Now I see why the USPS always want rate hikes

Found this goodie via USA Today. Don't forget the next rate increase is coming this May. Too bad I'm still having trouble with getting my packages delivered. I guess when the mail carrier in my area gets tired of delivering they stop and do some bogus "notice left" swipe even when there is no notice or attempt made for trackable packages. Anyway, here is the story:

U.S. Postal Service defends $13,500 dinner charge

The U.S. Postal Service is defending the decision to spend $13,500 at a steakhouse in Orlando, telling the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that this was a reasonable expense designed to "woo corporate clients."

Federal investigators reported earlier this week that postal employees spent about $160 a person for the 2006 meal at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Orlando:

For this occasion, USPS paid for 81 dinners averaging over $160 per person for customers of the Postal Customer Council at an upscale steak restaurant. Further, USPS paid for over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere, and Johnny Walker Gold.

They charged the tab to government purchase cards.

"This is not taxpayer money. What we spend is what we make. The Postal Service is funded solely by our products and services," spokesman Gerry McKiernan tells the paper.

That doesn't assuage the concerns of GAO investigator Gregory Kutz.

"For the most part, my stamps helped pay for the dinner," he tells the Sun-Sentinel. "Every time you lick a stamp, think about Ruth's Chris."

(File photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP.)