Saturday Mail Delivery Could Soon Be A Thing Of The Past
They've been warning us for years that it could happen.
The Postmaster General is using the debt talks in government to push the idea of doing away with Saturday delivery, and this time he thinks it'll stick. And it needs to — it'll save the Post Office $3.1 billion a year.
Falling mail volume and soaring red ink may soon doom Saturday mail delivery and prompt three-day-a-week delivery within 15 years, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warns.
Donahoe's forecast is based on a projected $8.3 billion loss this year as the drift from paper to electronic communication hammers the Postal Service. "On Sept. 30," he told the USA TODAY editorial board Tuesday, "I won't be able to pay my bills."
Chief among them: a $5.5 billion payment due Sept. 30 to cover future retirees' health benefits.
The only issue we see about it is potentially not getting awesome magazines and birthday cards if the delivery happens to be on a Saturday. Otherwise, we think it's probably for the best. Ha!
Some people are worried about more rural areas though, where driving distances are an issue and the delivery of meds on Saturdays is an important thing. We agree that it's important, but, the U.S. mail is not the only delivery service out there, and rushes can be put on things as well.
Plus, according to the Postmaster, not much is delivered on Saturdays regardless.
Will U be hurt by them stopping Saturday delivery??
[Image via AP Images.]
Tags: benefit, cover, debt, future, government, health, post office, potential, project, retire
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it's not to big of a deal to me not to have mail on Saturdays. It might be annoying if I'm waiting for something important but oh well. If they can save money they should just do it.
Five day mail delivery is perfect! It works for the Canadian Postal Service and they make staggering profits every year.
I live in Canada and we have mail delivery M-F. I always found it odd the US has Saturday delivery. Canadian mail delivery people have a sweet job I tell you. Awesome starting wage, excellent benefits, every holiday stat and civic off.
Re: bonga chik – That's because Canada has its shit together and the USA is all screwed up. Maybe some Canadians should come here and run my country! lol
everyone can live without sAturday mail
if somehting absoutely has to be sent out-like in the case of businesses etc. they can always pay Fed Ex or some kind of a small courier service increasing their bottom line- so it's all good!
great! That is one less day that I have to look at BILLS
Really? Americans get mail on Saturdays? I can't remember ever getting mail on Saturdays here in Canada, and it seems normal to me. Everyone is entitled to two days off a week, including postal workers!
I think its a great idea! I always forget to check my mail on Sat. anyway.
We haven't had mail on Saturdays here in Australia for at least 40 years. Makes the weekend nicer not getting another bill in the mail.
that's not that serious. In Canada we've never had mail on the weekend since it wasn't a business day. It was always odd that mail delivers on Saturdays in the U.S.
You guys have SATURDAY MAIL DELIVERY? So not fair - you have Obama AND a great mail system! (Canadians LOVE Obama, BTW) But seriously, that would be awesome. I heard that up here in Canada, we may go to Mon, Wed and Fri delivery, but I'm not sure if that was just during the strike we just had. Your mail system rocks, you have media mail, if I mail anything in Canada thicker than my pinkie it costs $10 and up. Do you know it's actually cheaper for me to buy Canadian products from the U.S. and have them shipped USPS to me here than to order them from within Canada? It's insane. Don't let them start screwing with the USPS, you guys have an awesome system.
send all the incompetent uncompetitive idiots at the post office home and let private companies compete like overnight service.
the post office was created as a way to give buy votes from minorities by giving them a life time job in exchange for a lifetime democratic union vote. its a scam for money redistribution. close them all and let those people survive in the real world….
rain, sleet, or snow… but not saturdays, sundays, and every freakin holiday. lazyyy…
I've known Postal workers that had to work Saturdays as "required overtime." They were exhausted working 6 days a week on their feet sorting mail. If they refused to work overtime they were fired. This might come as a relief for some of them.
Re: monroe444 – An awesome system maybe, but it isn't making any money. And from what I heard… the Canadian Postal Workers didn't go on strike - they were locked out. There is a difference! Postal service needs to make a profit in order to survive. To mail a parcel in Canada is way cheaper with Canada Post than with Fed Ex or any other service. As for the staggered delivery, not gonna happen… this would also believe it or not in Canada Post's revenues.
Re: Potter_fanatic – Try it freak!
Re: bonga chik – Hardly staggering. In 2009, in one of the worst economic climates in decades, Canada Post reported consolidated net income of $281 million on revenue of $7.3 billion, and an operating margin of 4.9 per cent. A loss would have been reported for 2009 were it not for stringent cost containment resulting in a savings of $540 million of planned costs by the Canada Post. So, no, not staggering for a tough year, but still a profit.
Re: bonga chik – Actually, they did go on rotating strikes, followed by being locked out, and then ordered back to work.
I am a rural carrier with USPS and this would drastically kill what little hours I do get. Don't look to Fedex to solve your 'incompetent uncompetitive idiot' problems either kids, coz FedEx and UPS send most of their packages through USPS for final delivery anyways for the simple fact we visit every single home, every day (yes, even Sundays and holidays, if need be). Killing Saturday delivery just makes my job harder then it already is. Until you've done the job, don't judge, we need to support our families too.
I paid $32.67 for a XBOX 360 and my mom got a 17 inch Toshiba laptop for $94.83 being delivered to our house tomorrow by FedEX. I will never again pay expensive retail prices at stores. I even sold a 46 inch HDTV to my boss for $650 and it only cost me $52.78 to get. Here is the website we using to get all this stuff, BidsGet.com