Neither rain nor snow stops mail delivery; the Postal Service does. Five-day-a-week mail delivery is to go into effect the week of Aug. 5, 2013, unless Congress blocks the proposal.
A quick look at news stories on eliminating Saturday delivery offers consumers a dire picture of the United States Postal Service's struggling financial record. Most reports cite new technology, and Americans' increasing reliance on the Internet and e-communication over "snail mail," as rationale for the USPS budget woes. Lesser known is the impact of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, a 2006 law requiring prefunding of postal employees' pensions 75 years into the future, driving the USPS into a deep deficit.
Whether you support the idea to cut a day of mail delivery or view it as misguided, I suggest we look back at the USPS since its congressional beginning and consider carefully its possible outcomes.
The USPS, an independent agency of the U.S. government, has undergone many changes since 1775, the year the Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general. In 1792 with the establishment of Post Office Department, Congress began to create post roads and post offices.
Following the instant success of the Penny Black — the world's first-ever postage stamp, created in 1840 — America was among the first nations to adopt Britain's model of prepayment and a uniform, affordable rate. The United States designed its first postage stamps in 1847, featuring George Washington on the 10-cent stamp and Benjamin Franklin on the five-cent stamp. Post Office expansion in 19th-century America accompanied westward expansion: in 1832, railway delivery joined steamship delivery, and 1860 marks the beginning of the Pony Express. Six-day delivery began in 1863 — 150 years ago.
In 1918, the Post Office Department took over airmail delivery from the Army. But the 20th and 21st centuries otherwise mark an era of USPS decline, compared to the 19th-century age of growth and innovation. Twice-daily delivery ended in 1950 for economic reasons. Post office "consolidation," a euphemism for post office closure, has been in effect for decades and remains ongoing, particularly in rural areas.
The National Association of Letter Carriers asserts in a recent article that eliminating Saturday delivery would result in saving just 2 percent — a remarkably modest amount, given the potential effect on rural Americans. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, who has fought successfully against post office closure in rural Missouri, has said, "Many families, businesses and seniors, especially in rural Missouri, depend on current delivery standards and want to see it preserved."
For many Americans, the USPS is their only option. New technologies need not replace older ones. Television assumed some of radio's functions, yet both remain vibrant and important media platforms.
Even savvy Internet users prefer the Post Office for money matters; if you have not had your accounts hacked — as I have more than once — you likely know someone who has. Despite the efforts of the Federal Communications Commission to enact measures to bring broadband Internet communication to all Americans, the FCC's Eighth Broadband Progress report indicates that approximately 19 million Americans, many with low incomes or from rural areas, remain unserved.
I support the action of New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and her Democratic colleagues, who are backing a bill that would block the elimination of Saturday delivery and protect rural post offices, as the Times Union notes in a Feb. 17 editorial debating the issue.
Congress should work with the USPS to uphold the pledge that "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Even in today's challenging economic times, let these couriers make their appointed rounds six days a week.
Catherine J. Golden teaches at Skidmore College and is the author of "Posting It: The Victorian Revolution in Letter Writing."