Show What to do with the US U.S. Postal Service is a serious problem now being eing debated by Congress It is estimated that the Postal Service will run up about a 14 billion deficit this year on top of an already cumulative deficit of 18 billion for its worst financial performance yet Congress already subsidizes about 15 billion of the annual 14 billion cost of running the US U.S. mail mall and still the mail mall agency goes in the hole Congress now has to d decide cide whether or not to further subsidize the postal service another billion to keep it afloat With all these financial problems on the national scene we cant can't resist the temptation n to relate some of the local problems we have been ex ex- First we must admit the postal service has as a terrific job and no matter how much they improve they will still have complaints and make errors errors in dealing with the millions of patrons and millions of pieces of mail Last week we had a complaint from a man who wanted to stop his rus subscription because he didn't ever get his rus paper until Friday Upon investigating we found his paper was being sent to his postal box in the post postoffice office and it was taking two days to m move ve his pap paper r from the rear of the post office to the front where his box was A second complaint the same day came from a lady who said she didn't get her paper She Sheh h had d checked with the post office and they said they didn't have her Express We the paper had been sent and upon making a personal search of the post office premises the paper was found correctly addressed and for some unexplainable reason in a pile of other undelivered mail The last straw last week was when we were socked 25 c cents for a change of I address correction n instead of the usual 13 cent chai charge ge A few years years years' ago this service was done without charge now every every time times time's if o. o second class newspaper is sent back with an address change it will come come com back with a newly increased 25 cent charge and by bythe bythe bythe the time we receive it back we have hive sent another paper Another every week problem we have with the postal service is called splitting ounces Seems that our scale always weighs light when it comes to borderline cases of going into a higher rate bracket and the postal services scales always take the higher rate Then there is the problem of weighing one paper and multiplying it over five thousand times and coming tip up p with the same figure as is rec recorded on the postal service dock scales when the entire lot is weighed We agree the US U.S. Postal Service has its problems even though many of us react over-react to some inconveniences and in In- creases However we dont don't think the solution to these problems lies in a constant criticism of the postal service performance something more constructive needs to be done Some changes suggested for forthe forthe forthe the postal service have included cutting out small unprofitable elimina eliminating ting Saturday deliveries operating with less personnel and nd cutting back the increased wage scale of postal workers Another suggestion has been to get the government out of businesses that can be provided by private enterprise Let th the banks issue the money orders the printers print the return addresses and United Parcel E Express ress ca carry the parcels We We have justified US U.S. mail subsidies all these years because the postal service provided us with an economical means of access to information as well as a means of disseminating information But because of the complexity and expense of providing tl this s ervice the US U.S. Postal Service has become a legal monopoly We favor keeping the price of postal services down so everyone feels he can enjoy it Operate the business as though it was in competition with other businesses with a selected group responsible to maintain this competitiveness without along with adequate services for a price the general public puNic can afford If II this is an impossible situation to then perhaps there is justification in asking for government financial financial financial finan finan- cial help to provide a mail maU service that is efficient and available to every person living in the good old USA |