you a good night ;-)
@@ShawnsterVideos I have never commented on a RUclips post before. Thank you for the very nice comment. Nice to hear that others can relate. :-)
My dad has 36 years under his belt and I have the exact same memories. I remember driving onto his route with my mom to give him his lunch. I remember him coming home as a little boy and running into his arms. And I remember giving him arguments to present to management as college student. Really hope they pull through cause it was a great place to work for my dad
@@12bestskater12 Those are great memories. It was a great place for my dad too. I totally agree, I hope they pull through too.
@LaMortEtLamour what do you thinkmis the real problem? Global companies eating up domestic ones perhaps?
As someone who's dealt with international shipping frequently: the USPS is definitely one of, possibly the, best parcel and mail services in the world. Countries like the UK have privatized their postal services and their quality has sharply declined, and prices exorbitantly increased, as a result. The USPS is unquestionably the best agency within the US government, and one that people should fight tooth and nail to defend.
one of the few instances where the "but US is such a big country" is actually valid: the postal service needs to remain a service available to all Americans, by law
AGREED
Denmark privatized their postal service too, and nobody I know there has anything good to say about it.
You're joking, right? 😂. As someone who ships hundreds of packages a month from Portugal, worldwide, I can assure you USPS is the worst of any non African country. USPS is absolutely, negligently reckless in handling the packages and it's incredibly, astonishingly slow. Royal mail is pretty bad too, don't get me wrong, but there's no comparison with how bad USPS is.
I had to start charging a supplementary packaging fee to North American buyers as I can no longer justify having costumers from everywhere else subsidizing the totally extraneous packaging needed to account for the negligent way packages are treated by USPS.
It's not by chance that American buyers are the only ones who always worry about packaging and start asking how the item will be packed, their preferences when it comes to that, etc. even before they purchase something. No one else feels the need to do that as everything always arrives just fine if one doesn't live in a country where apparently they put animals handling people's correspondence.
@@fgsaramago I've never once seen a metric that paints the USPS in a bad light. It's frequently rated as the top agency in the US and it's always in the top 10 for international postal service rankings. The most cited ranking is from the UPU, which puts it at 8/170, and no country in the top 10 comes even close to the size of the US.
www.statista.com/chart/9877/the-worlds-best-postal-services/
"Real businesses can't lose billions every year."
Sample of US government bailouts to "real" businesses:
Bear Sterns: $29 billion
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: $200 billion
General Motors: $50 billion
American Express: $3 billion
Citigroup: $45 billion
AIG: $67 billion
You could add to your sample of "Real businesses" that lose $'s: Several tRump ventures, like Casinos. Just an example, I'm sure he had more go belly-up. Despite the fact that all the seed $$ came from his Daddy. "Good Businessman" indeed!
There’s a another strong response, the USPS is a service, similar to the military, yet we don’t say the military loses $750 billion a year
@@TheNinthGeneration1 we really should tho
It might finally put things in perspective for some people
@@dharanishakthivel7263 it would be interesting to see
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-created and sponsored institutions. And btw they received $300B not $200B which is more than the 5 following banks combined.
This show is becoming more and more frustrating, because John's out here showing people the issues with the US and even some ways of how it could be fixed, but no one in power will actually listen and do anything about it.
"The greatest country in the world" XD pretentious US
He lacks studio audience. If there were laughs at jokes it wouldn't feel so depressing.
Not that these issues aren't awful anyway.
Maybe true. But we as viewers and American citizens (at least some of us) can try to do something. I have the power to go buy some stamps, for instance.
@@TodayUnEarthed Everything?
Any proof of this statement? Or just trolling?
Erik Raudr *In the history of the world.
I’m a 27 year veteran of the Postal Service. You and your crew are spot on with your analysis. Thank you!!!
You guys are always the ones to deliver. When the others guys won't, the post will. Where the other guys won't, the post goes.
I love you guys- thanks for all you do!
i love usps, thank you for everything!
Thank you for what you do.
We love you!! I love USPS
I’m so glad he did this story. The USPS is also the largest employer if United States military veterans. My late Auntie (US Army retired, E8) worked for the USPS from her retirement to just before her death.
I’ve also rented P.O. Boxes for the last thirty years. And used USPS exclusively for doing my eBay shipping.
We should support the USPS
Yep there are thousands of small Ebay sellers that couldn't turn a regular profit without USPS shipping rates.
Good to know others are aware of the problem. It's been eating me since 2006
It's either admirable or tragic to hear of people working for their retirement
Raichle9 I do love usps
@@QuikVidGuy In some cases, like this one, it can be admirable. I'm active duty military and a lot of the civilians we work with are retired military. You can find that at every military installation. They enjoy getting the extra income along with their pensions. More to the point, it's all the more reason why we need to support the Postal Service.
Dear Mr. Oliver, I find myself blown away by seeing, quite possibly for the 1st time in my life, a human being who ACTUALLY KNOWS the answer to the question 'why is this all happening' ... Teach us!
I hope that guy selling rocks in Kansas is ready for a sudden jump in sales.
That he can't mail. :(
I doubt it. They charge $100+ for the product and then $40+ for shipping, which is understandable considering the weight of the product. I went to their website after looking at this segment and thinking I have to get that weiner rock and after checking the cost then a heavy rock suddenly became unessential.
D. V. True. But there are people who can afford something like that and crazy about their weiners
@@joela6895 Agree.
Jesus Christ Marie. They're not rocks they're minerals.
As a family owned small business we rely almost entirely on the post office. They are right across the street from us. We ship out custom fortune cookies almost everyday and know most of the employees there. We are very worried we might lose the USPS.
Hey. Why did my fortune cookies say "You will participate in a comment section of a John Oliver video on RUclips." Thats too eerily accurate !!!
Can you put explicit pictures in cookies?
I havent been getting the same response from my dik pics and looking to spice things up.
What do you make?
boo hoo
They call us “essential workers” because “sacrificial workers” would be too honest.
A lot of us in essential industries, not just the post office, have made this joke. So many essential workers have been harassed, insulted, and assaulted, and our government acts like we're all disposable in the name of profit.
@Blaire Tyrant ruclips.net/video/_n5E7feJHw0/видео.html
@Blaire Tyrant yes because having a deep pay and hours cut to the point where I'm making less than friends on unemployment and being on the verge of losing my health insurance during a pandemic and getting verbally assaulted every day is just dandy because I have a job I'm stuck in and can't afford to quit in fear of going hungry. Yeah, I should definitely listen to some dbag on the internet who thinks this is no worse than the flu even though it's killed a years worth of flu deaths in three months. Just shut up and lick the corporate boot amrite?
Even us grocery store workers make that joke
I have much respect for you men and women going out... Risking you and your families health so I can provide food and essentials for my family. The fact that any "essential worker" has to deal with verbal and physical abuse is disturbing and flat out disgusting to me. I don't care if you are working at a grocery store... Delivering or preparing our food or a nurse or doctor saving lives at a hospital... They deserve our respect and gratitude for risking they're health and safety so we can have a more comfortable life during this pandemic. Anyone that is going out as a essential worker should be making more then their regular pay and their health care taken care of. None of us are expendable and shouldn't be treated as such.
I watched this episode 4 years ago. It opened my eyes to the issues and necessity of the USPS. 4 years later, I’m working as a USPS clerk in a manual post office right outside of the Adirondacks. Thanks John!
"Are we essential, or sacrificial?"
This question should be posed by all taken-for-granted essential workers, who are not only underpaid normally because their work is often viewed as "low skilled", (even though society wouldn't run without them), but are being extremely underpaid right now because they aren't being given 2x hazard pay across the board.
The question was already answered: We're sacrificial. Besides doctors, and seemingly only doctors, none of us are getting hazard pay for handling packages or food. 'Top it off, we're getting mandatory shifts at UPS and FedEx that aren't even giving standard 1.5 time. This keeps up, we're going to just leave our jobs and you guys can have fun getting your packages from other countries. We're not dying for lazy bums.
Hmmm... If only there was a type of organizational structure that primarily advocates for workers rights and benefits... 👀
I'm an essential worker as a CO at a jail. We are 100% sacrificial if you asked my government officials.
@@iwiffitthitotonacc4673 good luck valling the government 😂
@@gigaus0 Actually, that's not true. I work as a police dispatcher in Maryland. Essential employees that work for state agencies here do get paid double. I seriously don't understand why everyone who has to work during this time isn't being taken care of. I also don't get why Canada, New Zealand and other countries are making sure everyone gets 80% of their normal pay. This country is so fucked up.
My dad was a postal carrier for 33 years before he retired. He's delivered beachballs, coconuts (with stamps stuck on), live baby chicks, thousands of ladybugs, messages in bottles, and WHOLE BEEHIVES.
So, I've got to ask: Any live scorpions?
@@rjfaber1991 Live scorpions can only be mailed for medical research or for antivenin production purposes (which I can't believe is a thing I know), but it's possible!
@@heypookeybearitisi Ok. They were obviously the most peculiar item on that list, but I suppose it makes sense if they're used for medical purposes...
Please pass my thanks to your father for his service 💕🙏
Some heroes wear capes. Some wear caps :)
USPS is such a critical establishment to so many, including the elderly and disabled. It's also one of the few jobs you can get without a degree that has good pay, a pension, paid sick leave, vacation time, health insurance, and retirement benefits. I'm terrified for myself and the other hundreds of thousands postal workers in this country in regards to what could happen to our jobs.
Exactly, this administration (and Republican politicians in general) always say they care so much about good American jobs and yet do so much to destroy them.
USPS is great. I used to buy and sell audio equipment. USPS got the package there in three days for the same or less cost than UPS or FedEx did it in 5-7. It was a no-brainer. The notion that the private shippers are out-competing USPS is just absurd. Once Trump is out of office, congress should stop shitting the bed and let the post office manage its own affairs again.
@@cyndiebirkner704 not just this administration. You are giving democrats a pass.b
All because the orange menace has a hard on over Amazon owner Jeff. The fool gets something in his head and it is like a tick buried between his toes, he just cannot get rid of it! Bad advice is his only advice. If it were not for his insane views on this subject the P.O. could get Congressional help. We can only hope that the new President and Congress with have this problem on the top of it's list of things to fix on january 21, 2021!
Kinda of funny that the orange menace does not want to allow us to VOTE BY MAIL! What does THAT say about him?
@Duan Nengo I mean, I agree - jobs are going away for so many people - so the few that are left are jobs where you have to compromise your values for - ones that don't require a degree or minimum wage jobs.
I work for the USPS and have for the past two years and the most ludicrous thing I've seen delivered was two hives worth of live honeybees. Y'all, we deliver just about anything reliably. We need the USPS now more than ever.
@FJ Hey, cheers! What a kind thing to say! Working in a rather rural office means I sometimes deliver to what seems like the middle of nowhere, but it's always amazing to think "wow, my one office goes all the way out here!" I just hope the postal service survives this whole debacle because it's so incredibly important to our society.
Former mail carrier here. The most ridiculous thing I’ve seen someone try to deliver was ice cream. Spoiler alert, it melted.
As a beekeeper, I fail to see what's ludicrous about that. ;-)
@iamihop11 You’re supposed to say “I fail to see what all the buzz is about”
Hey, bees aren't that crazy! Hahaha
That postal lady is a beacon of joy, she could interrupt anything and make it better.
Remer714 She seems like she’d be a pretty cool grandma.
What if she was white? Would she still be a “beacon of joy”?
Hey fellow planetsider
@@Harold.Richard Most likely. Skin color doesn't form your temperament/attitude. (Edit: Or is "beacon of joy" the wrong choice of word here? Sorry, not a native English speaker. No harm intended.)
@@jtktomb8598 After all these years you're the first one to comment on my profile picture. Impressive. :D I've stopped playing Planetside three years ago and just was too lazy to change my profile picture.
"The postal service is a joke" - The US president about an essential national service, while suggesting price gouging to a degree where said service would become complete inaccessible.
Well yeah. He actually can't kill it since it literally predates the Constitution, but he's willing to make it so that it's all but dead.
nailed it
He doesnt want to kill it, he wants mortally wound it and then privatize it, and dock everyone's pay to minimum wage.
Welp, seeing as people like you don't deal with banks then how else are you to get you're social security checks
Are you stupid or joking
I find it weird that in the US absolutely EVERYTHING has to make profit. I believe there are things that are inherently valuable enough, without it having to carry a profitable price tag, like cultural education, communications services, libraries, the majority of people would also argue that healthcare should fall into this category of things that make humans what we are, that's where governmental support with tax payers' money should kick in. Why some people would pressure these entities to turn a profit is beyond me.
Because American politicians who make the laws are paid off by the wealthy & the corporations to privatize what should be public services so that money can be made. Then the politicians work very hard with ridiculous rhetoric to sell the concept to the public. They keep repeating it until people start to believe it and embrace the very things that work against public interests. Just look at Trump claiming the election was fraudulent. His supporters begin to believe his lies. Also many Americans aren't well educated. That is really working against everyone.
The only reason the post doesn't profit is because half of their mail is corporate spam. You are LITERALLY subsidizing corporations for their spam mail and amazon to deliver their stupid plastic shit to people who buy shit they don't actually need.
@@FastlaneProductions1 nope the reason why it doesnt make a profit is because of a law preventing it from starting other services not directly related to packages and mail and the fact that they have to prepay decades worth of retirement plans for their workers in advance.
Humanity: "We have to solve Climate Change before we all die."
Corporate Humanity: "Right...but how do we make a profit off of it?"
It's called capitalism and there's a reason why decent people hate it.
As someone who has worked for UPS: No one has a last-mile infrastructure that can even dream of rivaling the United States Postal Service. It is a feat of modern human ingenuity, and we should, as a nation, take some fucking pride in it.
Preach, brother!!
Dewaldt he didn’t say UPS has the best last mile, he said USPS does
@Peter Evans Huh, sounds like you have 20 years of experience that is uniquely unsuited for evaluating the USPS, considering it's not a business. Have you tried being a federal agency developer?
sir, it was an absolute Honor to be your 69th upvote
I'm in Canada and even I see the value of the USPS. If I order anything from the US and they ship UPS I get hit with huge border fees every time but if a company ships USPS it's either much lower or nothing at all. I always tell companies to not ship UPS to me and only use USPS.
It's also the same thing in Canada with Canada Post. I have a business and Canada Post is always the cheapest by far for me to ship out. Private companies gouge people and I have no idea why people use them still. Whenever the conservatives here are in charge they threaten privatization... My business costs would go up quite a bit if that happened. Save USPS and Canada Post!
Oh hey, hi, fellow Canuck! Hey, remember a decade or so ago when the US government was pushing for Canada to dissolve Canada Post saying that it was being unfairly subsidized by the government and therefore, under NAFTA, was competing unfairly with US companies like FedEx and UPS? You know, despite a postal service being completely different from a shipping company, let alone a foreign one? And being "subsidized" because it is a government entity? And formed over a century and a half ago, which I think means the case could be made that, rather, they were "unfairly competing" with Canada Post, since it was there waaaay before they were? And UPS/FedEx being completely useless for getting any service outside of like downtown Vancouver or Toronto?
Good times. >
A big reason UPS/FedEx exist is the convenience in getting to parcel picked up from your office and sent.
They maximize convenience for the sender. The recipient can eat all the dicks.
Totes. I always choose USPS and Canada Post whenever I can. UPS, FEDEX AND PURALATOR CAN ALL GO STRAIGHT TO HELL. The amount of times those companies screwed me around have been countless!
Canada Post Forever!
@@Pxtl Canada Post currently lets you (if you have a business account) schedule a postal worker to show up at your home or business to pick up parcels. They charge $3.50 per visit with an unlimited number of parcels per visit. You can either set up a regular schedule, or do it on-demand.
I think this was introduced at the start of the pandemic, so it may not be a long-term thing, but at the moment it's nice.
@@meowmiaumiauw The USPS tripled, yes TRIPLED, the cost to mail things to Canada (and everywhere else in the world) overnight in 2014. And the rates have gone up annually since then. Destroyed 80% of my foreign sales. While China can ship small items from Beijing to Portland Maine for a fraction of the cost for me to to ship the same item a mile away.
Talking about dark humor at the Post Office, I had a clerk tell me that the flag at half mast meant that they were hiring.
There's black humor, and then there's this.
that's hilarious
Oooof!
Oh snap! 💀
The thing I love about John is that if he sees something adorable, odd or funny he buys it.
The fact that Trump and his cronies will bail out cruise lines but not help the post office is infuriating. The founding fathers must be rolling in their graves.
Ben Franklin, was a founding father & our first post master general. Not keeping our United States Post Office is un-American. 📫
The "founding fathers" and their successors did all sorts of weird shit, and this might very well be one of the schemes they'd come up with. Just look into the history of banking and currency in the US ...
They're doing axel jumps at this point.
I still can't believe the cruises will partially start in Aug again🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.usatoday.com/amp/3077060001
exactly. every american utilizes the post office. i've never set foot on a damn cruise ship.
I'm a dispatcher for the USPS and yes, we ship baby chics almost every day this time of year. honey bees too!
Can we send bees to the Presidents office?
@@julienbrightside8635 Or more likely Murder Hornets?
Everyone needs to ship the white house a live goose. It'd save the post office and fill the mail room with pissed of geese
Quick question; I thought the postal service was independent and not a federal agency. Was this a rumor or is it more complex?
@@GAY_RULE it's an independent government agency, meaning that it is a federal agency, but it is not ultimately controlled by the president or by any cabinet secretary
My dad worked for the Usps my whole life, it has such a special place in my heart! He worked the main counter and people in the town loved him and would always bring him baked goods and gifts on holidays. It truly does connect people and to this day, I thank every post person I see
Preach it! As a 25 year and running veteran of the USPS, I really appreciate this.
Greener under my wiener! Oh man! Comedy gold!
John, MY Dad was an E.T., or Electronic Technician, keeping all the machines running at our main P.O. for 40 yrs. I have perhaps a greater appreciation for the USPS, than the majority since I've learned the true inner workings and how truly efficient they really are.
I will soon buy some of YOUR stamps to show support for the yes INDEPENDENT govt agency that took care of us so we'll growing up.
Thank you for this reflection.
Stay safe out there,
Your Florida Fan,
Aszneth
🤗😘😘
As a letter carrier this means a lot, thank all for your continued support. It is a genuine pleasure being a mailman because I take care of my people and they take care of me. It is my hope to do this until They force me to retire lol
We absolutely love our local neighborhood post woman! She is so sweet and nice! I really wish the government would have given the USPS a bailout instead of the damn airlines
I guess you're lucky if you enjoyed it there, my situation there as an RCA/TCA was mostly bad. IMO, USPS needs to take better care of their subs. They were always too concerned about saving money in all the wrong ways and won't hire full time positions or provide benefits to subs- even to people working there 40+ hours a week as "substitutes". In the end they had me going to 3 different post offices (over 20 routes total, including city routes) and having me do 2 routes every Saturday. I would also constantly help train new employees at all 3 post offices and finish up their routes if they couldn't finish on time, all this and my postmaster still treated me like shit. I worked more hours than any regulars for 4 years and still didn't have benefits or the ability to take a day off...
-The job was great when I worked for a good postmaster. The second he retired it all went downhill. Worst part is, we had vacant routes for years (technically the person was on assignment for this long?) but the postmaster refused to assign anyone to them.
My mom retired as the rural.letter carrier from our teeny little town. She never missed days & got the mail delivered even in blizzard conditions. Her job was a big part of her identity. And like you, she loved it. She took care of people, relorted things when no one else cared, and always did just a little more than she needed to. Just like you, I'd bet. Please promise you will retire so you can enjoy what all your labor has brought you! Your job is hard and you deserve to relax when the time is right for you.
I love that mail lady! She has a big smile and is doing her thing.
John looked genuinely delighted when he pulled out that rock. That is a level of glee everyone should possess when talking about some obscure thing we love.
I've worked in the direct mail industry for about a decade, and I can say with confidence, that the USPS is one of the most efficient machines to ever exist. There are systems in place that tackle logistical nightmares with ease that the average person would never need to concern themselves with. I couldn't care less about most peoples stupid opinions, but when I hear someone complaining about the USPS, I take the opportunity to let them know they have no idea what they are talking about.
There are so many industries that rely on the USPS. Mail marketing campaigns are still a huge source of income for businesses and non-profits. If the USPS were to fail or drastically raise their rates, it would impact everyone and destroy the industries that depend on it.
You should do a story on how they maintain their fleet of long life vehicles. There are some mind blowing numbers.
How can I or another layperson do research on this? I'm genuinely curious, because I've honestly never thought about the mail trucks before and now I feel like I *need* to know.
Reading this i'm reminded again that i don't think the politicians have really thought through the economic impact of this. Huge numbers of small businesses would close and even many large businesses would sharply contract causing an all-new crash in September when we will hopefully be trying to rebuild from the ruins of the latest crash.
It's amazing how they can keep track of everything and deliver it in such a timely manner. When you have lived in other countries, you'd wish they had something as efficient as the USPS. Many times the package is simply lost and there is nothing you can do about it.
Gosh, don't give me a reason to agree with Trump. 😉 I wish I could not receive mailers. They go directly into the trash bin.
@@murphyleigh6319 This is a good start on the long life vehicles. postalnews.com/blog/2015/01/22/pushing-the-envelope-the-usps-long-life-vehicle/
The void now has one sound: the thud of the funny rock
Doing rock-onnaissance?
Mrudula Srivatsa can someone link it tho
yaaas :-)
I relistened to it so many times 😂😂
@@christianschoff2490 This physically hurts.
Oh man... that moment he said "are we essential or sacrificial?" is exactly what I was thinking of Amazon employees, grocery store workers, medical workers, custodians, etc. We need to stop treating people like an expendable piece in this machine!
@Blaire Tyrant God you're a fucking moron. Hope you don't continue to infest the gene pool.
@@carlosjaramillo9702 So the guy that took a minute to think about the ramifications of shutting down all businesses and how it will collapse the economy is the "fucking moron"? I'm going to say it's the dipshits like yourself that don't possess critical thinking skills and follow whatever the news tells you to do.
@Blaire Tyrant Relevant question, if you had any alternative, would you work a job that didn't pay a living wage and had a 2% chance of killing you? Seems to me the only circumstance in which that makes any sense is if the alternative is a 100% chance of starving and going homeless. Also, you are massively overestimating the lethality of automobiles. Varies by state, but the average odds for dying in a car crash per-year are roughly 1 in 8000. (lifetime odds obviously much higher, but still below 1%)
@Poppy Kneegrow I reckon too many people see a mortality rate of roughly 2% and think, thats a really small number (instead of realizing holy crap, if it is that high, thats going to have massive repercussions). And of course, most people don't even consider economic ramifications of illness. At least not to the broader economy, and certainly not the personal cost, until they get the bill. Which, considering how many people only have health insurance through the job they don't currently have, are going to be some serious financial ripples.
But it is true that this induced wide scale poverty will also have serious repercussions to health and happiness. However that's something that could have been addressed by congress and the senate, were they not fully in the pockets of big business.
Unfortunately, that question was answered by President Reagan when he fired all the air traffic controllers when they did a strike. Air traffic suffered for a while but it recovered, showing that you can sacrifice workers because more will take its place.
I feel that moment sealed the fate of workers' power in the United States.
The US mail just happens to be how I get most of my medication.
As does my brother, who is a veteran.
that's funny, because US mail happens to be how most of my packages are lost :/ oopsie daisy
@@FastlaneProductions1 stick to FedEx then trump fake account.
The first show without a live audience was rough. Totally understandable.
A few shows later...
This one was actually damn good.
I’m legitimately impressed with John’s adaptability in such a short time frame. Strange times were living in.
All the shows so far without an audience have been better - can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's not waiting for the pandering line then laugh/clap
He was on the Bugle for years. A podcast covering the week's events, though it was a two-hander. No audience there either
Agree with all that. But I'll add that I think the first one being "rough" struck me as being both poignant and appropriate, in emphasizing the message that the "may you live in interesting times" curse had just fallen on all of us.
You failed to point out, John, that huge reason the guy in the White House wants the USPS to fail ASAP is so voting cannot be done thru the mail. 😡
Bcuz he knows if mail in voting is easier the Rs will literally never win again.
Why didn't the Democrats change it when they held the office from 2009 to 2017. It's not just Republicans fault this is a mess. It was a bipartisan bill, everyone messed this up. I doubt Trump will fix this or the next party to take over they'll just allow the Post office to expand what they do instead of just repealing the bill.
I mean yes, but it’s only a stipulation. He couldn’t prove it (unfortunately).
Really its because of voting. Cause if anything they could make us all vote online. Then when that happens what's your next season to why we dont need usps
That's all true, but I can easily guess that 20 minutes after he made that pronouncement, he got a call from a dozen or more GOP campaign managers who told him the same thing. The majority of Republican voters in their district or state, vote by mail . Maybe they are elderly, maybe they are rural or both and if vote-by mail is removed so is their tenuous grasp to power.
I’m a city girl and I always make an effort to introduce myself to my mail carrier, call them by name and during sheltering in place, I’m at the front door wearing a mask and set two (sterile) bottled waters on a stand by my mailbox and watch and wave as my grateful mail carrier picks them up and waves his gratitude. It isn’t much, but I just want to do whatever I can to make his day a little brighter.
Support our USPS! They ARE a national treasure!
deborah chinn Thank you from a former mail carrier.
I live in the desert (Las Vegas), and I put the bottles in the freezer until they get slushy, since the mail trucks are open to the weather. And people, don't forget the guys who pick up your garbage and recycling!
"They ARE a national treasure!"; Question:
They also take pictures of everybody's letter sized mail, (the claim being so that people can know what is coming to them in the mail and when it will be there, via email). Do those photos make their way to the NSA? 'National "Spies" ' is more like it. Or so it currently seems.
Surely postage would be cheaper if the USPS did not take and store pictures of everybody's letter sized mail. We are paying the Government to spy on it's own people. When will 'We The People' wake up? The US Government is supposed to be working for 'We The People', not against 'We The People'. Even the NSA is paid for with taxpayer's money.
@Charles Brightman Former mail carrier here. I can assure you that this does not happen. Not sure where you’re getting this from?
@@dr.z1657 Patriot Act.
3/10 update!!! The senate has abolished the pre-funding mandate! No longer artificially bankrupting the postal service
Earlier this week I forwarded the link of this episode to my congressman, Mike Quigley (D-Illinois) . Today received an email from his office assuring me that he supports the USPS and working to fund it.
So, I urge everybody to send the URL to your congressman/woman. And buy the stamps!
Nope. Because they need to earn that.
@@gorkskoal9315 piss off.
By sending a URL, you mean by mail!
Elizabeth J I like you
Gork Skoal a private postal service will cost more and deliver to fewer people
My father was a carrier in the 80s. It's a thankless job, overlooked. And it deserves respect. Everyone wants their mail, it doesn't appear magically. Without the USPS we will all get higher prices
This was maybe the best episode since John start filming out of his house.
Maybe it was just refreshing to see some topic other than Corona for a while.
I feel like kids r gonna watch John Oliver videos in social studies classes in 30 years
I've already had professors show these in class.
That would be great! But why not in just TEN years?
I hope they learn to spell words instead of substituting single letters for them like illiterate youtube posters.
@@juliebraden6911 That's just the way the young 'text'. Some of them can spell. I think.
@@juliebraden6911 Everybody knows how to spell, but it’s just faster to use abbreviations in informal scenarios. I haven’t seen teenagers use “r” instead of “are” in an essay.
Can we please start a thank you letter campaign (obviously via USPS) to John’s wife for poaching him from the UK for us? We don’t deserve him, but my god, we need him. 💜
Yeah, I'd sign on for this.
That’s cute!!!💝
He's not joking about getting poultry through the mail. I myself have been in the post office and heard chirping coming from a stack of boxes. Honestly the surprise didn't last as long as you'd thing. It was, after all, the post office.
I stand with and will fight for the USPS. We don't just need the USPS but we deserve the USPS. And I do mean that in the best and worst of it's context!
PS Don't send anyone a sympathy goose. Not unless you truly and utterly hate them. Hardly anyone deserves to have geese inflicted upon them.
The PINO deserves a goose.
If I wouldn't worry about the geese, I would say, let's send the White House a butt load of geese!.... or killer bees. What ever works better and doesn't result in millions of animals dead..... maybe glitter bombs,.... let's glitter bomb the shit out of Trump and, even more importantly, Mike Pence (so that "Mother" is afraid of his gayness showing).
The receiver will sympathize with the miserable unleashed goose and get distracted from their sorrows, as human and poultry unite in hatred towards the sender.
USPS delivers the chicks to Tractor Supply during their Chick Days every year also 😊
A you sure they dont run a backup farm?
I remember when I was younger, we had the same postman for a few years. He was really nice and loved playing with our cats. When his route was changed, he even left letters to people letting us know that he wouldn't be delivering our mail anymore. Sad day in the neighborhood.
I went to college in a different state and the post office helped me stay connected with my family. Yea , I could just text or email them, but it is always really nice and loving to receive a card and a care box. Like seriously, my first Easter away, and my mom mailed me and my sisters a whole (Fabric) Easter basket.
I think all of us have mailed something more than just letters. It's a vital service. And letters and documents are important to be able to mail, as some of these need to be originals.
I just wanted to add this comment to anyone watching this for the first time or repeatedly. I took John's message about stamps as revenue to heart and went to my local post office and bought a Marvin Gaye stamp sheet today! It's amazing what they offer.
During WWII, my mother wasn't allowed to open a bank account in Alabama, since she wasn't "local," having moved there from Chicago. So she bought Postal Savings Stamps with the money my dad sent her. He was in the US Army. When she filled a card, she got a US savings bond.
But the banks don't want the competition.
The US didn't do anything useful in WWII! Stop pretending your better than other countries!
@@chaosXP3RT Privyet Sasha! how's weather in St Petersburg? Finally no snow, or still some?
chaosXpert how is complaining about not being able to get a bank account bragging about contributions during wwii? Ma’am this is a wendys
@@chaosXP3RT the fuck? Lol and yes it definitely did or would you rather be living under Nazi Germany?
More like payday lenders and check cashing places don't want it. If there were a nearly universal way to cash or deposit checks for free, with no account minimums or fees, cash checking places would go out of business.
A third of the way in and he hasn't mentioned Adam Driver yet. I'm getting worried.
He was handing John the rock :P. ^- ^
@@MyNontraditionalLife True (though, that said, probably because I am a non-US citizen that joke still manages to fly over my head....)
Thank you Mr. Oliver! As an essential employee for the United States Postal Service we are very grateful for all the THANKS and support we are receiving from the public we serve every day. It is great that you have brought to light the issues that we are currently facing. The Postal Service will persevere. We have before, we will again, of that I am sure. I appreciate the gut busting humor. We’ve all needed a good laugh at our office. STAY SAFE AMERICA!
Is there anything, apart from the army and the police, that is actually properly funded in America?
Congressional Pork Barrel?
Trumps golf trips
Corporate bailouts
Nothing good, anyway.
Guns and drugs I suppose...
just throwing it out there: when there are links in the episode they could be added in the description of the video
Yeah that'd be great!
Not that hard. Stamps.com/laststamptonight you're welcome.
It's not hard to get it, when you open it directly, while watching the episode, but can be annoying, if you want to open it later, because you would first need to find it in the video.
@@ratataran I'm not complaining that i can't, or it's hard. I just think it'd be nice in general to do. There is plenty RUclipsrs of any age and channel size that manage to properly link whatever they talk about, I don't see why would be a problem for a show belonging to a network like HBO. But then again, it was just friendly advice so even if they don't do that it's not important.
You instead needed to be petty for 5 minutes internet attention.
@@Hartie95 Is it only available via p.c.? I see no links on my phone.
OHHHHHHH. (The video is almost over. I see it, now.)
The ability of US politicians to turn anything and everything into a partisan issue will never cease to amaze and scare me at the same time...
Arthur Vilain Same ☹️
It's actually frightening. But I guess that is what democracy turns into when you let corporations pay as much as they want to any politician...
As a European, looking at american politics is just funny to me. And scary a bit.
You can't find truth from democrats and you can't find truth from republicans. It is ridiculous...
My heart goes to all americans who will have to choose between trump and biden. They both seem genuinely horrible
@@BUFU1610 I think having two parties is the biggest problem, albeit letting people pay money directly to influence decisions is just plain silly.
Because selling their "team" is more profitable than the NFL.
Name another industry besides partisan politics where both ordinary people and billionaires mail in money because they are so desperate for their team win.
USPS: a suggestion for a side gig. Print out and sell "Save the Mail!" postcards where citizens can write in the back why they want/need their postal service! Imagine the face the congressfolk will make when they see that avalanche!
And make them look like ballots, to *emphasize the point.*
I love this! I would buy at least 10!
@@theo4844 isnt the cost to mail a postcard like 15 cents? We could buy hundreds. This idea is so badass.
@@theo4844 maybe make your own and get some postage stamps just in case, so they still receive it.
This is genius!!!
Thats fantastic! I know at least three people who collect postcards and would love some stamps blown up.
Whenever you order something online, and check the "standard/free shipping" option, chances are it will be actually delivered to you by the Postal Service. Don't look at the large print near the top of the shipping label; (which usually will say "UPS Sure post "). Look at the bottom of the label, where it says "USPS E/Delivery Confirmation".
It’s kind of ironic that the government subsidizes those private delivery companies but won’t do the same with their OWN.
John Oliver's days without lusting over Adam Driver:
7
He’s doing it in private as well I assure you
@@good-questions days without *publicly* lusting over Adam Driver lol
Shhhh dont remind him
Today he's lusted over USPS Driver.
I imagine it would have gone something like this:
Pour lemon juice in my paper cut you Alpha-Mail Man. Give me a priority level beating you post delivering titan.
This episode just kind of glosses over the major problem here: If UPS and FedEx are using the USPS to make the parts of the deliver that are “not profitable” then you also have to understand that the inverse is also true: UPS and FedEx keep all of the deliveries that are profitable.
In typical crony capitalism fashion that has become commonplace in the United States; privatize the gains and socialize the losses is not just the principle being used by companies like UPS and FedEx: it is their entire business model.
The only “innovation” that is taking place at these companies is figuring out how they can carve out more of the deliveries that are centralized in major urban markets and can therefore be more “efficient” and profitable dealing with sheer volume; and excluding the non-profitable deliveries to rural communities that will inherently require more traveling and less delivery density over a greater area and therefore less efficient; shifting that cost to a public entity and ultimately the tax payer.
UPS and FedEx starves the USPS of profitable deliveries; allowing the funds available from them to be diverted away from the public utility and instead directed into the profit margins of private equity shareholders and CEOs.
I agree with this! That's part of why, when it's an option, I try to avoid getting stuff shipped to me by private firms. Not only is it way less expensive, the only difference is that I've gotta wait a couple extra days for the thing I bought, which, like...isn't a hardship. It just requires, like, planning.
USPS does not have planes, they rely on Fedex and UPS for air transport. USPS makes those last mile delivery stops anyways so it is a trade-off. As a Online Retailer that does my own bookkeeping, I can tell you USPS overprices the profitable deliveries and that’s why I only use them for light items or close destinations.
Oh god that also brings to mind what is gonna happen economically when it fails as well. This essential service crash is gonna do more than bring done a major company.
Zachary Wissinger “I can tell you that USPS overprices the profitable deliveries”
You aren’t paying much attention for somebody that claims to know about “bookkeeping”.
They aren’t overpriced. They are the weighted price designed to cover the costs of the rural deliveries. Places like FedEx are able to slash prices and obtain business in dense delivery areas because they don’t have to offset the cost of rural deliveries, which for them are non-existent.
Think about it in terms of any other public service. If you have ten kids, or if you have one or zero kids, you pay the same amount of taxes regardless. But the person with ten kids is “using more” of the public service than the person with one or zero kids using the same public service.
If I were to remove the families with one kid and say “you can not pay taxes and pay less to send your singular kid to private school”; and I remove that person from the public system... the average cost per tax payer would increase dramatically.
It’s unfair to claim the “USPS is not efficient” when “efficiency” is not their goal: Their goal is universality.
If you were to remove the USPS; either your costs in your area would increase to offset the losses of the non-profitable deliveries.. or the most likely scenario would be they would jack the prices up on the non-profitable areas or eliminate them altogether.
You either have to believe in socialistic practices that focus on universality or you believe in dog-eat-dog capitalism and sorry about your luck to those that can’t afford it. But anytime you have a mishmash or both systems it will always result in the tax payer subsidizing the profits of the private enterprise who will skim off the top and leave the waste for you.
That is true in any sector you want to look at; from postal services to health care to health insurance to banking to roadways to schools and any other example you wish to use.
How did this happen? Didn't USPS enter the same sphere of competition that UPS and FedEx did? If so, how did the latter two take their position unless they deliverd better/cheaper service? I don't know if you've ever worked for the government, but having worked there myself, I can tell you that getting things done can be a lot of paper shuffling. Private industry doesn't have the same internal bureaucracy and can compete where government can't. Also, whereas private industry actually risk failure, the money supply for making poor decisions within government is still endless. That means that government don't have to compete in the same market, and therefore, innovation isn't done the same way. Don't you think that's how the tax payer ends up with it ?
It's popular opinion to blame private industry. I get it, and there's enough to blame on private industry. Are you sure this is something that qualifies, or could it be more to it ?
As a USPS mail carrier - we're sacrificial. They do NOT care about their workers. The mail we carry has more value than our lives.
😔🤗
Big Brain: Untitled Goose Game.
Galaxy brain: Untitled Goose Sympathy Card.
Also, I swear to god John Oliver is one of the few things holding this country together.
Not a card -- an actual goose! lol
@@swanny.jk123 Who became an American citizen.
Finally someone talking about this. Postal service is the most important service in the US economy.
Which could use help right now.
Everything has to come to an end. They are killing their own employees there and I am a witness and a victim of them.
@subtle username I was pushed to end my life from what they put me through and I didn't. They don't have any remorse on their employees and put them in harms way. People who got killed there was because of the employer's neglect. Look up 63 year old mailwoman dies in California being forced to work in heat after a heatstroke a week before. There are other cases too. I was offered a supervisor position there and still would not take it. I got injured there and forced to work and only because I didn't want to give up my opportunities I suffered because the employer made me. They neglected me and wanted me to do all the work cause I was their best worker and they couldn't afford to have me out injured. Well I almost lost my legs for being forced to work and I had to leave before I got crippled but it was too late I got my legs ruined and I can't work. They treated me like I was faking the pain and I was crazy. The whole time I was trying to get doctors to check me out and it took a few years until doctors started seeing the injury and I had surgery but workers comp refused to pay me now I am trying to fight them and get disability and the whole time it was the employer's mistakes but people have been blaming me instead and my life as well as my families are ruined. This company made people have to end their lives or suffer. That is why there are suicides there. It's the company not the people who aren't giving a choice. The company thinks they can make workers choices for them. They give them ultimatums with two bad choices and black mail them. I am coming from experience and I know this company very well been there 7 years. Trained as a supervisor.
@@paulpjr3224 You do understand the reason why the US has such a strong national identity is because of the USPS right? Without that we would be less unified. Its why the Post service is enshrined in our constitution.
@@kappadarwin9476 It's Gods will to have them go out of business for their crimes and sins
Nobody can ever accuse John Oliver of just mailing it in.
Of course, now he could with those new stamps.
10:38-10:57 even in the void John Oliver still finds a way to make incredibly bizzare/dumb purchases. Never change you british toucan never change.
Thank you for the history of why the Post Office is in trouble. As a retired letter carrier, I get so annoyed when I hear that the Post Office should be privatized. I'm concerned with the nomination of Trump's friend as Post Master General.
Good luck privatizing it though, I don't know if there can even be a private Postal Service in the US
InsertColorHereHawk fedex carries letters in a lot of same day shipping envelopes, ups is a company
@@kingquesadilla7713 They can send those as "packages", however as a true post office/letter mail company, that got screwed(see: the demise of the ALMC)
Amen brother from a clerk
@@kingquesadilla7713 Shipping a letter through FedEX costs a lot more than 55 cents, though.
For all the people that claimed that the US is "the greatest country in the world" this pandemic showed that a more correct definition would be "the highest tower of jenga in the world".
It's huge, quite impressive to watch and clearly unique but you have to pray that there is no wind because it takes very little to make everything crash down.
Truly makes me wonder if there are any services in America that actually works and isn’t majorly flawed.
USA = third-world country wearing a Gucci belt.
@Karol Jeske where do you live? which countriy is it?
@Karol Jeske That's... not even remotely what a third world country even means. Have you tried a dictionary before?
Takes a lot to crash it. The Republicans have been chopping the Jenga tree down for almost forty years now.
No other entity [business] in the U.S. will ever come close to only charging a half a buck to deliver Grandma's Birthday card 3,000+ miles.
Trump's GOP says that's a stupid price -should be about $125 as per Fedex "realistic" price. SMH
Sad, but true..........😔
Well put.
@@bq1000bq I remember about ten years ago when the Post Office was having money troubles, I wanted them to raise the cost of a stamp from 42c to 50c, instead of the usual 2-3c. I can't say I know how that cost would adversely affect business, but it would still be very reasonable for me. I don't send much mail these days, so a dollar would be ok with me if that would keep the P.O. solvent. Of course, it would still be cheap in comparison to FedEx and UPS.
Thats because it would be illegal to do so. Private postal companies arent allowed to undercut or even match USPS prices.
"businesses don't lose billions!"
Sears would like to object to that statement
Amazon and Tesla too..
Mnuchin would know---evidently he helped extract 2 billion from the company as he helped kill it when he was supposed to save it. www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/05/steven-mnuchin-eddie-lampert-sears
I worked for Sears for 12 years, they deserve to be bankrupt. They stopped caring for the customers and employees, only profits and shareholders mattered. Positive vibes from New Hampshire and remember to be kind to each other and yourself during this pandemic
that and every other store that has gone bankrupt recently lmao
What's Sears?
I've known about this for years, people like Al Franken, Thom Hartman, and Bernie freakin' Sanders have been shouting it since 2006, nice to see it get some traction here. Everybody get some of these stamps. I just ordered four sheets and I only use one stamp per month!
I just have to say I love you! My uncle's name is Gregory White, he's at least publicly an Evangelical preacher with a prison ministry funded by Republican, Penecostal, Nazarene, Gun Toting Texan, Republicans..
So to it's nice to nice to see a Gregory White who's a "Last Week Tonight" fan on here, 💗
@@elizabethperimontclason3242 Hey, I was a gun toting Texan when I was 8..... although I got in trouble for it. Memaw told me not to touch her rifle she kept by the back door. Luckily nobody got hurt, including the horned toad I was "hunting", but my back end was a little warmer that day, and she taught me to handle guns safely and to shoot cans instead. I'm none of what your uncle is, but knew a few like him.
Same here! These stamps that last through post raises are good for us but not the P.O. Wonder who came up with that idea?
I tried but I’m Canadian and it didn’t work
I ordered 3 sheets and got them today. These are some HUGE stamps. I bought them to give out as gifts.
Postal service: no body is paying attention to me
John: here we go..
@8:22 social programs should never be privatized as liberal devices should never be helmed by conservative entities..
Wow, The main point is to criticize Trump. You seriously think he cares about the postal service? Lmao. What sad guy you are. Burst that bubble dude. It’s all about Trump. If Trump can shave few years off these loser’s life, with anger and hate towards Trump, I’m all game. Go Trump.
He needs to talk about how Small Businesses are being attacked by monopolies since this pandemic they are suffering and the gov could careless since big business wants them to fail. American Traitors and Liers truly.
@@noirrain6005 actually he really didn't even go after trump that much. If you really want to see John tear into trump you can, he does it, but this really wasn't one of those videos. John points out a very real and valid concern about a vital service that was thought to be so important as to be enshrined in our constitution. I think that you are severely misguided in your comment and urge you to think about the importance of the postal service.
@@noirrain6005 Have you even watched the video? I'm halfway through the video and Trump has not even been mentioned yet, so... if half of the video is about explaining why the USPS is so important, maybe it's not that much about Trump as you - probably a troll - want others to believe.
Gen Z kids: "Yo, these Lacemaking stamps SLAP."
My dad drives the semi trucks to haul mail for USPS. They are part of the lifeline of this country. They need us now more than ever, they have been screwed so badly 🤦🏾♀️
thanks to your dad for doing that. its some good stuff
Your dad is a GOAT
USPS must charge more for third party delivery slave services it provides for amazon ups fedex.
I can't believe I'm saying this but, thank you to your father for making sure my bills get to me on time📪? That just doesn't sound right🤣
But seriously. Your pops is a good man
Thank you sir!
Yay just in time to keep me from going to bed!
Or from going to school - its morning here
Ikr?
Same
Yeet!
same
Also the USPS is one of the largest employers of vets. And does a massive food drive every year.
See that's just it, it contains the leftover service personnel...why would the government really care about those that are "used up",.
(this is very negative statement, but the way things are, if you think about it:
the government takes the people at their prime, uses them as hard as they can...& if they return damaged in any way, say from the after-affects of a way or combat...then for the most part they'd want to wash their hands of them.) [Don't get me wrong I support what the VA tries to do...but they only have so much funding to work with, themselves.]
Why would a veterinarian work at the post office?
When John first presented those rocks I already had a feeling he bought one to show us
Best rocks ever!
The post master in my hometown was a semi professional magician and he did all my childhood birthday parties.
This is the best comment so far LOL
Little did you know. He was your real father.
@@ShawnLoftinplus plot twist
Best comment on a John Oliver video I've ever seen.
Ew
The "Make America Great Campaign" mailed me via the USPS asking for a donation with a return envelope. I sent the return envelope back with a copy of the constitution inside. I was pretty happy with myself at the time knowing that Trump's campaign just payed for me to troll them but this video makes me feel twice as good about it.
Good work.
damn, now I wish they'd send me one....
You can't forward or return standard-class or nonprofit mail, so it ended up getting thrown away somewhere in the process
@@The-Autistic-Rat I'm assuming the return envelope was one of those postage-paid envelopes that a lot of these organizations enclose (with "no postage necessary if mailed within the United States" where the stamp would ordinarily be). In that case, it does cost the organization money and won't get thrown away until some intern in the organization receives it.
Andy Mars OMG!!! This is awesome!!!!! Thanks for the smile Andy!!!
My husband didn't believe me when I said that growing up we got baby chicks in the mail. I specifically remember getting 100 chicks in the mail at a time until my dad starting using incubators. Thats how we got them in such rural areas.
You also used to be able to mail human children by post
At my post office, especially in the Spring, we get in baby chicks and ducklings almost daily. We had someone send out an adult rooster not too long ago. It was HILARIOUS. We kept him up near the retail counter until it was time to load him onto the truck and he "cock-a-doodle-dooed" about every 10-20 minutes significantly confusing each new batch of customers. We love when we get cute and fuzzy creatures in at the post office. Bees though, those can be a bit more difficult. I'm not allergic, so I'm often the one to handle those guys. Fun to watch, less fun to move around, lol.
I remember my parents getting up at like 5 am to pick up our chicks
I went to Rural Carrier Academy at a PO next to a Blair's Farm and Fleet. Baby chicks went through 'em all the time. As a fun fact, we're also allowed to mail scorpions, but only for antivenin research purposes.
@@colinsutherland201 I saw at least one story where a postal worker just had the kid being "mailed" sit in the front seat. Probably that was typical.
Thanks John. We need more people like you.
John, you’re a WORLD treasure. Thank you for putting a smile on our faces in those dark times...
John: "I mean, that's a perfect rock right there."
Me: *He bought one, I know you did Johnny boi. Show it to me!!*
John: *Shows the rock*
Me: *YYEAAHHHHH*
The sound of heavy rock being put down 😏
420 likes.. dang, now I can't like your post!
Show me the weiner!
@@meandnoother I know I hate hitler too.
Best part is that he had to have mailed that to his home. I wonder if he told his wife ahead of time... 🤔🤣🤣
they did it!!!!! lol this is the first time I can come back to a john oliver video and say things have gotten better not worse
not really am i right or wrong
@@eddiew2325you lost bro?
@@pheela yes can you help me
@@eddiew2325where you tryna go bro?
"...But Businesses don't lose Billions."
Remind me again how many times Trump has filed for Bankruptcy?
DairunCates 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Not to mention all the banks
six. Technically, not him, but his businesses. Whatever.
6 times, but he is a great business man
Julie Tardos Businesses do not enact bad business practices on their own. Trump owned the businesses.
The best part of this video is John's genuine joy with his rock.
The second best part is his genuine concern with how heavy it actually is.
"Businesses shouldn't lose billions"
Yeah, which is why you shouldn't run a government service agency like a business. Same thing with education, and what we should have done with national healthcare and prisons/criminal rehabilitation. Some things just aren't profitable, or at least don't have high profit margins, which is why government support is necessary. Privatization leads to and perpetuates scarcity and focuses on profit over people, which a government should not be doing.
Though, apparently that first line doesn't apply to tech companies, lol. It took Amazon like a decade to turn much of a sustainable profit. Uber has burnt through more cash than many government agencies.
Trump: I will run the US like a business!
republican voters: utterly fail to check what became of the majority of DJT's business ventures
@@interstellarshadow5571 Bezos dumped all the money that came in back into growth. It was in the financial and tech news routinely. Many of his investors hated it, but whoever hung around sure is happy now, I'd bet.
Lol but I'd guess you voted for trump. You know for the people
Exactly - times a billion. I'm quite disappointed (honestly, as usual) with John Oliver's acceptance of this bullshit frame effectively becoming a stenographer for power.
Solution to everything? AUSTERITY! Come the fuck on. This show is basically "let's narrow our lens to the horrific symptoms of capitalism and never discuss capitalism." It's...pretty dumb.
USPS is genuinely an incredible service.
Their priority is dirt cheap and handled shockingly well. Selling things on ebay I just wrap keyboards (in box) in brown butcher paper and they arrive perfectly okay, not a scratch on them. You do that in Canada and Canada Post will be delivering half a package with none of the contents.