From the article: 5 Ways to Survive a Postal Service Shutdown
Unless Congress helps them out – a lot – the U.S. Postal Service may be broke and out of business within 24 months. Right, from "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night..." to "We will deliver no more forever," read my lips, no more mail. Even with email and the internet, could you survive comfortably without the U.S. mail? What would you miss most? How would you cope?
And How Would You Do It?
I couldn't live without the USPS
- The postal service is more than just letters, it's also packages. I live in Puerto Rico, and even though it's a US territory, UPS and FedEx treat it as an international destination for shipping. This means they charge a lot. The USPS is the only affordable way to buy online or to send gifts to family members in the States. I'm a photographer and PR doesn't have any specialized camera stores that carry lots of the gear I need. I buy gear online and without the USPS the costs of shipping would be significantly higher. Plus, the few times I have been forced to use UPS the packages have all been lost, because our address is in a rural area and the road is narrow, the truck wont go in. I like that the USPS has never lost anything.
- —Guest Lorraine
Wow, what a poorly written article!
- 1 - netflix - not everyone has broadband, but more importantly, not all netflix offerings are available via streaming, so that doesn't really work very well. 2 - Not all cards convey the same message via email as they do in person, such as sympathy cards. 3 - email is great, but legal documents haven't kept up with the internet revolution. 4- Online bill pay is great, however what isn't great is the ability to get account updates via email - every damn system has a different username and password combination and most of them are so horrible that you have to use a password management tool to make them usable by a normal person. Also, if they sent a statement via email I would love that and that could replace the mailed bill, but no one does that either... 5- ups uses the usps to deliver packages too, not sure what the point is here. Yes there are alternatives, and none of them have the depth of service or level of confidence that make the USPS what it is today.
- —Guest bigdaddy99
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- If the Postal Service would eliminate half of the suvrepisor positions that are unnecessary and put a stop to all of the bonuses that are paid out, for which most are undeserved, the postal service wouldn't have to eliminate saturday delivery. They could even slash the price of a first class stamp 3 or 4 cents which in turn would increase first class revenue.
- —Guest TBOUgiNtWrhAgpxBSu
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- To comment on Alan's comment, there is more to delivering the mail than just walking a paper to you. To cut a senior carriers pay is taking away the years of continued service, hard work and dedication. To be out there when it's 100 degrees or a foot of snow. To be at work before people are even awake yet.. To have to go through every piece of mail that comes in, sorting, putting up in the box, filling up trays, delivering packages. Mail truck have no a/c, they are rear wheel drive. Yet YOU still get your mail. Thank your mail carrier, don't cut their pay.
- —Guest ICZOSrFuED
Could you get along without the US Mail?
- Not really, nor do folks who live in rural communities, the disabled, or those who can't afford internet services. Is the government going to insure that everyone has no cost internet services. Are we going to be required to use email so that the HLS can read our communications. When I and my girlfriend talk sex, we consider it personal and private. That would include when I correspond with an attorney or physician. How about you, what do you think? There are just too many reasons not to give up the US Mail Service. What would I do? There are too many proven Privatization failures to continue allowing them to go on. Bring the Postal Service back under government control and fortify the Inspector Generals office with the right people and resources such as clear guidelines, to insure functionality. Non essential mail will naturally fall to email and social media, which equals less volume, requiring fewer personnel and infrastructure. reduce delivery/pick up service to 3-days per week.
- —Guest Don
guess who suffers the most?
- Relatively poor people. People who need to get a message out but for some reason don't use the internet, or they can't access it. Sure, that's mostly older people now, but don't knock USPS. If tomorrow you lost the Internet for a week, would you know how to mail a letter? I do. I sure am glad it's there. I've communicated via snail mail before. It's a necessary backup system. Also, how much are you willing to pay a private corporation to ship you the stuff you order on eBay? There will always be a need for services of this kind, and I'd rather see the feds running it than a private corporation.
- —Guest david
We are people too!
- For those who think that the job of a mail carrier is easy you haven't done it. We just make it look that way. Mail carriers experience all the outside dangers you can think of as well as extreme weather conditions.I can't speak for all but I'm sure that nothing makes most of us feel good to brighten someone's day with that letter or package they were looking for, or sometimes a kind word. For you internet lovers it seems convenient but what about the people who can't access it. What if you couldn't afford it? What if computers were to shut down? They can do that. What if someone accessed or hacked your account? It might be convenient but it will never be the Post office.
- —Guest Cathy
Privatize
- The correction required is obvious: Go bankrupt, suspend the union agreement/obligations, restructure to a rational business model with reasonable pay for the skills employed. Postal workers, due to unionization, are paid much more than the skills required. Where else can you get over $50k/year for delivering parcels? No wonder they are approaching bankruptcy - any pizza delivery service that paid this kind of salary to its largely unskilled delivery workforce would go bankrupt too. The only reason it is taking so long is that Congress keeps throwing good tax dollars at the problem and bailing out the USPS unions. It is time to let them fail and force them to restructure to a competitive model, with salaries and benefits set by free and open competition. Pay should be set by the salary required to get somebody with the right skills. Virtually anybody can drive a truck around and deliver mail - there is no rational reason to pay postal carriers anything close to what they are making.
- —Guest Feste
Unemployment - Here We Come
- I've been an RCA for 13 years waiting to go full time this January. We are the backbone to the Postal Service. We work very hard & deserve every penny. Cut higher positions that get paid good money and do nothing. If we shut down then we will be millions on the unemployment lines. Found out not long ago some Seniors didn't even know how to address an envelope. What's happening to this world. So let's keep the Postal Service busy and keep mailing those cards and letters. Most of my customers are elderly and love getting mail. Not to mention we deliver to the last minute all those Christmas presents to and from our military families. So search your heart and think of what's really important.
- —Guest Jackie
Not an issue
- The only mail I get is junk, ads, credit card offers, and catalogs from companies I've never ordered from. USPS is a thing of the past.. a dinosaur. Internet is the way to connect now. I havent mailed anything in over 25 years. Seriously people get with the times and take all that govt money were wasting on the USPS system and give it to better needed areas. If people want to keep the mail, then let them pay for it privately and quit using the rest of our tax money for it.
- —Guest lido
usps vs ups vs fed ex
- 1. usps delivers to every address in US., but will ups or fed ex do the same. 2. if usps closed, ups and fed ex could jack their prices up even higher. 3. not every household has access to internet. 4. many people get medicines from usps, and look at all the magazines that would no longer be delivered. 5. don't think for one minute that ups or fed ex are not suffering from high fuel prices. 6. i could go on and on, but the truth is the usps is a vital communication lifeline for the american people.
- —Guest mary
Would I get along without post offices?
- No, I like writing letters too much. It kind of ruins the purpose if you write a letter, and then deliver it personally. You could just call or tell them in person, but that is NO FUN! Basically, no, I wouldn't want to survive without post offices.
- —Guest Sofie
Appealing but not without it's limits
- I'm hearing impaired and Netflix on demand is not closed caption. When they increased dvd delivery charges to subsidize the increased bandwidth for online subscribers (since they can get online only but not get dvd only, it is a subsidy), I cancelled my subscription and went with blockbuster. I also wish my utilities would email my statements in pdf format instead of me having to log in each month. Everything else, I can do online.
- —Guest Guest BPorter
Must stop bills due Sat or Sun
- Credit cards and others have gone back to making due dates that come out on Sun due by then (now Sat too); my bank doesn't even pay bills over the week-end. This might mean that they would have our money two days early without giving any interest on it, although they could earn the interest, i.e. they would have to get a bill that was due on Sun by Fri. Otherwise, I will still mail b-day cards (even though some might arrive late) and some bills.
- —dezti1
My favorite hobby
- I have snail mail pen pals all over the world. Getting a real letter and real cards in the mail just isn't the same as an email and an e-card. Pen palling is my favorite hobby, and is experiencing a "come back" in popularity. I am really worried about the post office shutting down.
- —OzarksUSA
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