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Saving Snail Mail Still Makes Sense

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 24, 2009

If the U.S. Postal Service has its way, people will be getting mail only five days a week.

Faced with a budget deficit that some experts say could reach $6 billion this year, the post office plans to eliminate 100 million work hours. It has asked Congress to change the way it pays for retirees' health benefits and to allow it to deliver mail five days a week, probably eliminating Tuesdays, if its financial situation doesn't get better.

Doing away with six-day delivery has been discussed before and met with resistance from lawmakers. But it makes sense today when businesses have cut down on mail, millions of Americans are paying their bills online, and e-mail, texting, MySpace and Facebook have become the primary means of written communication. The Postal Service predicts the move to five-day delivery could save up to $3 billion a year.

Experts say the change could accelerate the already rapid drop in mail volume. The service reported that volume was down nine percent in the final quarter of 2008. That's more than 5 billion pieces of mail during the busy holiday season.

Declining mail volume meant a $384 million loss for the quarter, and officials predict worse results over the next few quarters.

Still, since its inception in 1775, the postal service has faced competition. First the Pony Express, then the telephone, then private delivery services and fax machines. Today, it's the Internet - an information and service entity that is both instant and paperless.

Even with this, we still depend on the mail for many transactions. It remains a necessity, but it's no longer a six-days-a-week one. The Postal Service must change to accommodate marketplace realities.

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