Page 50 - Jo Dee C Jacob Girl Scouts CEO

How To Save The Postal Service

By Rob Weinberg

The US Postal Service - legally obligated to serve all Ameri- A little math
cans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality, Let’s say we aver-
runs a $16 billion annual deficit. Common wisdom says they’re age $350 in monthly
obsolete. rent per kiosk. This
Perhaps it’s time to think outside the mailbox for a solution. alone would generate
A little history $122,775,000 in new
When it began the Post Office was every community’s demo- revenues.
cratic center. People of every stripe would pick up their mail, Now we remove 93.5%
see their friends, and run their errands while in town. of the postal fleet from the roads, not using 420,750,000 gallons
From 1863 to 1912 mail was delivered seven days a week. of gasoline. At an average price of $4/gallon, that works out to
Religious leaders forced elimination of Sunday mail in 1912 to $1.7 billion in annual savings. Consumers will tie in the Post
prevent post offices doubling as gathering places and cutting Office trip with their other errands.
into church attendance. Given the USPS annual employee attrition rate (20,689),
29,232 postal delivery positions would be eliminated within 18
A little background
The USPS employs 522,000 people to deliver 160 billion pieces months. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports mail carriers
of mail to 142 million addresses. By Congressional mandate earn $48,940, generating savings of $1.5 billion from salaries.
50 it pays $5.5 billion to pre-fund retiree health-care, 75 years A little bonus
Following this path means 243,100 vehicles have been re-
into the future. Despite receiving ZERO tax support, no major
operational changes of any kind are allowed without Congres- moved from the roads, lowering pollution and infrastructure
sional approval. wear.
The Postal service operates 212,530 vehicles. Most are near Starbucks hires an additional 29,232 baristas, generating $526
their life’s end, and the service spends $500,000,000+ annually million in new salaries.
in repairs. A new fleet would cost $4-5 billion. Entrepreneurs can also be expected to pop up offering to
The service uses about 450 million gallons of fuel annually. deliver mail to businesses, helping to create more jobs in the
Every penny increase in the national average price of gasoline private sector.
means an extra $8 million in fuel costs for the USPS. A little summation
There are 31,272 post offices. Every day of home delivery costs We’ve just generated $123 million in new postal revenues,
the service roughly $2 billion per year. saved 420 million gallons of gasoline, and cut over $3 billion in
The economy, email, and competition have all cut into rev- overhead while creating new private sector jobs in every major
enues, and management scrambles daily to increase sales and city and most minor ones. ALL without raising postage by a
cut costs. For years they’ve been selling ancillary items (greet- penny.
ing cards), cutting service (Saturday delivery), closing under- This doesn’t count additional savings from management not
utilized postal stations, and laying off employees. needed for overseeing non-existent operations.
A little inspiration This also doesn’t count profits for Starbucks stockholders, their
The solution is in one word: Starbucks. ripple effect on the overall economy, and boosts to each com-
Already striving to replace the town square, the coffee giant munity by encouraging more foot traffic and downtown interac-
seeks to open two new shops daily. With over 13,000 current tions and sales.
US locations, they’re running out of viable opportunities for find- A little food for thought
ing new customers. The Post Office is doing what it must to survive, selling sup-
A little explanation plies, products, and now clothing.
Assume there are 2,000 communities under 2,000 people in the And while I’m not suggesting selling naming rights on each
US, and five-day delivery continues to them all. This eliminates building (yet!), why not coffee and biscotti?
Congressional concerns about rural cutbacks. Naturally, not everyone will offer their stamp of approval. But
We stop home delivery from the remaining 29,232 locations, given the real potential for the Postal Service to crash and burn
forcing people to come to the Post Office to pick up their mail. VERY soon, it’s time for bold thinking.
This helps make our communities more tightly knit, returns the Maybe a bold, dark roast is the answer.
Post Office as the social center of town, and encourages down-
town stability and retail sales.
Next the Post Office rents space for a Starbucks kiosk at each
of these 29,232 locations.