If you've ever ordered anything through the mail, you know the anticipation and thrill of getting packages delivered to your door. Ever since I was a kid, I've loved ordering things through the mail from far-off places. Things I couldn't find in the retail shops in my small town.
Now, thanks to the power of the Internet, this becomes even easier: no more browsing paper catalogs, no more order forms. I add stuff to a virtual cart and check out. Toys not available in local toy shops, Hawaiian shirts--from the great state of Hawaii, books and CDs not prominent nor profitable enough to pay for the retail shelf space, small-run items direct from their creators... All these things have enriched my lifestyle tremendously.
And whenever I can, I specify delivery through the U.S. Postal Service.
Of course, I love writing letters. And after I moved out of the house, I started sending out greeting cards during the holiday season. Now I mail out over 100 holiday cards to friends and family every year, hand-made with a home-built linoleum block printing press constructed from some old boards and a door hinge--Martha Stewart fans, take note! I also mail out gifts: for the holidays, for birthdays, sometimes just because friend or family has a need. I love tracking the package through the Postal Service's website. I love picking out beautiful stamps that reflect my interests and personality.
And I do all this through my neighborhood post office, conveniently located on my way to work.
This entire essay might seem silly and inane, praising the Post Office like I were praising warm woolen mittens and whiskers on kittens (I've already covered brown paper packages wrapped up in string), were it not for the following: the U.S. Post Office was created under Benjamin Franklin on Wednesday, July 26, 1775. You might expect conservatives would support this agency of the United States of America which predates our Declaration of Independence, but in fact our venerable U.S. Postal Service has been under attack for years. The Privatization Mania so inescapable under George W Bush, which rallies under the banner of "The Government Can't Do Anything Right," took a big swipe at the Postal Service in 2006 with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which forces the Postal Service to pay ahead 75 years' worth of medical expenses (a requirement no other agency is required to satisfy), thereby creating an artificial annual budget shortfall, and forcing the Postal Service to take drastic measures to cut costs, including cutting staff, closing facilities, and limiting service.
With the economic decline during the George W Bush presidency comes a decline in postal traffic: fewer people can afford to purchase merchandise, meaning fewer parcel shipments; fewer job openings mean fewer resumes going out; with lower incomes, letter postage becomes an extravagance. Reduced education budgets translate to reduced ability or desire to write letters. Technology drives more customers to cheap email and "texting." Accordingly, the Post Office has simply had less business, which further contributes to the Postal Service's budget shortfall. I want to reiterate that an economic downturn is precisely the wrong time to cut budgets on basic government services, particularly those which employ lots of people. And consider the fact that the Postal Service built many local post offices in really convenient locations for dirt-cheap prices; now that businesses have built up around the local post office, that local post office is on prime real estate; if the Postal Service closes and sells that facility, it may be impossible to buy the building back or build a decent replacement at an affordable price.
The 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act has pushed the Postal Service into an untenable position leading to decline, as I suspect was the original intention, but this decline is not inevitable. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota has made efforts to prevent many of these proposed post office closings in the State of Minnesota. If you enjoy the benefits of the United States Postal Service and you don't want it to go away, you can tell your Senators and Representatives...
...using the U.S. Postal Service.
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