A strange thing happened at my house the other day.  Returning home, I stopped by my curbside mailbox to see what surprises my local rural delivery driver had left me, and to my astonishment, the box was empty.  I checked my watch and it was well past the normal time for the postman to deliver, so I had to face the reality I actually did not receive any mail that day.

While this is not a rare occurrence on the scale of a solar eclipse, it doesn’t happen very often that I don’t have a single item in the mailbox.  But there I was, peering down into the cavern, empty of all things, save the spider webs in the very back, and some dried vegetation of some sort that has likely been in there for months.

Don’t be overly concerned that I have been cut off from civilization, however, for the next day, normalcy returned and my box was again graced with correspondence.  That day, I received an advertisement for a local window replacement company, a card informing me I had possibly won an iPad Mini, if my scratch off code matched the one in the auto dealership’s window, and an invitation to save $762 on my car insurance by switching to a different company.

The point of the story is not that I lead a less-than-exiting lifestyle, which also may be true, but that the vast majority of what I receive from the US Postal Service goes directly to the trash or re-cycling bin.  Still, I recognize the Postal Service performs a necessary and vital function for the nation’s citizens, by making mail and package delivery possible to every resident, which it is required to do by law.  By the way, not everything I receive is unimportant, just in case you were wondering.

But, I, like most Americans, do most of my business online, a trend that will continue to increase as younger cyber experts, who, in turn, receive most of their correspondence electronically, take the place of those who lack such computer skills.

Those factors started me to ponder about the future of the Postal Service, and ironically, I stumbled across a press release that said the agency posted a $474 million decline in second-quarter operating revenue, compared to 2016.  Additionally, total revenue was down from $17.73 Million to $17.26 million, and volume from 38.26 billion pieces to 37 billion.  And this was a continuation of trends from the last several years of operation.

The release went on to say, “Even with continued achievements in improving operational efficiency and revenue, the Postal Service cannot overcome systemic financial imbalances caused by legal and other constraints.”  The Service called for passage of current legislation to reform the Postal Service, sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) that recommends switching from door delivery to curbside when practical, among other cost-cutting measures.

My experience this week started me thinking what would happen if I didn’t get my mail delivered six days a week?  I know there was some talk of cutting Saturday delivery a while back, but I am proposing only having my mail delivered three times per week, Mon-Wed-Fri, or Tues-Thur-Sat.  Do we really receive that much correspondence that cannot wait another day?

To convert to such a system could be accomplished by natural attrition of letter carriers, through retirement or replacement, and could be phased in over a number of years.  As one route’s carrier drops out, another could absorb the route, delivering Route A on Monday, and Route B on Tuesday, and repeat.  Would anyone really suffer by receiving their mail a day later?

The option for a special delivery could be maintained, but at an increased rate, or could be achieved through private carriers, if totally necessary.  Or those who feel they must have their mail every day, could rent a box at the local Post Office instead of the home delivery option.

Over time, the number of carriers would be dramatically reduced, as would benefit costs associated with those employees.  Fuel savings would be realized by running half as many routes per week, as well as lowering emissions and benefiting the environment.  And no employee would be forced out of their jobs.

It doesn’t seem the agency can continue in its current business model, so maybe it’s time to start thinking differently and making some long-term modifications.

Agree or disagree?  Let me know what you think.