You Won't Have Mail

Postal service considering ending six-day delivery due to deficit

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds..."  but Herodotus probably never anticipated massive budget deficits.

Postmaster General John E. Potter appeared before Congress Wednesday asking for permission to end mail delivery on Saturdays, citing a growing budget deficit that is crippling the U.S. Postal Service.

It's hard to tell based on the amount of junk that appears in one's mailbox, but the volume of paid postage has been declining in recent years. The USPS lost $2.8 billion last year and Potter testified that if current trends continue, the postal service could find itself $6 billion in the red this year.

"It is possible that the cost of six-day delivery may simply prove to be unaffordable,” Potter said. “I reluctantly request that Congress remove the annual appropriation bill rider, first added in 1983, that requires the Postal Service to deliver mail six days each week."

Saturday may not necessarily be the day that gets stabbed in the back with a letter opener, according to MSNBC. The axe could potentially fall on another traditionally low volume mail day, like Tuesday.

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