Not all of us can afford Broadband, the cost is preventative. Yet a 44 cent stamp is affordable to almost everyone. The Postal Service is here to stay, I pray. My Dad was a Postman, who actually had to CARRY the bag and WALK. It killed him. But I want to say this article is a  dooms day article that did not need to be written.

Not Buying the Hype....

Ups and Fed-ex gets it there when they say, I have yet to see the USPS get a priority mail package from NC or LA to Oh in less than 7 days.

Out Source.

US Postal Service is not going anywhere soon. Just get over it, ok? As a business person who ships lots of packages daily, the post office offers me services at very decent prices. This allows other shipping companies such as FedEx and UPS to actually compete with them on price. Has any of you tried to ship packages overseas or even Canada using 3 major shippers? Brokerages fees alone would kill my business in no time. They just need to figure out how streamline their business, make it more efficient. I do not mind paying more for their services.

By the way, all 3 majors had announced temporary increases in their rates due to rising fuel prices. Well, the price of fuel came down hard and their rates stayed.

Not everyone in the usa has a computer.It is not the same to look at internet for items for sale as a catalog is, take a computer to the toilet and read,,,no way...

But i do think that the post office does need to get more modern, you should be able to track your mail. if you print a envople at home and mail it. it should have a tracking number that you could track to see when it gets delivered. Say if you are sending a birthday care to a grandchild. that you know that they got it on time.Also there should be a way that you need to send a big contract to a customer on the west coast from east coast.that it could be transmitted on the west coast,Printed,Boxed,Proof of delivery sent back to you, Send Today,Delivered Today....

Also the Post Office could have  system that could scam the items you are sending  as proof of what you are mailing,,,,say a eviction notices.this way when you take the person to court to evicte, you have prooof they sign for it and they are out.

I THINK THE POSTAL SERVICE COULD HAVE A WAY THAT YOU COULD PUT MONEY IN THE SYSTEM TO BUY  STAMPS, PLACE YOUR LETTER ON THE WEIGHT STATION, NEXT IT WOULD PRINT A STAMP FOR YOUR LETTER WITH A BAR CODE AND TRACKING NUMBER.SO WHEN THE POST OFFICE SCANS IT, IT SHOWES,PICKUP, ENROUTE,DROP OFF TIME AND PLACE AND A EMAIL IS SENT TO YOU IF YOU CLICK THE RIGHT BUTTON.EACH PERSON THAT ELECTS TO DO THE MAILING THIS WAY SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING LIKE A EMAIL ACCOUNT. THIS A WAY IF YOU ARE CLUB,LODGE,CHURCH,YOU COULD TRACK YOUR MAIL, YOUR MAIL COST,PRINT THE STAMPS YOU WANT. I WOULD NOT HAVE A PROBLEM IF THEY DELIVERED MAIL EVERY OTHER DAY ON ONE SIDE OF TOWN AND THE OTHER SIDE THE OTHER AS LONG AS  THE POST OFFICE WOULD BE OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK ON NORNAL HOURS SO OLDER PEOPLE COULD MAIL ITEMS OUT AND SIGN FOR ITEMS THERE ON THERE ODD DAYS OF NOT GETTING THE MAIL AT THERE HOUSE OR BUSINESS.THIS WOULD MEAN IF A TOWN HAS THREE POST OFFICES, AT LEAST ONE WOULD BE OPEN 9-T0-6 EACH DAY MONDAY THRU SATURDAY.

Josh, I am sure people felt the same about GM. Don't be naive........

I find it hard to believe the USPS is losing the money they say they are. It has to be one of the most inefficient organizations ever.  Consider the fact that MILLIONS of people purchase items on EBAY and at Amazon. These items must be sent via snail mail.  EBAY alone has made billions for the USPS.  And the lines at  the post office are still long. Lets wake up and see that what they are saying is bogus. Praise the Lord for truth

the usps is a great company. they need to cut useless managers and clip board pushers who do not actually deliver the mail. the usps could survive on a 5 day work week if they would cut from top down.  the rude service at the window should have never been tolerated...but a majority of them and managers forget that we pay their salary.

Does the Armed Services make a profit?  Does the FDA make a profit?  Does the Department of Justice make a profit?  To me, this is another government service that serves all the people, and to put an accountant's analysis to it misses the point.  All Americans can (and I suspect, do) take advantage of the Post Office.  Some use it almost exclusively for all communication.  Two billion dollars is like one or two airplanes most people say we don't need.  One of the better uses of my tax dollars, in my opinion.

The post office needs to raise the rates on junk mail big time to close the revenue shortfall.  Then they need to reduce delivery to a standard 4 days per week, Wed-Sat.

The Post Office is an essential agency, despite feelings to the contrary as they are required by law to deliver to everywhere in the United States.  Also overlooked is the role played in relaying communications in the event of war or national emergency.  The electronic domain is far too vulnerable.

We need the post office, but the post office needs to clean up it's act, restructure the fees to put a bigger cost on advertisers, not the pensioer sending their great-grandkids a birthday card.