# Cutting postal service by a day or two: So what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 29, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504 "2009-01-29T04:17:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/81 "2009-01-31T22:47:25Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Those who have M-F jobs will really be in straits if they close _all_ operations on Saturday. this is the second round of the usps is in trouble and will cut one day. they tried it several years ago and congress said “whoa, no!”. i’m betting they will do the same this time as well. if they do decide on going to 5 days i would suggest wednesday, there are quite a few monday holidays and you would have 3 days with no mail if you drop tuesday. if they cut saturday… i’m def. opening up the “got your mail” office. most people who have post that can’t fit into what ever it is usually delivered in, will retrieve it on saturdays. that would be where my office would be really handy. it would also be available for ups, fed ex, who ever, deliveries. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/82 "2009-01-31T23:07:07Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > It is customary and polite to quote the post you are responding to rather than make people read the whole thread and guess. But hey, I guess manners are not your forte. Really? Then how come in your post #52, where you mentioned eliminating the USPS, you didn’t quote anybody? Maybe you should be lecturing yourself on manners. > [@](#): > > The premise is faulty. The government loses no money as the USPS is self-financing. I do not know how that affects **Rand Rover** ’s position but you can see why it is necesary to know what you are responding to. It seems to me more defending privatization than disappearance, but, never mind. You are the only one in this thread who seems confused by my original posting. > [@](#): > > Again, privatization is not elimination. If you quote the post we know what you are responding to and we have the necessary context. If you want to engage in pedantic nonsense, that’s up to you. Full privitization of mail services is an elimination of the US Government-owned United States Postal Service. > [@](#): > > No, as very clearly stated in the OP, At the present time there is no talk and no chance of it disappearing. You need not worry. And as clearly stated in this thread, certain posters favor eliminating the USPS. I’m done with this. You are being nonsensical and pedantic, and if you want to continue this, take it to the pit, where I can tell you what I really think of you. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/83 "2009-01-31T23:18:52Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > A big story on CNN is that the United States Postal Service is talking about cutting mail deliveries by one day a week _ **due to plunging demand.** _ This is spoken of in the sort of tone one might discuss the suggestion that the government begin incinerating live puppies. And yet my mailbox is as full as ever with coupon flyers for tanning salons, hair/nail salons, fast food, offers to sell timeshares, offers to buy timeshares, offers to exchange timeshares, and same-day-only “buy-one-get-one-free” oil changes from places that make Jiffy Lube look honest. ---
**Author:** ![BrightNShiny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@BrightNShiny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrightNShiny)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/84 "2009-01-31T23:20:00Z")
Never mind. I’ve done the pitting myself. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10768782#post10768782](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10768782#post10768782) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/85 "2009-02-01T05:13:47Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Those who have M-F jobs will really be in straits if they close _all_ operations on Saturday. I was talking with my suupervisor last night, and asked him. He told me that: a) Tuesday is the more likely day for curtailing delivery; and b) post offices will still be open for counter operations, regardless of what the letter carriers are doing. And thank you for the kind words about our overall performance, **Una**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/86 "2009-02-01T05:49:01Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > You are mistaken. The “posts” were the stations along the way where tired horses were exchanged for fresh horses. That is the original meaning of “post” in English, French (poste), Spanish (posta), etc. OH! Original original. I thought you were talking about the _actual_ Post Roads. Eg, Albany Post Road, which is over by me. I was going, “Wait. It was established as a post road for mail. What now?” > **[Hudson Valley Ruins: Albany Post Road Milestones of Westchester County by Rob...](http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/milestones/milestones.html)** > > Mile Markers. Old Albany Post Road. Broadway. New York. > Rob Yasinsac Sorry, I was thinking a few centuries off. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/87 "2009-02-01T06:05:19Z")
whorfin, you are correct… probably. I still think delivering the mail is a fundamental feature of government, and I’d like to get someone with a bit more civics in here on this. Yes, the Constitution doesn’t mandate it. I should have been a bit clearer. > [@sailor](#): > > I hate it when a product I buy is discontinued but I don’t think I have a right to it. So what if some people like to have mail delivered 7 days a week? Where is it written that the whole of society needs to pay so that those few can enjoy that convenience? > [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Article 1, Section 8, US Constitution. > “To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;” > > No, that’s not seven day delivery, but it _does_ say that the feds have to be involved in it, and pretty much by implication that it has to serve everyone equally, if possible. I wasn’t replying to the _right to mail_, althought I think it is a fundamental responsibility, right up there with protecting the borders. I was talking about ‘where is it written that the whole of society needs to pay.’ It’s written there that it’s a feature of the federal government to establish a mail system. Once the feds _do_ establish a mail system, I think that it is pretty much mandated that it serves everyone equally, if possible. Switching from a federal system (which is actually an independent agency of the government, not private) to a privitized one, will all-but-inevitably lead to neglect of the less profitable rural routes, and I’m not sure that’d be considered acceptable by the courts. That said, when I said it would be troublesome, I mean that getting out of the Universal Postal Union would involve breaking a load of treaties that involve a load and a _half_ of money changing hands… or failing to change hands, and a lot of governments would probably be a bit pissy about it. The kind of thing that qualifies as a trade war against the entire world. I don’t know if it would be the best idea to do so without a load and a half of stepping gracefully out. Yeah, I got topic drifted, and I wound up defending what I didn’t originally mean. Sorry about that. Edit: At least I was right about the Tuesday thing. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/88 "2009-02-01T06:17:46Z")
Funny thing is, though, Sailor, I’m still right about the horsies. Sorry, had to research my memories more. Took a few seconds. The point of the horses is to deliver the mail. They’re secondary. And, once again, a _post road_ is a road along which mail is delivered. > **[Cursus publicus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursus_publicus)** > > The cursus publicus (Latin: "the public way"; Ancient Greek: δημόσιος δρόμος, dēmósios drómos) was the state mandated and supervised courier and transportation service of the Roman Empire, whose use continued into the Eastern Roman Empire. It was a system based on obligations placed on private persons by the Roman State. As contractors, called mancipes, they provided the equipment, animals, and wagons. In the Early Empire compensation had to be paid but this had fallen into abeyance in Late The E... ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/89 "2009-02-01T10:59:32Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Funny thing is, though, Sailor, I’m still right about the horsies. Sorry, had to research my memories more. Took a few seconds. The point of the horses is to deliver the mail. They’re secondary. And, once again, a _post road_ is a road along which mail is delivered. > [Cursus publicus - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursus_publicus) From your own link: > [@](#): > > Structure of the service > A series of forts and stations were spread out along the major road systems connecting the regions of the Roman world. These relay points (or stationes) provided horses to dispatch riders, usually soldiers, and vehicles for magistrates or officers of the court. There is no doubt that when the Constitution was written the words “The Congress shall have power … To establish post offices and post roads” referred to the system of horse relay posts which existed at the time. “Post roads” were roads which had posts where horses could be exchanged. There is no other possible interpretation. In fact, I think the opposite could be argued by a textualist who could say that it authorises the government strictly to operate a system of relays as existed then but it does not authorise the use of trains or airplanes for the purpose of delivering mail. In any case, this point is purely academic because I think it has been definitively established in this thread that the Constitution does not impose any obligation to operate a Postal Service on the US Government which is the only relevant point to this thread. Since I find you arguments about the US Government’s obligation to deliver mail totally blurry and unconvincing and only representative of your personal opinion (very respectable but just your opinion and nothing more and I do not wish to argue about your opinion but only about the objective fact of the obligation of the US government) I am going to just drop the subject. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/90 "2009-02-01T14:15:57Z")
… So, what you’re saying is that the road didn’t need to exist, but the horses did? As in, horses are what make something a post road? So, if they used stagecoaches or bicycles, it wouldn’t be a post road? As opposed to carrying the mail? Cause, you know, I was thinking the fact that it was for people carrying the mail that made something a post road. I should point out that the first horse relay point on the Boston Post Road was from Manhattan to Hartford. That’s a… bit of a distance. It’s not like they were galloping madly, they were adhering to a schedule. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/91 "2009-02-01T14:59:42Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I wish they’d cut service to zero days a week. It’s ridiculous that the government loses money every year doing something that should so obviously be done by the private sector. Of the following, which one is an explicitly prescribed power and duty of the Federal government about which Congress may legislate, according to the U.S. Constitution? A. The Federal Reservie System, and banking generally B. The Air Force C. The Post Office D. The Commerce Department ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/92 "2009-02-01T16:06:37Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > … So, what you’re saying is that the road didn’t need to exist, but the horses did? As in, horses are what make something a post road? I never said that and you are being deliberately obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/93 "2009-02-01T17:54:40Z")
This is incredibly short-sighted. If they really wanted to raise revenue, the USPS wouldn’t be cutting a delivery day and shunting MORE business to the hugely more expensive FedEx and UPS. Instead, they’d go the opposite route and add Sunday delivery, at least for parcels. Amazon, Netflix, eBay vendors … everybody would switch to the USPS immediately if you got seven-day-a-week delivery, and even if they raised prices they’d still be much less expensive than UPS or FedEx. I always use the USPS whenever possible, because they’re cheaper and I can get my packages on a Saturday. I _HATE_ having to wait three days to get something I’ve ordered online because nobody will deliver over a weekend; at least if they offer USPS as a delivery option I have the option to get it on a Saturday. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/94 "2009-02-01T19:08:47Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Of the following, which one is an explicitly prescribed power and duty of the Federal government about which Congress may legislate, according to the U.S. Constitution? > > A. The Federal Reservie System, and banking generally > B. The Air Force > C. The Post Office > D. The Commerce Department Rover should be pleased. When UPS was formed the pundits said they would pick off the profitable parts of mail delivery and leave the rest for government. That is pretty much what happened. It was a guarantee that the Post Office would operate at a loss. Perhaps Rover was not around when UPS formed. or he just does not know better. He can recite the business mantras well though. But in order to make profit, mail would have to be stopped in the rural communities or they would have to charge a premium to those with the least money.Then pay would be slashed and rates would be increased. A business nirvana for some. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504.md?page=4)