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I know we all love to complain about the postal service, but they really do bring our mail despite "rain, sleet, hail, etc.", don't they?
So what do you think about reducing mail delivery to 5 days a week as a "cost-cutting" measure? It will save money but cost jobs and reduce service - how about it?
I heard/read that Tuesday is the lightest mail volume day; and if cutting a day, it should be Tues, not Sat. But wouldn't "getting mail every other day" be even stranger than dong without every weekend? The internet has seriously cut into postal service volume and therefore income. I spend way less on stamps than I used to because I can send most payments online instead of via USPS.
But mercy, isn't getting mail delivered to our house a service we count on and look forward to? Or is it just an old-fashioned delivery system and waste of tax-payer money?

five days are enough for me-let them have more time with their family

Got my vote on eliminating Saturday mail...........now my little fella that delivers my mail can watch his Buckeyes on Saturday afternoon and Goose can watch the Irish from South Bend on Saturday afternoon plus Goose will be able to splash around the pool with 85inside and friends this summer.......

The Modern Postal Service: Agency or Business?
Until adoption of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the U.S. Postal Service functioned as a regular, tax-supported, agency of the federal government.

According to the laws under which it now operates, the U.S. Postal Service is a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be revenue-neutral. That is, it is supposed to break even, not make a profit.

In 1982, U.S. postage stamps became "postal products," rather than a form of taxation. Since then, The bulk of the cost of operating the postal system has been paid for by customers through the sale of "postal products" and services rather than taxes.

Each class of mail is also expected to cover its share of the costs, a requirement that causes the percentage rate adjustments to vary in different classes of mail, according the costs associated with the processing and delivery characteristics of each class.

According to the costs of operations, U.S. Postal Service rates are set by the Postal Regulatory Commission according to the recommendations of the Postal Board of Governors.

Look, the USPS is an Agency!
The USPS is created as a government agency under Title 39, Section 101.1 of the United States Code which states, in part:


(a) The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people. The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people.

Under paragraph (d) of Title 39, Section 101.1, "Postal rates shall be established to apportion the costs of all postal operations to all users of the mail on a fair and equitable basis."

No, the USPS is a Business!
the Postal Service takes on some several very non-governmental attributes via the powers granted to it under Title 39, Section 401, which include:


power to sue (and be sued) under its own name;


power to adopt, amend and repeal its own regulations;


power to "enter into and perform contracts, execute instruments, and determine the character of, and necessity for, its expenditures";


power to buy, sell and lease private property; and,


power to build, operate, lease and maintain buildings and facilities.

All of which are typical functions and powers of a private business. However, unlike other private businesses, the Postal Service is exempt from paying federal taxes. USPS can borrow money at discounted rates, and can condemn and acquire private property under governmental rights of eminent domain.

The USPS does get some taxpayer support. Around $96 million is budgeted annually by Congress for the "Postal Service Fund." These funds are used to compensate USPS for postage-free mailing for all legally blind persons and for mail-in election ballots sent from US citizens living overseas. A portion of the funds also pays USPS for providing address information to state and local child support enforcement agencies, and for keeping some rural posts offices in operation.

Under federal law, only the Postal Service can handle or charge postage for handling letters. Despite this virtual monopoly worth some $45 billion a year, the law does not require that the Postal Service make a profit -- only break even. Still, the US Postal Service has averaged a profit of over $1 billion per year in each of the last five years. Yet, Postal Service officials argue that they must continue to raise postage at regular intervals in order make up for the increased use of email.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/consumera ... sabout.htm

The original report from the independant study suggested cutting mail on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. That would be fine with me. 90% of the mail I recieve is junk. I do all my payments online. Ebay and other internet business is the only thing saving the USPS as they are still way cheaper than Fed Ex and UPS, for now.

40,000 will lose their jobs over this I have a credit card company that is now going to charge me a $1.00 a month fee for using the old fashion mail service if I have it e-mailed to me its free.. what a crock of crap....thinking about telling them what they can do with their credit card after 25 years...

Many banks are charging $3.00 if you want your statement mailed to your house. Even more if you want your returned checks.

they can bring my saturday mail. on monday, no worries here.and your right goose would be a happy camper.

Glad to see it end........let the mail folks enjoy their weekend.........a day without mail will not kill anyone...........

The Postal Workers do have an excellant benefits package. Most people don't make what they do working 7 days a week. But I don't care if they want to go to 5 days or less with home mail delivery. I wouldn't walk as m uch as thye do daily. The normal post person that deliveries you mail, is for the most part a very good friendly person. But when they get behind the Post Office counter, they turn mean LOL.You are all right, it is much easier and faster to pay threw the online system they have set up to collect their payments. With the newer secure web pages to transact on line has become much safer. I think in the notto far future we will not have a postal service. Every thing with be threw a computer. After the post office's become extinct, paper money will soon follow. Do not know how they will do, maybe have just a credit card style cash system. This is just my opinion, who knows what kind of changes we will have in the future. Less than 20 years aga, who would have thought that a computer would be one of the most used tools most Americans now use. What would we do if we din't have SEOPS to releave stress, and relive out life's again our kids??? We sure live in a World changing every day.

I Lived in Buchtel for a long time and we had P.O. Boxes and I never checked our mail on Saturdays. We checked it on Mondays Wednesday, then on Friday.

I hate to see people loose there jobs but 5 day a week mail is okay with me.

At the Ironton Post office we will not lose anyone because we dont have any excess. We have been working 55-60 hours a week for months. Around the nation we will lose alot of carriers but if the USPS offers an "early out" retirement we can save alot of those jobs. There is currently over 32000 carriers still working under the Civil Service retirement system meaning they have at least 26 or more years under their belt. It does scare me though that Turk is absolutely right on where I would be on Sat's in the Fall and Summer

1974Viking wrote:The normal post person that deliveries you mail, is for the most part a very good friendly person. But when they get behind the Post Office counter, they turn mean LOL..

Boy, did you hit the nail on the head! The people delivering (walking or rural route) are very nice and communicative and will help you willingly. But put them behind the counter, the public generally turns them in a very short time.

Even in volunteer situations, working with the public is sometimes very trying. And I am sure that every decision that the Post Office upper managment makes is heaped on the counter clerks, and they soon tire of the abuse.

Not enought clerks at any business is NOT the clerks fault although the get the abuse.

The should close some of these little postoffices that dont even have a delivery route All they have is a door and a drawer and maybe a few mail boxes And the postmaster of each of those little hole in the walls make big bucks

Just wondering--I use to live beside a guy that work in the Lancaster post office and moved to Gallipolis to work in their office.

Can't remember the guys name now--anyone know the guy that might be running the office down there?

Noreply66, Walt Thomas is currently in charge there in Galli.

WhiteWhiskers wrote:The should close some of these little postoffices that dont even have a delivery route All they have is a door and a drawer and maybe a few mail boxes And the postmaster of each of those little hole in the walls make big bucks

Those little ones don't cost a lot to operate so it wouldn't make since to close them.

I try not to use the post office.

Orange and Brown wrote:

WhiteWhiskers wrote:They should close some of these little postoffices that dont even have a delivery route All they have is a door and a drawer and maybe a few mail boxes And the postmaster of each of those little hole in the walls make big bucks

Those little ones don't cost a lot to operate so it wouldn't make since to close them.

I know of one of these "little ones" where the Postmaster makes almost $50,000 and the rent on the building is $24,000 a year. Now you can say that's not a lot to operate if you want to but $70,000+ is a lot to me Now you multiply that by all the one horse postoffices across the United States and you're talking about millions of $$$$ and that is a lot to operate something that could be taken over by another postoffice at a fraction of the cost