JUST WHEN the U.S. Postal Service has barely finished implementing its latest round of rate hikes, postal officials already are talking about additional increases. Observers who track postal costs and revenue have concluded that the USPS probably will file for these raised rates by late summer.
To anyone who can walk, talk and breathe at the same time it should be plain that things aren’t going well with the postal service. Costs look as if they’re beyond our willingness to control them, the growth of postal volume is stagnant, Americans now communicate and do business electronically, and postal officials’ confidence in their ability to shape the future of our postal system is flagging.
If people are unhappy with this year’s rate increases, just wait till they see what’s in store for 2002 and beyond.
By now, it should be obvious that the USPS is seriously ill, that no over-the-counter remedy is likely to work, and that the patient needs the kind of critical care that only Congress and the new administration can provide. Unfortunately, there’s virtually no chance that this Congress and administration will help cure these ills without the encouragement and support of everyone whose business requires universal mail service.
In this instance, as in all matters of public policy, there are some maxims that apply. One is “All politics is local.” Another is “Congress legislates for those it sees.” Taken together, this means that nothing – I repeat, nothing – will ever be done to get the postal system on a stable footing unless our industry is willing to make postal reform a very local and visible issue to those who represent our interests in Washington.
Until direct mailers, mail service providers, catalogers and anyone who supports the use of mail for business communication and commerce are willing to play a personal role in this issue, postal legislative reform will remain a pipe dream. And if we continue to palm this responsibility off on others, we can expect annual greater-than-inflation rate increases to become a reality.
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