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Posted by benbreen 10/23/2024

Post-postal: What did we lose when we stopped writing letters?(resobscura.substack.com)
68 points | 73 commentspage 3
lincon127 10/24/2024|
Eugh
aurizon 10/23/2024|
Why do they not change the postal system? We know the USPO as well as most other national postal services are on life support. Tied to an inefficient daily postal walk for letters - that never come. They need to end this and buy off the remaining postal workers. The remaining system parts, warehouses/trucks/machinery can be sold off if no modus operandi to make a continuing use of the remaining bits of the services? A few registered/certified mail/packages is all that will remain economically viable - if any? Let it go private and pay off the employees or assess each employee to see if a remaining service can be mounted with the bits remaining?
Symbiote 10/24/2024|
Many European countries have partly or fully privatized their postal services. Where they still have an obligation (and monopoly) on letter delivery, the companies are desperately trying to reduce that obligation as it costs so much — but that's generally up to the government, which may want to retain a letter service.

The parcels business is generally profitable due to online shopping.

A letter sent within Denmark now costs €3.35 for delivery within 5 working days, or €4.70 for next-day delivery. A registered letter or small parcel is €12.86.

aurizon 10/24/2024||
Yes, the US/Canada system has created an enormous unfunded pension and over staffing that Congress has been unable to fix. Europe was a lot worse,(varies by country) that they were forced to cut the Gordian knot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordian_Knot France has a curious system of ministry companies that are set up for - say 20 years, and all employees know it is over in 20 years. Then a newco is formed that does not hire the deadwood.

https://www.gao.gov/blog/u.s.-postal-service-faces-more-fina....