All I Want for Christmas…An Industry Wish

Dear Santa:

All I want for Christmas is…

(1) For the USPS to know how many catalogs it carries each year,
(2) For the USPS and PRC to understand accurately what the elasticity of demand is for catalogs and be able to share and defend that figure,
(3) To truly know what the variable and total costs for two passes over the FSS machine are versus the manual casing cost to DPS a stack of LOT catalogs; four simple numbers… that’s it…,
(4) For the US Congress to realize it needs to undo crazy accelerated amortization of future postal liabilities that are choking postal finances,
(5) For the PRC to come up with modifications to the ratemaking process that do not threaten to put mailers out of business,
(6) For state revenue departments to cease their illegal attack on remote sellers and their total lack of regard for the complexities of complying with more than 12,000 different taxing jurisdictions,
(7) For the US Supreme Court to realize that changes to the remote seller sales and use tax laws still threaten to undermine about 3% of the nation’s economic activity and severely curtail American’s shopping choice and convenience, just as they did in 1992,
(8) For the US Congress to pass sensible legislation that clarifies what physical presence means today,
(9) For the mailing industry to speak with one voice in policy matters, and
(10) For the cloud of uncertainty over the US Postal Service to be resolved so business owners might plan over a more reasonable time horizon than a few quarters ahead.

Thanks Santa. I promise to be a good boy if you can deliver these simple things. I promise that I won’t make trouble but instead will concentrate on solving the long term strategic challenges faced by the nation’s mail service, particularly how we can sustainably grow mail volume plus addressing the real or perceived sales tax revenue shortfalls in the states.

That’s my list Santa. I promise I will be nice, not naughty.

Thank you Santa, Hamilton