The only chance that the Postal Service has to survive is to be allowed to recover part of what they have over payed into the employee pension fund. No other company is required to do this. If not for the over payment the USPS would be making a profit. Mismanagement is also part of their problem. Like most big business they have many managers and supervisors being payed large salries and doing very little to justiy their positions. All of their problems are not to be blamed on the internet alone.

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Small rural post offices (those being targeted for “cuts” and closures) are only 7/10 of one percent of the USPS budget. Where’s the rest? Look to the multiple layers of management. Look to paying out millions of dollars for slick TV and cable advertising for priority shipping. Look to past bad decisions such as supporting US Olympics bicycle racing teams, and peddling cartoon character neckties. The USPS did not get into this financial difficulty suddenly, but over many years of poor management and poor planning. If Congress bails out the USPS, it should mandate that small rural offices not bear the brunt of the USPS’ financial realignment. They are mandated to provide mail service in the US Constitution. Small rural offices are important to keeping community identities in tact, and literally, keeping the presence of these places on the map. If the USPS cuts out small offices, there will be a concerted effort, I believe, on the part of these disenfranchised communities to say that as they go, so should the entire USPS.

In the long run (20 years), no the USPS will not survive. Service is being cut back and how many personal letters have you gotten? As the older letter writers die off the current and future generations will use phones, email, facebook or other media. They will be forced to become a competing company with UPS and FedEx. As far as rural areas, well placed cell towers, satellites and fiber will kill the last useful places the USPS was.

The Post Office is not failing because of e-mail and the web. That’s a load of bs. It’s an excuse. What kills the Post Office is (among other things)
-investing in non-postal items, such as plaques (Obama, sports, etc.)
-investing in shipping supplies that cost way more than any office store, such as Wal-Mart, Office Max, etc.
-having supervisors work half-day shifts
-having the laziest, most un-motivated people working at the Post Office
-paying obscene money to Postal employees
-having a “government” job that makes it virtually impossible to fire anyone for any reason, justified or no.
-despite “tracking”, still managing to lose packages in transit (more frequently than one would expect)

Of all the things that can be privatised, the Post Office stands to benefit the most.

As a company that ships every single day, it is safe to say that emails will not kill the Post Office. Nor will FedEx or UPS. Has email and web-payment of bills taken a chunk from the Post Office? Sure. However, they are still a lower cost than FedEx or UPS for shipping small packages. Plus, not every single person DOES pay online or use email. Nor can certain things BE sent via email (official documents come to mind).

Our business consists of shipping media, such as books, magazines, DVDs, VHS, etc. We used to have a FedEx account, but rarely used it. However, the USPS is still far and away the #1 shipper for such items, despite its many flaws. If they focused on their core competencies and quit trying to branch into unrelated things, they would do a lot better. If they could resolve their problems, streamline operations, and work more efficiently, they could stop bleeding money.

The Post Office perpetuates the myth that the web kills their business, but one quick look at the operations of the Post Office, which includes their horrendous customer “service” would tell you that the Post Office is still a viable operation, but they shoot themselves in the foot with how they run things, and no one looks at it, just like any kind of government run organisation is given free reign to operate any way they please.

Really, how many Barack Obama plaques do they sell to justify buying them? What about football/baseball plaques and posters? When the envelopes, mailers, tape, gift boxes and other mailing supplies are priced well over leading stores, who in their right mind would pick it up from the Post Office, unless it was an urgent matter? Their spending habits and hiring habits are what hurts them, email and the web are minor players.

This site http://www.thepostaloffice.com will do it all when its complete

As someone who does business by mail order, I’d hate to have to rely on only the established package delivery services such as UPS and FedEx. My small local p.o. has friendly helpful clerks who will go to extra lengths for their customers. I drive 10 miles to it but I don’t mind because I get exactly the service I expect and delivery to my customers has never been delayed.

But there are many ways the postal service could do a better job. It’s definitely top-heavy in some areas with too many employees who do very little. I’ve seen that in some larger cities so others who commented here about rude and lazy employees are not wrong. The larger cities could benefit by reducing their number of post offices. We don’t need a post office every two-three miles apart; we can get to the next one if one closes down.

In Europe many countries have post office banks, called GIRO. It was the way many people saved, paid their bills, and sent money before checks became popular in the 1960s. People had a GIRO account number and utilities and other bills would be paid into their GIRO accounts from the post office.

If the USPS added a “giro” type bank, they’d have money coming in continually. USPS already sells money orders so is somewhat prepared for money dealings. A small charge to use the “giro” bank could be charged per amount, and of course a monthly service fee like private banks.

USPS also receives money online from purchases from the online post office supplies and services. What’s stopping USPS from becoming a bona fide bank that more people would use because it’s convenient? Congress wouldn’t like it someone said? Don’t laugh. Congress would likely welcome one more measure to get out of the big financial hole their policies of the past have created.

Email has not replaced first class mail except by a very small percentage (I don’t believe the official statistics there). Instead, thanks to email and online presence thousands of people are now buying and selling online, making several trips to the p.o. every week with packages that cost much more to mail than stamps can bring in. Take away those mailing costs and USPS would truly be even more broke than it is.

I’d be very sorry to see my little post office close. The nearest one to it is 20 miles from my house. Yeah, I live in rural America. So do many more people.

To take away their small p.o. because they don’t carry their weight in income is not fair when it’s the big city post offices that should make up for them in income instead of wasting it on being too numerous and bloated with employees.

I see the Post Office as the modern day “buggy whip” factory. Its outlived its usefulness and should be retired. As for a replacement for parcels, I believe that Fedex and UPS do a far superior job. All we really need is electronic “proof of delivery” and the Post Office will truly be obsolete.