In February, Postmaster General Potter was advocating for Congress to drop Saturdays from the Post Office’s regular delivery cycle, which is estimated to save $3.5 billion this fiscal year. Yesterday, the USPS Board of Governors approved the measure, leveling up the need for an opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission and eventually requiring Congress’ legislative blessing. A majority of the general public, divided by the continuing recession and the new “reformed” healthcare system, agree to the service cut. The Post Office assures one less day will apply to regular deliveries. Express Service and offices normally open on Saturdays will remain so.
However, more cuts are planned by Potter to get the USPS back into the black. Suggestions have included closing 10,000 of the 36,000 facilities throughout the US – “more locations than McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Wal-Marts combined” – but that would certainly mean more down-sizing legislation rolling through Congress, which seems to be slow to accept even the single day’s exclusion in normal service. As some citizens feel the cut is a knee-jerk reaction, I haven’t found anyone happy with the growth of bureaucracy (around 34% in Washington) while decreasing the “ground-level” worker pool by 21% (usually by attrition).