This may sound like old news, since we hear of the woes of the United States Postal Service nearly every year. It is a well known fact that they are losing money and nothing they do seems to stop the bleeding. Last year, there was some talk of cutting Saturday delivery, and although it may not be official yet, I can’t tell you the last time I received something in the mail on Saturday. There is always talk of cutting here and there and now there is a great possibility that the USPS could close as many as 2000 post offices around the country. Because of that possibility, many people are up in arms, figuratively speaking, about the possible closure of their local post office. While it isn’t a big deal to me if they close our local post office (I haven’t been in the place in a very long time), it is a very big deal to some who depend on their local post office to stay in contact with the rest of the world. If the USPS has their way, some of them are going to have to come up with a different method of staying in contact.
Here are some details about the closure, from The Wall Street Journal.
Now, with the red ink showing no sign of stopping, the postal service is hoping to ramp up a cost-cutting program that is already eliciting yelps of pain around the country. Beginning in
March, the agency will start the process of closing as many as 2,000 post offices, on top of the 491 it said it would close starting at the end of last year. In addition, it is reviewing another 16,000—half of the nation’s existing post offices—that are operating at a deficit, and lobbying Congress to allow it to change the law so it can close the most unprofitable among them. The law currently allows the postal service to close post offices only for maintenance problems, lease expirations or other reasons that don’t include profitability.
The news is crushing in many remote communities where the post office is often the heart of the town and the closest link to the rest of the country. Shuttering them, critics say, also puts an enormous burden on people, particularly on the elderly, who find it difficult to travel out of town.
The postal service argues that its network of some 32,000 brick-and-mortar post offices, many built in the horse-and-buggy days, is outmoded in an era when people are more mobile, often pay bills online and text or email rather than put pen to paper. It also wants post offices to be profitable to help it overcome record $8.5 billion in losses in fiscal year 2010.
A disproportionate number of the thousands of post offices under review are in rural or smaller suburban areas, though the postal service declined to provide any estimate on how many beyond those slated to begin closure in March might ultimately close or which ones are being targeted. “We want to make the smartest decisions possible with the smallest impact on communities,” Dean Granholm, vice president for delivery and post office operations, said in an interview. He said the agency is identifying locations that are operating at a deficit and looking “for the opportunity to start the process of closing.”
If you will finish reading the article at The Wall Street Journal, you will find several examples of how these closures will affect the local population in some very out of the way places in our country. To be sure, this affect will not be small and will have significant impact on many of our citizens, especially the elderly. While you and I may have no problem adapting to a new and different way of doing things, that isn’t necessarily the case with a lot of our senior citizens.
I’ll be the first to say I know little about the internal workings of the USPS. I do know the unions 
seem to have a lot of influence over how the service is operated and I do know for a fact that some of the employees, especially those who have worked for the USPS for a number of years, have some very good benefits. I know of one man who just retired from the USPS last year and he had a great deal of sick and vacation pay saved up, so much so that he didn’t work for the last several weeks of his employment at the service. That gave me a small inkling of just how lucrative a job at the USPS could be and part of that is a direct result of the union influence. I have no trouble with unions, as long as they stay in their place, but when they start negotiating contracts that lead to the insolvency of the company they are negotiating with, something needs to change.
There is another aspect of this that troubles me, namely the comments being left on the article I linked to in The Wall Street Journal. One of them even went so far as to say this is the kind of problem we start having when our old refuse to die. Maybe I am in the minority here, but I found that comment to be more than a little callous. Another comment suggested that two of the senior citizens mentioned in the article learn to use a computer and the Internet. I found that comment to be a bit naive. Some of our senior citizens have embraced computers and the Internet, but some have no need for either. Should they be forced to do so, just because? I think not.
As the article in The Wall Street Journal mentions, mail delivery is a basic and fundamental function, as defined by U.S. law. It is meant to bind our country together and it has done it’s job. Maybe closing some post offices is an inevitable fact of life, but I hope the USPS takes a close look at other options, before they proceed with the closures. They would be amiss if they failed to consider the affect any such closures will have on the citizens and the communities where these post offices are located.
Agree with you, however they have done little to try and spare expenses. We have 7 post offices within a 6 mile radious. 4 have no rural route for delivery. They all have postmasters and assorted staff. These are all stand alone buildings. Why not rent space for a window operation for those who offices which have no rural route?
I would tend to think you are right. While it may be true that there are some horror stories of post offices that shouldn’t be closed, your example goes completely in the other direction. There should be some way to work out a compromise and for the USPS to help itself.
USPS could do a lot to help itself. I agree Larry, that the service is one of the most fundamental services our government provides. They have been outrageously irresponsible in paying out bonuses, and huge pay increases, as well as continually raising the cost of postage.
I agree, Maggie. They seem to keep shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to cutting costs.
My opinion is probably not going to be popular with many but I think the USPS should have been privatized years ago.
Not at all unpopular – at least not with me. Let’s face it, the government can’t run anything efficiently. What’s surprising is that there exist people who would not like the idea of privatization.
Very true, Harry. I wonder myself why so many people seem to think it is a bad thing to privatize the USPS. I think it is the right thing to do, given their past record of losing such large amounts of taxpayer money.
If you are talking about having a private company own and operate it, I see no problem with that. Fed Ex and UPS are both profitable companies, so there is no reason why USPS could do the same.
I rarely go to the post office now. I buy my stamps via the web and have the stamps delivered by mail.
Now, I do know several small communities in which the post office is a major hub of the community.
I can’t imagine that getting rid of smaller, local post offices will result in effective delivery for those living in “backwater” communities.
Maggie does make some good points in her comment above. Postal workers are numerous and paid very high salaries. Among postal workers are those who repair the equipment and the trucks — so often in great distress as far as their running order goes.
You are exactly right, AOW. I know first hand how much some of the vehicles cost them, as we have the maintenance contract for USPS in the town where I work. It is not cheap to keep these trucks in decent running order.
First off, closing post-offices does not stop the mail from being delivered, so the duties of the government are still upheld – i.e., that is a non-starter for a legitimate issue.
Secondly, if the post office was privatized, those branches running at a loss would be freaking closed anyway – THEY ARE RUNNING AT A LOSS! As in, we are subsidizing their existence. There are too many post offices right now, that is a fact. Let’s look to private business for examples of the way to do it right.
What does a FEDEX store do? Just accept packages, or more? They copy, print, fax, package, sell paper supplies…basically, they are a full-service small business center, oh, and they treat their customers like they are the source of their income. Contrast that with the limited services and non-existent customer service you get at a post office branch and I think we have the easy answer as to why they are losing money hand over fist every year.
To me, this is more proof that government run monopolies have and always will be abject failures. The post-office is a monopoly, domestic letter is hands-off to Fedex and UPS. Govt. monopolies have no profit motive, hence no reason to be efficient or successful. Same as public education.
I say close these damn things down, the USPS has been wanting to do it for decades, but Congress has put the kibosh on it because no one wants a branch closed in their district – who cares if it is bleeding us dry?
Don’t even get me started on the customer service at our local post office. Not only do they give the phrase “keeping banker’s hours” an entirely new meaning, they are not friendly when they are there. If very many post offices have the same standards, it’s no wonder they are losing money. Sooner or later, something has to change. They can not expect to continue operating in the same fashion, losing large amounts of taxpayer money, with no repercussions. If it takes privatizing the USPS, then so be it.
There is a great deal of wisdom in forcing any part of government pay for itself, or at least break even. The post office should be no difference. They should privatize, but the unions will cry long and hard.
I agree, Matt. They shouldn’t get a free ride, just because they are part of the government. If they can not at least break even, then steps should be taken to correct that.
I have stopped using the Postal Office whenever I can. I will even pay FedEx or UPS for delivery just to avoid using the Post Office. Customer Service has just dropped to almost nothing and getting your deliveries on time is a challenge. For me the final straw was paying for overnight delivery and then being told after it didn’t make it there, that they cannot “guarantee’ that the package will get there overnight! My response was, “Then why the charge?” Errrr…
Yes, I avoid the Post Office at all costs. Literally.
Well, if they can’t guarantee delivery, then why do they charge for it? Getting paid for not doing their job seems counterproductive to me.
Nice artcile LD Jackson. I enjoyed your views. As well, fleeceme is always strong.
“What does a FEDEX store do? Just accept packages, or more? They copy, print, fax, package, sell paper supplies…basically, they are a full-service small business center, oh, and they treat their customers like they are the source of their income.”
How difficult is that? Anybody who has owned a business or been a customer gets it!!
Thanks for comment, KP. I appreciate you taking the time to do so.
I think you raise a very good point about anyone who has owned a business or been a customer. It seems to me it shouldn’t be that hard, but the folks at the USPS evidently don’t have much of a clue.
“UPS and Fed Ex are doing just fine. It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems”
- President Barack Obama
Seems like I remember him saying something like that. When did he make that statement?
On the campaign trail.
I think private enterprise would fill the void. Hopefully the UPS’s and the FedEx’s of the world are gearing up.
I have no doubt that if the USPS closed down today, other companies would take over and do what needed to be done. There would probably be a gap in service until they got it figured out, but no doubt they would do so.
The USPS quit being a GOV entity many years ago! Turner broadcasting and other media moguls now call the shots, including Ebay! If they would close down the offices in large cities instead of rural areas one would see just how efficient the USPS can be! We have a small office in a town of 70K! And this one office is the main hub for 3 counties! yet, there is talk we might to lose it! With private enterprises it would be like the phone, cable and all else…service would NOT improve and would be based solely on how they felt that day! The costs would be way out there….nope you folks need to realize there is NO replacing the USPS, it just needs to cut its own fat and give each zip code area ONE post office….then sit back and hear the whining!
As for the UPS and FedEx being able to remain fluid, they are NOT as wide spread as the USPS and do NOT do offer the same service at all! Just ask them, they will tell they can not be the USPS ever!
What does Turner Broadcasting or any other media company have to do with the USPS? How are they calling the shots?
As for closing down the post offices in large cities, how is that going to make the USPS more efficient? The city where I work has a population of a little over 80,000. It has 13 zip codes, so that would mean 13 post offices, instead of the 4 it has now. Trust me when I say, that would be a waste of money and resources.
I disagree that private enterprise couldn’t take the place of the USPS. If given the opportunity, I think it could do just fine. Fed Ex and UPS both offer a lot of the same services, such as package delivery, letter delivery, etc., just in a different form and I really don’t see how you can claim they are not as widespread as the postal service.
then Welfare should pay for itself and NOT take the money out of my pocket!
Okay, you will have to explain to me how welfare has anything to do with the USPS.
I work for USPS. After 20 plus years, I’m still considered part time. Before anybody starts bashing the postal service maybe you should take the time to find out what a persons work day is like. I work six days a week. My day starts at 5:30 and my every minute is accounted for. The reason that I have enough annual and sick leave to not work for a year is because I never call in sick and am not allowed by my postmaster to take any additional days off. All you people that think FedEx and UPS can do the job we do should know that they deliver some of their packages to our back door and we deliver them for these companies. I could go on but I’m sure it wouldn’t do any good. I do agree though that changes need to be made.