As one giant white elephant is born - government health care, another is being dismantled by the private sector
As mail volume declines, the US Postal Service could shutter up to 3,200 post offices and retail outlets. Most people say they understand -- unless it's their post office
A rallying cry can be heard across the country, from the swanky streets of New York's SoHo to the tiny town of Randolph, Kan.: "Save our post office!
As the United States Postal Service, weighed down by a crippling multibillion-dollar deficit, shrinks its operations, post offices across the country are on the chopping block. Each year, hundreds of postal operations shutter, but this coming fall could be the single biggest consolidation in Postal Service history.
Over the next three months, more than 3,200 post offices and retail outlets -- out of 34,000 -- will be reviewed for possible closure or consolidation
Downsizing is a business imperative, says Linda Welch, acting vice president of delivery and post office operations at the Postal Service. "Revenues have declined, and mail volume continues to decline," she says.
Not only have e-mail and electronic bill paying made for a skinnier mail stream, but the recession has caused a sharp pullback in advertising mail that has hurt the Postal Service even more. In March, Postmaster General John Potter asked Congress for the right to reduce the mail week from six days to five, for a savings of $3.5 billion.
Shutting down post offices will have similar cost-saving effects. And most Americans say they're OK with the cutbacks, as long as they don't have to pay more to send mail. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll found that more Americans would rather the Postal Service curtail services than seek a bailout or raise stamp prices.
At least, that's what everyone says -- until it's their beloved post office at stake. For various reasons, people tend to react with great fervor when their local offices are endangered.
Consider the case of the Hawleyville Post Office. After years of negotiations, the Postal Service in January notified the Connecticut community that its 166-year-old post office would close Feb. 14. An article in the local newspaper poignantly noted, "The long love affair between the Hawleyville post office and its loyal customers will come to an end on, of all days, Valentine's Day."
Its post office was rickety, but the community embraced it as a gathering place. One resident told the Newtown Bee, "The Hawleyville Post Office is like Cheers in Hawleyville
In fear of losing its precious haunt, the community mobilized. A Web site and online petition drive were created. Members got Congress involved. And low and behold, the community won approval for a new post office, to be opened this summer.
Every time a post office is slated for closure or consolidation, the Postal Service is legally obligated to inform its customers well in advance. "There's a very long process that they have to go through," says Mario Principe, the post office continuance consultant at the National League of Postmasters. That gives the communities plenty of time, usually at least two months, to stage a rescue.
Anatomy Of A Closure
The Postal Service will typically send out a survey or host a town hall meeting before an endangered office closes. Perhaps the closing of a post office means too many lost jobs for an already-hurting community. The office might house the bulletin board that posts important community announcements. Or the next-closest post office may be really far away. If customers alert officials to such concerns, there's a better chance that their office will be spared. Appealing the closure decision to the Postal Regulatory Commission often works, too, though it's a step many communities don't know to take.
It's also important to check out why a post office is on the chopping block in the first place. Those under review this summer are mostly metropolitan branches or stations. But in the case of small post offices, federal law states that the reason can't be just that the office isn't bringing in enough revenue. If that's the only explanation given, then the Postal Service can't legally shut it down.
Oftentimes, post offices face closure because their leases expire. That's the case in Deer Harbor, Wash. After attempts to find a new location for the post office failed, the community decided "in desperation" to buy the property just to keep it in business. If the community can raise the $250,000 purchase price by the June 30, the Postal Service says it will continue operations there. The Postal Service seems willing to negotiate, and it's not really bothered by the protests. "It actually it makes us very proud to know that we are a valuable member of the community," says Welch. She says that the Postal Service appreciates the great lengths that some communities will go to just to ensure that their services continue.What the Postal Service would appreciate even more: If those people would show their appreciation by taking the simple step of sending more mail. Oddly enough, that seems to be the unthinkable last resort.
This article was reported by Caitlin McDevitt for The Big Money.
Some comments and suggestions:
- SATURDAYS delivery could be cut out ----- We can wait another couple days for BILLS to arrive.
- One USA post office in my neighborhood is located in a very tiny shop that sells lottery tickets and greeting cards and has Safety Deposit Boxes. Maybe that's what they'll all be coming to instead of these state-of-the-art huge buildings with several PO's in just one town. They'll only need one large building to sort mail and distribute it per county.
- This country has just too many of everything----Malls---car dealers---grocery stores and none can make a decent profit unless they charge the customers more.
- If they expect greater volume for holidays, they could do what the private sector does and hire seasonal workers.
- Rural delivery probably needs to be subsidized, at least until a new generation comes along that will be satisfied with electronic delivery... many years out. For God sake, we are subsidizing tons of things that are a lot less important.
One Letter to the Editor:
If mail delivery were to be taken over by private enterprise, get ready for some major changes. First mail delivery to many rural locations would stop and those people living in more rural and isolated locations would have to go to a central post office to pick up their mail. If you are disabled or there is nasty weather (like a foot of snow in the winter), tough. If you want your mail, you will have to go pick it up. Mail delivery to urban and suburban locations would still continue, but I suspect that in many inner city neighborhoods, they will also be restricted.
Forget about Saturday mail delivery. That would cease if a private company took over the mail delivery. Of course there may be competition between private companies and there may be one that will offer Saturday delivery or will deliver to rural addresses, but you will have to pay extra for that privilege.
Expect changes in postal rates if private enterprise takes over mail delivery. You might see some postage rates lowered for mail being sent locally or short distances, but if you want to send something across the country, it will cost more. I also suspect that if you are mailing something to a rural location, that may cost more also.
Would service be better at local post offices if the postal workers were paid Wally World wages? I don't think so. There would be higher turnover and in general the quality of employee (and service) would plummet. I can just see a letter carrier saying that going out in 95 degree heat in the middle of the day delivering mail isn't worth what he is being paid if they are paid Wally World wages. The same goes for having to go out in below zero wind chills in winter.
Should the postal system be taken over by private enterprise, expect to see many smaller post offices closed. This would also include many post offices located in cities since they could consolidate services in one big post office. So what if it is inconvenient to get to and there are long lines, that is business efficiency. Also many small rural post offices will also close and those people might have to drive a little longer distances to get their mail since it would no longer be delivered to their house (unless they want to pay extra for it).
Oh yes, don't forget the US Postal Inspection Service. That has been regarded as the best law enforcement agency in the country and among the best in the world. We don't hear a lot about them, but they are the oldest federal law enforcement agency and they don't make headlines like the FBI does. But they are the primary law enforcement agency fighting child pornography and fraud. They are very effective in what they do and their agents are trained along side FBI agents. The USPIS investigates more white collar crime than any other law enforcement agency and when they make an arrest, they obtain a conviction in more than 90% of their cases.
No, the government does a great job of handling the mail and i do not want to see that "privatized". You could also substitute "corrupted" in place of "privatized" since I am sure that the executives of any private enterprise that would handle the mail would pay themselves obscene salaries and bonuses while paying out millions in lobbying congress to keep their gravy train running. If "government health care" were run as well as the post office, we would have a system that is highly efficient and costs far less.
As with everything else that is going on in these crazy times… It is something to think about and then to either stand up over, offer and campaign for your suggestions or let go. But, this is definitely a time to be and get involved. Had we done so all along, the United States would not be in this position. Ask Marion/Knowledge Creates Power~
Posted: Knowledge Creates Power
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