Why we need the Post Office
I liked this from commenter Veronica. Punctuation and everything!
I have a friend who lives out of town. He sends me mail the old-fashioned way. What a pleasure to receive his letters written in cursive, with capital letters, punctuation and vowels. Wow.The Internet is probably the worst and best thing that's happened to us. Unfortunately, it's a big cause of the dumbing down of America. Mark my words, we'll all be speaking Mandarin some day.
Many, many people have internet businesses that depend on the post office. While you can order something over the Internet, a real person delivers it. Try taking a virtual pill or putting on virtual clothes. Not everybody has or even wants the Internet. I believe four days of delivery are plenty, but we still need the post office.
Comments
That we need the PO is really not disputed by anyone that I'm aware of. The question is about *how* the PO operates in the modern era.
The volume of junk mail that everyone complains about is the result of a compromise to the business model.
A new compromise or perhaps an entirely new business model is in order.
Posted by: MrRational | July 27, 2011 12:10 PM
The argument "why we need the Post Office" is a straw man. By law, only the Post Office can deliver First Class mail. No reasonable person is arguing against the Post Office.
But the Post Office's business model is massively flawed. And its not just the third-class mail. Its the fact that the Post Office's labor expenses (especially its pensions) are dramatically out of whack with their revenues.
Union work rules and union contracts are crippling the Post Office; that is not anti-union bluster, it is mathematical fact. (And I am more anti-union than a Pinkerton).
Until the Post Office is empowered (or forced) to dramatically alter the expense structure, it will NEVER be less debt-ridden.
Posted by: Gunpowder Chronicle | July 27, 2011 8:16 PM