Slow mail costs money
Most people get mail every day, Monday through Saturday. But what happens when the mail comes later than we expect?
We found out a few years ago, when the postmaster general had to take away overnight first-class and periodicals mail from most of the nation. That caused a problem for a lot of consumers and businesses. Now, we may be facing a new slowdown, if something isn’t done by Congress very soon.
Who needs the mail, some people ask? We have the internet now. But a lot happens in the mail, and a lot goes wrong when it is late. To begin with, mail is the backbone for about $1.3 trillion in jobs, products and services. And then there is the personal impact.
People send in their credit card payments at the last minute when cash is tight. The payment reaches the credit card company late, and credit scores take a beating. That causes loans for cars and houses to get more expensive.
Many people count on the mail for medicines. A missed dosage can mean a trip to the hospital.
Small businesses count on the day’s mail to bring in cash from customers. A few days’ delay can mean a trip to the bank for a loan. Loans cost money and put pressure on the business to raise prices.
Some things just can’t be emailed. It is hard to send your grandkid’s birthday cake overnight by the internet. Some farm supply houses use the mail to deliver small animals quickly. They certainly can’t zap them across broadband or allow them to die in a post office waiting for a mail truck. And then there are legal documents that have to arrive by certified mail.
Also, I have to mention late newspapers, where sales coupons are missed and public event announcements arrive after the event. Newspapers like this one that rely on the mail for delivery to readers took it on the chin the past few years, with disappointed readers canceling their subscriptions.
We are at another crunch point. The U.S. Postal Service has a $57 billion deficiency on its balance sheet, most of it caused by Congress. Fixing it may require the postmaster general to close more post offices and mail sorting plants, eliminate mail-hauling truck routes and ground the airmail. The mail would be slowed down even further.
USPS last received a major overhaul by Congress in 2006. The next year, Steve Jobs appeared on a stage with a new gadget called an iPhone. Since then, Congress and the postmaster general have been grappling with the tough problem of collecting enough postage for a system that must reach ever more mailing addresses in America but with less mail — though still important mail — to pay for the service. So far, Congress has done nothing but tinker.
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