United States Postal Service Pros And Cons

Especially in urban cities buzzing with the latest technology, many would agree that, “you don’t need a full-service post office every few blocks in New York, for example” (Source A). In addition, I spend every summer with my dad in Chicago, and because there is a USPS post office right around the corner of our apartment building, I have noticed from passing it every day that it is the one store on State Street that is empty 90 percent of the time. In my experience, Postmaster General John Potter is correct in wanting to “close and consolidate 154 post offices”, significantly reducing operating costs and employment. Strategy is key; by shutting down the offices with the lowest production and necessity, USPS will no longer be uselessly spending money.

In fact the United States Postal Service (USPS) is a form of legalized monopoly, or natural monopoly (Ayers & Collinge, 1995). In order to make this point it is important to identify the definition of a natural monopoly, and that is when economies of scale are so large that one firm can supply the entire market at a lower average total cost (Hubbard & Obrien, 2017). While the surface of this definition may imply that the USPS is so big because they are exceptional at performing the task of delivering mail, the reality of the situation is derived from law, and 19th century law at that (Ayers & Collinge, 1995). The United States Government has made it illegal for any entity other than the USPS to be tasked with delivering the mail (Ayers & Collinge, 1995). Additionally, the USPS is becoming more and more outdated every passing minute with the advancements of technology (Gómez, 2018). This leads to a failing business model that is continually funded, all be it minimally, by the federal government (Gómez, 2018).

According to a Case Study-United States Postal Service (Jan 06, 2010), retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/bakeursilly/usps; since 1175 when Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the first postmaster general of the United States, the agency known as the United States Postal Service (USPS) has grown to become an institution that delivers about half of the world’s mail in snow, rain, and the dark of the night. Employing about 656,000 workers and 218,684 vehicles, 36,496 total retail and delivery facilities nationwide, 599 processing facilities, 584 million pieces is the average volume per day, and a total work hour of 1,258,025 per year delivering over 200 billion items per year via air and highway.

In July 2009, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) listed the budget of the United States Postal Service as “high risk” and recommended oversight from Congress and the Executive Branch. Specifically, the GAO stated that “Amid challenging economic conditions and a changing business environment, USPS is facing a deteriorating financial situation in which it does not expect to cover its expenses and financial obligations in fiscal years 2009 and 2010” (“Restructuring”, 2009, pg. 1). The GAO claimed that the mail volume in 2009 would likely decrease by about 28 billion as compared to 2008 and that the USPS would likely see declining volumes for the next five years (“Restructuring”, 2009, pg. 1). Clearly, the USPS is currently facing a

Before when automations were nowhere to be seen, people demand USPS to deliver their mails everyday. Sometimes when there is a large package, it might take weeks for the letters to reach their destination. So retailers assist delivering the packages in a more efficient way. In order for the USPS continue to be on

The Post Office Department known as the United States Postal Services (USPS) (Annual Report, 2009) today, is a dominate player in the mail delivery arena and has been existence since 1776. The Post Office was originally a governmental agency, but due to mismanagement by Congress, was reorganized in 1971 and no longer a part of the presidential cabinet; but became an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government. To date, the USPS maintains a monopoly on the day-to-day delivery of mail but competitors do share the market on some of the other types of deliveries; shares the market on some of the other types of deliveries (i.e. express

According to (SOURCE C), people are starting to migrate to the internet, and other cheaper mail options. As O’Keef says, they have experienced a 13 percent increase in mail volume in a fiscal year, more than any double previous decline, and lost 3.8 billion dollars. The USPS is anticipating even steeper drops in the years to come. According to (SOURCE E), the USPS is having a tough time, they are being battered by the high price of fuel. The USPS also takes a dig at our economy saying how it is responsible for their decrease in mail volume, calling the economy soft. The USPS is hit again in (SOURCE F), it states “not only are they losing revenue, they have been required to pay their own cost since 1970, which made a profit until 2006.” The decline in mail has caused major problems for the USPS, they delivered 17 percent fewer pieces in 2009 than in 2006, and lost $1.4 billion dollars. That money was borrowed from the U.S. Treasury. There is not that many alternatives for these issues, but there is one, that solution is in (SOURCE A), it simply states that they should not mess around with their delivery schedule. The USPS should be adding to their services, instead of subtracting from them. They dropped from a six-day service to a five-day service. As Richard Honack says- “to all

Due to the rising popularity of email and the easiness of scanning documents, less and less mail is being sent every year and because of competitors like FedEx and UPS the United States Postal Service (USPS) is having financial problems. All over the world there has been sweeping postal reform. New Zealand moved to three day mail delivery, Canada eliminated home delivery in cities, and the United Kingdom recently privatized their mail system. The United States Postal office has been losing money and reported a loss of $15.9 billion dollars in 2012. The USPS has been increasing stamp prices to make up for this financial loss, most recently increasing stamp prices from forty-four cents to forty-five. With congressing blocking the latest USPS

To many individuals, this is traditionally seen as a bureaucratic problem; however, personally I do not believe that the problem is purely the result of public sector negligence. Like many government services, it is more likely that the answer lies in serious reform rather than complete suspension. Interestingly, I located an article about the nonprofit - National Academy of Public Administration – that suggested a kind of public/private hybrid approach to fix the USPS’s difficulties. The concept entails “farming out” much of the behind the scenes process while a federal letter carrier would still handle front-line delivery services.

The United States Postal Service has existed for more than two centuries. As the people have grown into the new world of digital technology and electronic communication, the USPS continues to become more of a disservice to the American people. The USPS has still used the same rules and principles for more than two centuries, which does not intrigue any more customers. The USPS needs to be reconstructed in order to fit the needs of a changing world. As the world grows and develops into higher levels of thinking and technological advances, the USPS should grow with them, changing to become more useful to American people.

Confederate postage was then no longer accepted by the Northern postal services, and if received was to be forwarded to the Dead Letter Office to be returned to senders (Nation Divided). To overcome this issue, the southern states created their own postal service. John H. Reagan became their postmaster general and changed 8,535 of the United States’ 28,586 post offices to confederate leadership (Confederate Postal System). He tried to employ southern supporters from the U.S. Post Office so they could bring maps, reports, forms and plans that could help jumpstart the new postal service (Confederate Postal System). Beginning using U.S. money and postage, they soon ran into more problems as result to North attempting to even further punish the South for seceding.

I, Newton Alcide, am the loyal customer of the USPS who ordered the package that was allegedly delivered to my address at 560 NE 172ND ST. North Miami Beach, FL 33162, on March 23, 2016. This letter is in response to your denial of my claim. Once again, I am writing to appeal for my payment of $77.04 or the $100 insurance for the insured package that was not delivered to my address.

Jim and George appear to have a significant impact on the operations of the Foster Creek Post Office due to their number of years served and their involvement socially with the rest of the office. They are fully content with their jobs and the daily routine of the post office and will most likely be the most rebellious of any change. The greatest source of immediate conflict exists between Harry and the senior carriers. Jim and George most likely view Harry as a disruption to their daily easygoing routine that they have practiced for years. Harry’s speed and efficiency most likely threatens Jim and George into believing they will have to eventually meet the same standards. Being set in their ways, Jim and George may also believe that the Foster Creek Post Office is going out of its way to adjust to

The USPS is at a point where it does not have the financing available to maintain its operations. One reason for the annual net losses is due to the declining rate of first-class mail. The second reason has to do with the required prepayment of $5.5 billion per year toward retirees’ healthcare costs. In order for the USPS to overcome this deficit, they will need to consider their short time frame, government restrictions and labor union backfire in considering the best alternative. One alternative would be to privatize postal services operations which would allow the USPS to change its pricing structure, yet it would potentially significantly reduce market share. A second alternative would be to undergo a system-wide

Another key historical event that is about to happen in the future, this coming August of this year there is a proposition to stopping mail delieveries on Saturdays. Priority or express mail, packages and mail only medicine will continue to be delievered but no persoanl mail. I’m sure that would cause uproar amongst the public because naturally some people depend on those deliveries. Saturday delieveries are just as important and covenient as the weekly mailing because it can coincide with the consumers scheduling. Saturdays could be a consumer’s only possible day to accept or receive the delivery. The U.S Congress is stepping in and intervening and requiring The United States Postal Service to continue delivering all mail on Saturdays regardless of what it is. This proposal is a plan to save money and reduce cost all at the same time. Ultimately, The United States Postal Service objective is to “create engaged, loyal customers by satisfying their needs better than the alternatives.” (www.usps.com)