Close Menu
The Baylor Lariat
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    Trending
    • Cooking for a cause: Chi Omega, Alpha Tau Omega to host chili cook-off
    • Sports Take: MLB lockout imminent as Dodgers go back-to-back
    • Baylor announces multi-million dollar partnership with Cordia for overhaul of existing energy system
    • Baylor opera presents ‘Notes on Viardot,’ modern celebration of overlooked artist
    • ‘Cricket apocalypse’ spares Baylor campus
    • East Village Dining Commons adds halal chicken at students’ request
    • ‘Lights of Love’ brings remembrance, reflection to Waco Suspension Bridge
    • What to Do in Waco: Nov. 7-13
    • About us
      • Fall 2025 Staff Page
      • Copyright Information
    • Contact
      • Contact Information
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Subscribe to The Morning Buzz
      • Department of Student Media
    • Employment
    • PDF Archives
    • RSS Feeds
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    The Baylor LariatThe Baylor Lariat
    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz
    Friday, November 7
    • News
      • State and National News
        • State
        • National
      • Politics
        • 2025 Inauguration Page
        • Election Page
      • Homecoming 2025
      • Baylor News
      • Waco Updates
      • Campus and Waco Crime
    • Arts & Life
      • Wedding Edition 2025
      • What to Do in Waco
      • Campus Culture
      • Indy and Belle
      • Sing 2025
      • Leisure and Travel
        • Leisure
        • Travel
          • Baylor in Ireland
      • Student Spotlight
      • Local Scene
        • Small Businesses
        • Social Media
      • Arts and Entertainment
        • Art
        • Fashion
        • Food
        • Literature
        • Music
        • Film and Television
    • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Points of View
      • Lariat Letters
    • Sports
      • March Madness 2025
      • Football
      • Basketball
        • Men’s Basketball
        • Women’s Basketball
      • Soccer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
      • Volleyball
      • Equestrian
      • Cross Country and Track & Field
      • Acrobatics & Tumbling
      • Tennis
      • Golf
      • Pro Sports
      • Sports Takes
      • Club Sports
    • Lariat TV News
    • Multimedia
      • Video Features
      • Podcasts
        • Don’t Feed the Bears
      • Slideshows
    • Lariat 125
    • Advertising
    The Baylor Lariat
    Home»Opinion»Editorials

    Editorial: USPS won’t fix problem by ending delivery

    By October 5, 2011 Editorials No Comments3 Mins Read
    Esteban Diaz | Editorial Cartoonist
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    Esteban Diaz | Editorial Cartoonist

    Sure, times are changing. Some things aren’t what they used to be. But did you ever think that you’d see the day where the mail didn’t come on Saturday?

    If the Obama administration’s plan is put into action, that could become a reality.

    In an effort to get the United States Postal Service out of debt, the plan includes reducing payrolls, closing processing facilities and canceling Saturday delivery.

    If nothing is done, the Postal Service says it won’t be able to deliver mail at all come next summer.

    While the government obviously needs to find ways to get the Postal Service back on the plus-side of its balance sheet, canceling Saturday mail service is not the answer.

    The Postal Service operates on revenue, not tax dollars. Therefore the government needs to see the Postal Service as a revenue-gaining business and realize it has competition from delivery companies like UPS and FedEx. If the competition delivers on Saturday, why wouldn’t the Postal Service?

    With the competition in mind, mail service is too important to drop on Saturday. A look at the calendar reveals seven Mondays and one Friday that the Postal Service takes as a holiday, meaning that just fewer than one in every seven weekends would result in a three-day gap of mail. That is not acceptable in today’s world of fast-paced business, and customers won’t stand for it. They’ll go to someone else who can get the job done.

    Reuters reported the Postal Service said its weekend mail volume is too low to continue Saturday service.

    “The president’s proposal would help the Postal Service update its business model to reflect Americans’ changing communications habits,” Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., told Reuters.

    But there are many who would miss Saturday mail for a variety of reasons.

    Take small towns for example, where daily newspapers use the Postal Service to deliver their product. They rely on selling their paper to cover town-specific news. Although they can use the Internet, they need the physical paper sales to support themselves, as website advertising would not generate enough with the small amount of traffic.

    Losing a day of the paper is a huge blow, and considering roughly 20 percent of U.S. citizens live in rural area, a significant portion of America would possibly lose its Saturday paper.

    There is also an issue with packages requiring a signature. For many people, getting a package like that is virtually impossible during the work week, and Saturday is the only day they have a chance to be home when the postal worker tries to make the delivery.

    Among other solutions to getting the Postal Service back in the black, the Obama administration recommends refunding the Postal Service nearly $7 billion it says it overpaid to a federal retirement fund.

    Essentially, for the Postal Service to remain in existence, it has to show customers that it is just as capable of providing solid service as other delivery companies. In no circumstance is reducing service going to achieve that.

    Barack Obama Tom Carper United States Postal Service

    Keep Reading

    You don’t have to do it all alone

    Editorial Board shares most memorable Lariat moments

    Don’t lose sight of what homecoming is really about

    History education shouldn’t be censored, rewritten

    Student media has rights — Indiana University just violated them

    What is ‘brain rot’ and why should we be concerned about it?

    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • Cooking for a cause: Chi Omega, Alpha Tau Omega to host chili cook-off November 7, 2025
    • Sports Take: MLB lockout imminent as Dodgers go back-to-back November 7, 2025
    About

    The award-winning student newspaper of Baylor University since 1900.

    Articles, photos, and other works by staff of The Baylor Lariat are Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.

    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz

    Get the latest Lariat News by just Clicking Subscribe!

    Follow the Live Coverage
    Tweets by @bulariat

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    • Featured
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Arts and Life
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    Insert/edit link

    Enter the destination URL

    Or link to existing content

      No search term specified. Showing recent items. Search or use up and down arrow keys to select an item.