It is a seemingly "self-supporting enterprise" that collects no tax dollars to support its expenses. It relies completely on products and services to subsidize its operations. It generates approximately $67 billion a year in revenues and has been named the "Most Trusted Government Agency" for six consecutive years and the sixth "most trusted business in the nation" by the Ponemon Institute. What agency did I just describe? The answer is the United States Postal Service. This important agency is currently in a financial predicament and this problem is something that all of America should begin paying attention to.
Earlier this week, the USPS announced what was not really much of a surprise to some people: The agency needs to reduce its operating costs by about $20 billion by 2015 in order to "return to profitability." That's a large amount of money in an relatively small amount of time. A newly proposed plan displays the need to save $3 billion though 2015, and such changes would allow for "significant consolidation of the postal network in terms of facilities, processing equipment, vehicles and employee workforce."
One of the possible ramifications of this proposal would alter the service of first-class mail. A letter mailed on a Monday would no longer be guaranteed to reach its destination on a Tuesday, though the USPS assures that it would reach its destination within three business days.
Earlier this year, the USPS announced that it may have to close nearly 10 percent of the roughly 32,000 retail stores throughout the country and, this past September it began considering closing 252 of its 487 mail processing facilities.
Previously proposed plans have included the possibility of laying off over 100,000 employees, slicing the payrolls of some 100,000 others or getting rid of Saturday delivery. As of now, the USPS said it is not considering getting rid of all weekend deliveries.
Let's not forget a small, seemingly minuscule piece of history: Benjamin Franklin founded the United States Postal Service on July 26, 1775. At a certain point in time in the 1800s, three-fourths of all government employees were employed by the USPS, and the institution used to be the largest public-sector employer in all of the United States. Even Article VIII of the United States Constitution dictates that Congress shall have the power "to establish Post Offices and post Roads."
No one will deny that USPS employees enjoy incredible benefits, and fiddling with unions and their benefits will inevitably lead to even greater problems. The past year has shown unhappy unions are that last thing that such a self-supporting enterprise needs.
The greater-Madison area currently has over half a dozen post offices scattered around the city. What if one of those was to close? How would it affect mail distribution across Madison? It could affect how often easily people can send and receive mail, and it would without a doubt cost jobs. But Congress must think about all the rural communities throughout both Wisconsin and other parts of the country. If their single accessible post office is close, contact to other areas will be limited.
If drastic decision-making and structural reorganizations are not made, it is not possible to rule out bankruptcy, as the USPS would fall further down an endless spiral of fiscal cuts. This can all be blamed on the shared ignorance of the two political parties that will no doubt blame each other while one of the most respected institutions in America effectively goes to the dark ages. Although it is more likely that it will not suffer too greatly, because numerous ideas and proposals will perhaps draw some sort of consensus that will allow for the USPS to save itself. Though one thing is certain: American citizens and our national, state and local politicians must start paying more attention to this surprisingly sad situation. Congress and the people need to stand up in support of the USPS, one of the most well-respected and trustworthy government agencies in the United States.
Ethan Safran is a freshman with an undeclared major. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
