Mitch Chase-
An estimated 60 percent of Americans pay their bills online, compared to just 5 percent a decade ago.
Aside from being another sign that I’m behind the times, technologically wise, this factoid is cited as a main reason the U.S. Postal Service is on the brink of bankruptcy.
First-class mail deliveries have fallen dramatically over the last five years — from 98 billion items in 2006 to less than 78 billion this year.
The result is red ink — some $5 billion this year and an estimated $15 billion in 2012 — and this week’s announcement of planned Post Office cutbacks aimed at ensuring its survival for a few more years.
They include an end to Saturday deliveries, arguably a relic from the days of six-day workweeks, the closures of some 250 mail processing centers — including facilities in Huntsville, Anniston, Tuscaloosa, Dothan and Mobile — and the layoffs of at least 20,000 postal employees. (Some claim five times that many.)
This would mean the end of next-day deliveries for most first-class mail, which would mean big trouble for Netflix, certain periodicals, prescription drug firms and other mail-order companies that depend on it.
The real ramifications, though, may be far worse.
Third World Post Office for America? - Decaturdaily.com
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