This week’s report that the US Postal Service will shutter up to an additional 2000 post offices (on top of the 491 announced last year) seems like a logical decision based on the continuing financial losses it saw in 2010.
With $8.5 billion in losses posted last year (losses that are made up by taxpayers), it seems only reasonable that the government MUST change the way it does business. If this was a private organization, such changes would have been forced long ago. It’s just one example among many others where our gov’t either needs to fix it or cut its losses and run.
It was almost two years ago that the US Postmaster General first went before Congress asking that the law be changed to permit the USPS to adapt its services to a changing business environment. Lobbying continues in DC for more changes as losses continue to mount.
Those opposed the closings, ranging from residents of towns being impacted to the Postal Regulatory Commission itself, are fighting to prevent the closings citing the negative impact such closings could have on employees and local economies. Supporters say the system is outdated and losses cannot continue.
There is no doubt that cutting will be painful. And with the size and scope of gov’t today, no one will likely be immune to the impact if the cuts that need to happen ultimately come to fruition. But as the hole we dig continues to get deeper, it’s only a matter of time before we will no longer be able to afford the ladder and ropes we need to climb out of it.
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