On Wednesday, Congress took steps to answer a question that typifies the changes of the modern world. Is the Postal Service truly necessary?
Well, it didn't so much try to answer it as they put off the real work until later. Postmaster General Patrick Donahue put it best when he said "If this bill were to become law, we would be back before the Congress within a few years requesting additional legislative reform."
The bill looks to cut payroll, retirement and healthcare costs in order to push the pseudo-private company into profitability. Yet we really need to get the core of the issue if we're to solve any problems. Is it at all reasonable to expect the Postal Service to be profitable?
Of course not, it's not a truly private institution, it's a civic service designed for the people of the nation. Think about it like this: Has the military ever made a profit? What about the police - should they make a profit?
On top of that, the Postal Service hasn't even taken a dime from taxpayers in the last 40 years. That's right, they take a piece of paper from you for 45 cents and ship it across the continental United States and somehow they don't take any money from our taxes.
So what's the problem?
Mostly, it's the fact that the Postal Service, since 2006, has had to pay in advance for the current and future employees that might retire during the next 75 years. It's costing them a whopping $5.5 billion a year, and will continue to do so until at least 2016.
With that kind of burden, it's not surprising that it's having trouble ensuring its own future.
We recognize that the Postal Service won't be viable forever. The Internet is the main reason for the drop in mail traffic, and will continue hitting hard until a point where physical mail is obsolete.
Maybe then there could be a government service to ensure Internet service for every American at low rates. In the future, access to the web might be the equivalent of a post office.
That day is not now, however. The USPS provides a service that many in this nation absolutely need to continue being a functioning member of society. Without it, anyone who doesn't have an optional service (the Internet) will have no way to know important information about their bills, get legal notices, and a million other things that we take for granted because mail has been so deeply ingrained in our lives.
Yet the post offices don't have to die. The real problem is that its pigeon holed by a government that is using it as a political tool. Congress must take significant action now to give the service the leeway it needs to modernize and offer services that won't be antiquated in a decade.
That might be an impossible task at this point. Politicians are up for re-election, and quick fixes that placate their constituents' anger are preferred over significant long-term solutions. Band-aids are easier to pass, and look good.
What a sad statement about our government. There are creative, intelligent people in both parties that could surely come up with fresh ideas that would allow for the USPS to modernize, but it's clear that they're too cowardly to overcome the inclination to procrastinate.
