Will the US Postal Service Fail?

The US Postal Service is increasingly in the news, with media and citizens wondering if it will survive in this technology-driven era. The ‘New Yorker’ recently published a piece about the Postal Service being irrelevant in the public eye and implied that the USPS will fail. Direct Marketing News Senior Editor, Al Urbanski, counters that the USPS is not going anywhere with many relevant points in his article, “‘New Yorker’ gets a lot of things wrong about the USPS”.

First, the Postal Service is actually a government agency and is required by law to stay in business. Although, it is the only government entity that is not funded by taxpayers. Interestingly enough, the Postal Service generates a lot of revenue for the state and the only reason they’re in a bad financial state is because they’re required to fund their retiree’s healthcare plans.

Second, there are many laws that require the post office to stay just the way it is, not due to a lack of desire to innovate or because they are behind with funds.

Third, the media views the Postal Service as a purveyor of junk mail, as the First Class Mail stamp sales have been completely overtaken by email. Although this may be true, standard mailer sales have kept steady even with a 4.3% surcharge for the stamps.

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By Karin Robe