Bottom line: Mail is down 12% and the USPS could be out of money by the end of the year.
“The Postal Service, which has served America for 234 years, is experiencing a very serious financial crisis because of the downturn in the economy,” John Potter, head of the U.S. Postal Service, told lawmakers. He went on to say the losses, in the billions of dollars, are of "historic proportions."
So what does he do? He asks to cut a day of service. Five days a week of mail, people. This could really happen!
Mail delivery is one of the cornerstones of this nation. Even in post-apocalyptic times, there will be mail. Didn't anyone see "The Postman"? (I know it was a terrible movie, please don't miss the point here.) I'll bet even those children in rags got their New Yorkers on time. And their VISA bills. And the sweet, sweet ValPak.
It is time for another bailout. This is bigger than AIG. And the banks. And whatever other madness TARP is covering (unless it's petting zoos. That is completely valid). The mail. We must save the mail. Who is with me?
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2 comments:
I am with you.
Is there some valuable service that the USPS is providing in an efficient and unique way?
The USPS is a independent agency, which means it is essentially a public business, clinging to an outdated business model, and not doing it well, even using monopolistic practices (FedEx and UPS aren't allowed to use PO Boxes and mailboxes for delivery).
Also, it's not a very green organization - it consumes 800 million gallons of fuel a year. If it went out of business, the more efficient private carriers would pick up the slack for packages, and we might see a decrease in those silly coupons, fliers, greeting cards, and personal letters, which would save a ton of trees.
Old business models deserve to die. In the short term, jobs will be lost. That sucks. In the long term, we get innovation and invention and better use of resources and new jobs. The best we can do is manage this evolution to avoid shocks to the system so that the USPS, paper mills, greeting card industry, printers, fuel depots, etc. don't suffer too much at once.
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