It's a sign of the times. The United States Postal Service (or post office to most of us) is about to change the way it does business. First, they must deal with a crushing debt. USPS posted a $3.1 billion loss in Q3. They have not been able to pay funds for future retirees as a result. Mail volume continues to drop. The post office has suffered a 2.5 percent drop in mail volume over this time last year. Email and other forms of communication have hit this 18th century government agency extremely hard. Basically, you have an 18th century business trying to compete in the 21st century. That is the basic problem of the post office as it stands today. Postal management has threatened to break the union contracts and lay off over 120,000 career employees. Even if they were to do this, what savings they would incur would be eaten up in lawsuits. I really think this is a ridiculous idea. Saturday closings of the postal service is now a foregone conclusion. They will save billions in labor and fuel. But, would that be enough? I think not.

The idea now is to start closing non-profitable post offices around the country. Yes, that includes the rural post office that is the lifeline to so many that live far out into the countryside. Right now, almost 4,000 post offices around the country are on the chopping block. It is a necessary evil. The post office must find a way to save money. Cutting hours, going to a five day delivery week will all help. But, the ultimate way is to cut to the bone. In fact, I fear the rural carrier is on the way out. People will probably have to go to a centralized location to pick up their mail out in rural areas eventually. I see that on the horizon very soon. The post office is probably going to emphasize parcel and flats delivery in the future. First-class mail is practically dead.

To see if your local post office is on the post office closings list of 2011, click HERE.

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