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“There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

usps.com

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Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#51

Post by Perceval »

jzimdars wrote: post #31

This wouldn't be such an issue if the postal service operated like a business instead of an institution. Why not commercialize it more? Where are the Coke stamps and IBM Express Mail envelopes? Why isn't the mail truck wrapped with an American Idol promo? Seems like the USPS could be a huge advertising vehicle. Why is this sacred?

Because the Postal Service is provided for in the Constitution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Clause

Can't have a Constitutionally-mandated service wrapped in third-party advertising.

Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#52

Post by juhgfcgvhnjm »

tsally wrote: post #41
cwan wrote: post #2

While I don't doubt volumes have fallen as a result of things like email, the US postal service also hasn't done itself any favors. You read anecdotes like this, and it's a wonder that volumes haven't plummeted even faster: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/04/things-a...

Every time the US postal service comes up in discussion, someone invariably mentions how life would be so much better if the service was privatized. I think this argument represents a fundamental misunderstanding of public services; the post office is perhaps the canonical example of an extremely important service that only can exist in the public sector. As others have mentioned already ( http://news.ycombinator.com…

Then give Fedex/TNT/DHL/etc the same subsidy/letter to do it that you give the USPS.

Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#53

Post by jonknee »

tsally wrote: post #44
jonknee wrote: post #9

> Ten years ago, the average household received five pieces of mail every day. Today, it receives four pieces and by 2020, that number will fall to three. ... And it would receive much less than that if the USPS wasn't mostly a delivery network for spam.

I think the current solution for snail mail spam is the optimal one. Consider the two possibilities: (1) the government raises taxes in order to increase the USPS's ability to handle spam or (2) the USPS offloads the majority of the filtering process to the recipients (the current solution). On days I receive spam in the mail, I waste approximately one second when I have to pause to throw it away. If the USPS were to…

No need to handle the spam, simply stop subsidizing it with a bulk mail discount. If they continue to send then the financial troubles are solved.

Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#54

Post by cmelbye »

pxlpshr wrote: post #19
hyperbovine wrote: post #12

The real loser here is netflix. 17% increase in delivery time and not a damn thing you can do about it. Ouch.

Not really, I see mail as a temporary problem. If Netflix Streaming contained all the top titles, I would use that almost exclusively. There really would be no reason for mail, it's slow and inefficient.

The other problem is lack of support for Netflix streaming, but it's getting better. Also, slow Internet speeds make it hard to use.

Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#55

Post by hnal943 »

sachinag wrote: post #42
jasonlbaptiste wrote: post #39

Privatize the system and outsource it to UPS/FedEX,etc. (I know easier said than done). If I ever need to send snail mail, I just send it via those guys.

The problem is the mandatory requirements for full service in unprofitable areas. The USPS literally has a plane that goes weekly to the most isolated part of Idaho: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/us/30idaho.html There's no way a private contractor could/would do that.

They certainly would. Just not for 44 cents.

Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#57

Post by argv_empty »

nsrivast wrote: post #21
ballpark wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good point! However, those spammers are doing some good because they're paying money to stamp their mail, which goes to employ mail personel, etc. For that reason I feel good when I throw away credit card letters while saying "Dear greedy creditor, No I don't want your raping fees, but thank you for paying money for me to throw this letter in recycling."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window

The window's broken either way. With snail mail, at least the one who broke it pays some of the cost of fixing it.

Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#58

Post by hnal943 »

billybob wrote: post #5
cwan wrote: post #2

While I don't doubt volumes have fallen as a result of things like email, the US postal service also hasn't done itself any favors. You read anecdotes like this, and it's a wonder that volumes haven't plummeted even faster: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/04/things-a...

Good criticisms. But a publicly-funded post office has some advantages, too. They will operate at a loss in tiny areas, which means you can still get mail to Grandma, even though there is only one traffic light in her town. Also - 39 cents to send a letter anywhere in the country? Still a pretty good deal.

An unsustainably good deal. Isn't that the point of the post?

Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#59

Post by bhousel »

araneae wrote: post #47

Why Saturday? They should cut out a day in the middle of the week. This way, you'll have to wait up to two days longer for a given item. It's better to distribute that wait time.

This has more to do with staffing and hiring than with getting us our mail in an optimal way. Most people don't like to work on Saturday unless they're getting paid overtime.

Re: “There is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery.”

#60

Post by CWuestefeld »

araneae wrote: post #47

Why Saturday? They should cut out a day in the middle of the week. This way, you'll have to wait up to two days longer for a given item. It's better to distribute that wait time.

Not only that, but Saturday is the only time I'm home when the mailman arrives, in case of the need to sign for a delivery. By eliminating any intersection between the mailman and I, it greatly complicates the delivery of signature-requiring mail.
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