Click here for linkThe United States Postal Service (USPS) stands on the brink of financial collapse. According to the Postmaster General, by next month, USPS coffers will be down to a week’s worth of cash.[1] The government-owned enterprise barely avoided default this week when Congress extended the due date for a $5.5 billion payment due to the U.S. Treasury for retiree health benefits. The new deadline is November 18. And by early 2012, USPS may be unable to meet payroll.
Congress should act quickly to address this not-so-slow-motion postal train wreck. The goal, however, should not be to “save” USPS or even to save mail delivery. Policymakers should not play King Canute, ordering back the advancing tides of technology to preserve an obsolete industry. Nor should taxpayers be asked to pay for such an effort. Instead, the aim of policymakers should be to remove barriers that are hindering efforts by USPS to adjust to the new digital world. This should include making it easier for USPS to close post offices, reduce its workforce, and trim services.
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