by Adam Schneider
While the poor financial shape of the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been known for quite some time, the changes the organization is willing to make to solve their problems has been met with surprise.
In the past, mail and packages were delivered Monday through Saturday. Starting around the week of August 5, that will no longer be the case.
Regular carrier mail will no longer be delivered on Saturdays. The five-day delivery week is something the USPS has wanted to implement in the past, but Congress passed a law preventing it from happening.
Notably, packages will continue to be delivered six days a week. This exception is due to the fact that while, on average, the number of letters being mailed has declined significantly, package shipments have increased 14 percent since 2010.
In its appropriate bill, Congress banned the five-day delivery week. But because the federal government is currently operating on a temporary spending measure and not an actual budget, wiggle room has enabled the USPS to flaunt the ban.
All in all, the ending of mail delivery on Saturdays will save the USPS almost $2 billion a year. Obviously, public opinion is important when making this decision.
Recent polling information has seven out of ten people in support of this change.
“The Postal Service is advancing an important new approach to delivery that reflects the strong growth of our package business and responds to the financial realities resulting from America’s changing mailing habits,” Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe said.
Not all, however, are convinced the changes are best for consumers or USPS employees.
The changes are “a disastrous idea that would have a profoundly negative effect on the Postal Service and on millions of customers,” National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando said.
Republican leaders in Congress, including Representative Darrel Issa and Senator Tom Coburn sent letters to their colleagues in support of the changes.
Despite the debate over the recent decision on ending mail delivery on Satudays, there is no debate that something needs to be done. In the last budget year, the USPS lost $15.7 billion and has cut its workforce by nearly 28 percent.
President Obama made it clear in his second inaugural address that immigration reform would be a high priority in his administration during his second term.
And while Republicans in the past, and some Democrats, defeated the so-called DREAM Act, it seems some in Congress are now more willing to support immigration reform.
There continues to be widespread disagreement about when, where, and how to deport undocumented immigrants. Greater consensus has been seen on treating students who are in the United States illegally differently.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Tuesday that a pathway to citizenship should be provided for undocumented young people.
Though less direct, when asked, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh.) said that the idea was “certainly worthy of consideration.”
Wednesday marked yet another day for another earthquake to strike near the Solomon Islands. Tsunamis have been reported with the most recent being close to five feet tall.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.0, hit near the town of Lata, on Santa Cruz in Temotu, the easternmost province in the Solomons. Five people have been reported dead due to the disaster.
Many homes have also been destroyed, with villagers and others moving to higher ground to find shelter. Even some of the smaller islands have been reportedly swamped.
The last earthquake before this past week to have hit the Solomon Islands was back in April of 2007, when 50 people were killed when the 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck.
The Solomon Islands sit on the “Ring of Fire,” where 90 percent of earthquakes occur.
aschneid@capital.edu
