Newswise — Richard Geddes, Cornell University professor of policy analysis and management, comments on the proposed elimination of Saturday mail delivery from the U.S. Postal Service, which is facing an $8.3 billion budget shortfall.
He says:
“The U.S. Postal Service is incurring record declines in mail volume and revenues not seen since the Great Depression. This is due in part to increased use of electronic mail. The worst declines are in its most profitable services, such as first-class mail.
“As a result, it is incurring record losses and expects to lose over $8 billion this year. The long-term outlook for the Postal Service is bleak.
“Reforms in the way the Postal Service is operated must occur to allow it to reduce its costs. This includes reducing delivery days per week, as well as closing unneeded sorting centers and post offices. Congress needs to allow the USPS to make cost cutting decisions without political interference. In the longer term, the Postal Service should be made more like a typical business, which includes reforms such as de-monopolization and privatization.”
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