Postal Service

As AOL used to say, “You've got mail!” But maybe not on Saturdays if the mail you are looking for is being delivered by the much-maligned “snail mail” of the United States Postal Service. On Wednesday, the USPS announced Saturday delivery of letters would be eliminated by August in order to save $2 billion annually. The Postal Service has been struggling financially for a long time, as we all know, so this sort of cutback is hardly surprising. As the latest reduction in service is discussed and debated, though, it is worth remembering that the Postal Service's troubles are not entirely a result of the historic shift in how Americans communicate with one another.

The U.S. Postal Service, in its latest bid to save a few billion bucks, plans to stop delivering mail on Saturdays. It's not enough. The ugly truth is that the Postal Service's commitment to universal mail service is no longer financially viable in the age of email, text messages, Facebook and Twitter. As currently configured, it will never again be able to meet its legal obligation to pay its own way. To survive, the Postal Service will need to reinvent itself for the digital age. I have a few ideas on how to do that, which I'll get back to in a moment.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service announced plans to end Saturday mail delivery starting in August while maintaining six-day delivery of packages, a move that faces an unclear future in Congress. Postal officials said the action was crucial to keeping the agency solvent. It would be the biggest change in mail delivery since the post office ended twice-daily service in the 1950s. Although the Postal Service no longer receives taxpayer funds, it remains subject to oversight by Congress, which since 1983 has repeatedly passed measures requiring six-day delivery.

The U.S. Postal Service's announcement that it plans to stop delivering most mail on Saturdays is likely to have an effect on the business world. The Postal Service said it made the announcement Wednesday -- about six months in advance of implementing a five-day mail delivery schedule on Aug. 5 -- to give residential and business customers time to plan and adjust. Hallmark Card Inc., the Kansas City-based greeting card company, said it anticipated problems with the decision.  "Hallmark continues to believe a reduction in service will not induce customer loyalty and will negatively impact small towns and small businesses that depend on timely, affordable, reliable mail delivery," the company said . "This move should only be considered once all other cost-saving options are fully explored and acted upon.

The U.S. Postal Service, struggling under a financial load and facing tough competition, will stop delivering mail on Saturdays beginning this summer, officials announced. The announcement, which had been expected, is seen as an attempt to force Congress to deal with the Postal Service's increasing financial woes. Congress has tried to reorganize the agency, but efforts have been derailed because of politics. Material prepared for a Wednesday news conference by Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe says that Postal Service market research and other research has indicated that nearly 7 in 10 Americans support the switch to five-day delivery as a way for the agency to reduce costs.

So the Postal Service is pulling the plug on Saturday mail delivery . And all across America, millions of folks are saying: “Who cares? I've got email and Twitter and Facebook; I pay my bills online.” Sorry, guys, count me out. My reaction is -- well, let a great 20th century American philosopher say it for me. Here's Janis Joplin's “ Piece Of My Heart ”: “Take another little piece of my heart now, baby! Oh, oh, break it! Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah, yeah, yeah.” I can't help it. I love mail.

Hallmark is worried about the end of Saturday mail. Amazon.com, not so much. Across the business world, merchants, delivery services and mass mailers of all kinds were assessing the effect of no weekend delivery of first-class mail possibly starting this summer. The U.S. Postal Service said it made the announcement Wednesday - about six months in advance of implementing a five-day mail delivery schedule in August - to give residential and business customers time to plan and adjust.

The electro-pop duo the Postal Service titled its only album "Give Up," but 10 years after its release, the group doesn't sound like it's throwing in the towel quite yet. The beloved band, which features the L.A. electronica producer Jimmy Tamborello and Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard, recently updated its website to a cryptic graphic that simply reads "The Postal Service 2013. " Reports confirm that the band is set to reissue a 10th-anniversary edition of "Give Up. " "Give Up," which has sold more than 1 million copies, is the second biggest-selling record for the indie label Sub Pop (behind only Nirvana's "Bleach")

Re "Lender uses fear as a sales pitch," Column, Nov. 27 I sometimes receive the letters attempting to trick homeowners into expensive refinancing that David Lazarus warns about, and there's a sure-fire way to tell if they are legitimate without even opening the envelope: If the indicia (the box printed in the upper right corner) says "standard mail," immediately throw it into your recycle bin. "Standard mail" is the Postal Service's name for junk mail. Any legitimate company would send mail about potential problems with your mortgage as first-class mail, not at lower-rate bulk prices.

Many people think the U.S. Postal Service is supported by tax dollars. It isn't. The nice folk who bring us snail mail are required by law to pay their own way in the world. They were allowed, though, to borrow cash from the U.S. Treasury, up to $15 billion. The Postal Service hit that limit on Sept. 28, the agency says. In other words, they've maxed out their credit card. What that means, barring an infusion of bailout cash from Uncle Sam, is that the Postal Service will have to significantly jack up rates to survive.