munky.org|v3.0

They did what?! Spent how much?! My curlers are about to pop out!

I came online today, to check the site and the news, and about fell out of my chair. In 1 post I matched nearly 2-3 weeks worth of visitors. I was floored.

Which article was it? Post Office Buys $1.2 Million Dollar Home - sourced from CNN. That tells me right off the back at how much people are outraged over this blatant excess. Further than that, people are outraged and blatant excess period.

You can see it all around. People complain about banks buying jets and stadium naming rights (even though naming rights are really and advertising move, and companies need to advertise). The lashing auto execs got for flying into Washington in private jets with their pockets hanging out and shaking their cup. The people who still have that coveted disposable income either not spending it or doing it in stealth.

We have a right to be upset though. Over 12 million Americans are unemployed, and millions of others are underemployed. Millions of people are struggling to make it through this time, while others are still living the life. It can drive a person mad. Why should we starve while they are jet-setting, making it with billions of taxpayer bailout funds? Can’t we get a break? Heck, whatever happened to philanthropy? When we need the charitable help the most, it all dries up.

It’s a sickening cycle, but we can’t let it get us down. We are defined not by our strength in the good times, but for our strength in the bad. I can attest to far too many sleepless nights worrying about what happens next. Everytime my manager tells me to meet him when I get in, I get the jitters and thoughts start racing through my head of what am I going to do if I get laid off. What scares me is I don’t really know, and I’ve always got a plan. I’d get through it I guess, which is the attitude I need to get by. Thankfully it is always him asking me to pick up some extra work. But my nerves can only stretch so thin.

Remember that we are only guaranteed 2 things in life: death and taxes. Everything else we have to work for, to fight for. And if it isn’t worth fighting for, it isn’t worth it.

The Postal Service bought this 8,400-square-foot South Carolina home so an employee could relocate. (CNN)

That’s right. The same USPS that is talking about how tough times are, that they may need to stop Saturday delivery, is the same one also in the house buying business. Here’s how our postage stamp scam works. Employees (generally execs I presume) go out and buy their glorious home. Once the USPS decides to transfer them elsewhere, they will buy their home from them to sell later as part of the relocation package.

Relocation packages are common, and all-in-all, not a bad thing. But the buck has to stop somewhere. According to the article on CNN (Postal Service draws criticism for $1.2 million home buy), the USPS has lost an average of $58,397 per home in 2008, accounting closing costs, legal fees, etc. To put that in perspective, that’s 139,040 1st class letters per house. Now take a look at this home. A beautiful home in Lake Watertree, SC (about 30 miles north of Columbia). The Postal Service has it appraised, and it comes back at $1.2 million. Holy jumping Jehoshaphat’s! I’m fairly astounded, living in Charlotte, NC, and having little positive opinion for SC (if you live here you’ll learn why quickly). The house once belonged to the former Lexington, SC Postmaster, Ronald Hopson and his wife. Wow, I didn’t know Postmasters were bank rolling like that.

Well, the house now belongs to the Postal Service, who is crying about not having enough money and wanting to cut back operations by 1 day. Maybe we shouldn’t be paying $1.2 million for houses in the middle of a housing bubble burst. Odds are, when it does sell, it will be quite some time and for quite a loss.

So now some change is definitely needed. This program, while directed under good intentions and meant to help retain talent (as they say), is showing its nasty flaws. How can we fix it? Simple. Instead of the USPS buying the house upfront, they should consider paying the mortgage payment while it is listed, and handle the listing and such. They can provide the cost for the closing and legal fees, then if the home’s owner makes a certain percentage or more, recoup those costs (i.e. set a baseline for the employee to make x% of profit prior to collecting specific fees).

Another viable option would be the one similar to the one my in-laws dealt with.  In 2005, my father in-law was relocated to Greenville, SC (one of the few bright points in the state). Ironically this happened shortly after they finally paid the house off. He got to pick a realtor from a list provided by his company. They paid for all moving costs, etc. Once in Greenville, they were provided with a company condo for a couple of months, until they could locate a place to live. Once again they used a realtor designated by his company. After a couple of months they decided on a house and purchased it. The company covered the down payment and closing costs. During this time, if they had had a mortgage on their old home, my in-laws would’ve been responsible for it until they purchased the new home, which at that time his employer would’ve taken over house payments on their previous residence.

Maybe I should consider a job at the post office. Pay is good enough for million dollar mansions, and they even do a buyback guarantee when I relocate! Awesome!

This process will change though. As much heat that is on businesses for lavish expenses, this counts too. I guarantee it.