A Letter From a Friend

I found a little a treasure in my mailbox Thursday evening, courtesy United States Postal Service. It was a letter from an old friend, really just a note, but a good old fashioned epistle anyway unencoded in 0's and 1's, written by his own hand. I replied with a handwritten artifact of my own, enveloped and embossed with a Forever Stamp. I put it in my mailbox and set the flag. Please Mr. Postman, carry my personal note across the country to my dear friend!

The Post Office Department, later to become the USPS, was established by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, declaring on July 26 "That a line of posts be appointed under the direction of the Postmaster general, from Falmouth in New England to Savannah in Georgia, with as many cross posts as he shall think fit."  For decades of American history, the USPS was the subject of no controversy, and was depended upon by correspondents, merchants, and messengers of all descriptions; for a dark example: the Unibomber. Remember those magazine cutout letters the nefarious would use to disguise themselves in the US mail? That left the FBI in the unenviable position of identifying the signature scissors and the assaulted periodicals.

That brings me to the next point. The US mail is essentially unhackable. Sure, a common thief can steal your rent check from your personal mailbox, but that is easily solved by depositing it instead in the Big Blue Mailbox conveniently located on street corners everywhere. Nobody's going to drain your retirement account via the USPS.

It has been a little while since the controversy has made headline news, but there is a battle brewing over USPS revenues and services, fueled by the Postal Service's annual shortfalls. The problem of course lies in the business model of USPS self-funding by postage stamps and other fees for service. But expenses are running ahead of revenues, in part because of the onerous requirements Congress has imposed on the USPS to fund pensions in extreme out years. 

The USPS can increase the face value of a postage stamp and raise fees. The problem is that they have competition from two sectors.  One is the package delivery business in the form of FedEx and the Brown Thing; the other is the email, text messaging, and social/anti-social media alternatives in the digital world. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the cost of using the US mail without causing the overall affect of reduced revenues on account of reduced patronage.

The USPS can be innovative on the expense side of the ledger. Postal services can be emplaced in 7-11s, Walmarts, and other ubiquitous businesses in smaller towns, instead of having stand apart brick and mortar post offices. For mail and package delivery, it's the distribution centers that matter, and those are highly efficient. Not acceptable: ending Saturday delivery. In today's world, delay in delivery of products and services cannot be tolerated.

The USPS is a national asset. It is critical to both commerce and national security. Sooner more than later there will be a massive cyber attack on the US, and the Postal Service will be critical as a security solution. The mailman will rise again as a national hero.

I hope my friend enjoys his letter and feels the intimacy that can only be conveyed by a supplicant's personal hand. I am no Luddite, and would not give up text messaging and email for anything, but the old fashioned personal note still has a place.

Sincerely,
Mike