Postal Service in Trouble

[tv star collector]

Postal officials are likely to have to cut back severely on the services the system offers.

http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/09/...n-trouble.html

[MrCleveland]

Well, you get $.42 to mail something from NY to LA in a day (or something like that)...so what do you expect?!

I wonder if we'll have our troops deliver mail like in the 70's?

[Family Ties Forever!]

^Actually a first class stamp is 44 cents.

Hopefully the postal service won't go under.

http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/09/...n-trouble.html

Published: Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2011 / Updated: Tuesday, Sep. 13, 2011 10:00 PM
Postal Service in trouble
Postal officials are likely to have to cut back severely on the services the system offers.
CCI Newsgate Feed

The U.S. Postal Service is not likely to disappear overnight. But, with massive financial problems, it is not likely to survive as the daily service Americans have enjoyed for more than 200 years. Last week, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced that the Postal Service is on "the brink of default." The Postal Service, which lost more than $8 billion last year and is facing losses at least that large this year, could default on a mandated $5.5 billion payment to the Treasury without legislation from Congress by the end of the month. And with no congressional action, a year from now, the post office could run out of money to pay salaries and contractors, making it impossible to operate.

Many may not be aware that the Postal Service receives no tax money for its operations, and it isn't seeking federal funding now. Instead, postal officials want the flexibility to make changes to the way the service operates so that it can once again become economically viable. What will that entail? The Postal Service already has taken some drastic measures to reduce costs. Over the past four years, 110,000 jobs have been cut. In addition, many smaller post offices have been closed and neighborhood drop boxes for mail have been removed. Postal officials have hinted that the next step would be to halt mail delivery one more day a week.

The reasons for the decline of the Postal Service are obvious. Email and other electronic communication have practically replaced letters sent by conventional mail - or, as it often is dubbed, "snail mail." First-class mail used to be one of the most lucrative sources of income for the Postal Service. Shipping companies such as United Parcel Service, Federal Express and others like them compete for package deliveries. And even so-called "junk mail" now can appear as pop-up ads on the Internet. But the competition doesn't do everything the Postal Service does. Many customers still rely on the postal carriers to deliver medicine, bills, magazines and movies.

And private companies will deliver only where they see a potential profit. The Postal Service is obligated to serve the small, out-of-the-way spots that have only a few isolated customers. If postal officials are given the leeway to innovate, they might be able to save the system. For example, instead of dropping just one delivery day, why not limit mail deliveries to three days a week? Those who need to deliver a letter right away could use overnight postage.

In particular, that would allow the post office to make deeper personnel cuts. It also might reduce material costs to some extent. Clearly, though, with the financial crisis the Postal Service is facing, customers are going to have to face the prospect of a reduction in services in the near future. That, however, is better than no Postal Service at all.

[Crimson and Clover]

Originally Posted by Family Ties Forever!

^Actually a first class stamp is 44 cents.

Hopefully the postal service won't go under.

My mom delivers mail. I hope it doesnt.

[tv star collector]

Posted on Mark Evanier's blog today:

Is your local post office in trouble? Here's a list of the ones they're considering closing.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/15...er-of-closing/

I hope all this talk of the U.S.P.S. going under or being sold to the highest bidder doesn't happen. I'm a big fan of the post office which I think provides a vital service for way less than it oughta cost and does it much more efficiently than most folks admit. I really don't understand how a lot of things would work if we didn't have it and folks had to pay FedEx rates for what we can now send for U.S.P.S. rates. I look at the mail my mother receives: Notices of doctor appointments, cards from friends her age, desirable coupons and ads for local merchants, etc. I've converted most of her bills to online billing and I handle those that way...but there are still some that have to be handled via paper.

She doesn't and can't do e-mail or go online. A lot of folks can't and many don't have someone like me to do what can be done online for them. How would they get what they now get via postal delivery?

[Coffeecup]

the sad part today is 80% of what you receive in the mail is junk.
The old days when letters were under 20 cents to send, people sent letters. Companies sent bills, Now clutter you get. On the other hand, the internet brings new ways of writing and bill paying. Although I still like letters and cards.

[tv star collector]

"[The post office is] the heartbeat of the community. We keep everybody connected." -- Randy Hayes (Rock Hill, S.C.), a mail carrier for 23 years

He's right. Not everybody has a computer, but practically everybody does have a mailbox.