Postal Service (not the band)
So apparently. The USPS is looking for a bailout loan and is looking at cost cutting measures such as cutting Saturday deliveries. For some reason this bothered me, though I'm not sure why. However, I had an idea from the "go big or go home" school of thought, with a little Works Progress Administration thrown in.
The money the gubmint is throwing into bailouts is supposed to help the citizenry by preventing economic devastation. What about helping stave off economic devastation by providing a service to the people? Instead of cutting Saturday delivery, what about adding Sunday delivery? The USPS exists not to make money (though it's nice that they do), but because an imparial common carrier courier service is a common good, one that helps society at large even if it didn't profit any single entity. It's lost money and market share because private enterprises like UPS and FedEx provide a higher quality of service for similar prices. However, all three carriers charge exorbitant rates for Sunday delivery of any kind. By providing Sunday delivery as a standard service, USPS would a.) increase their competitiveness in the courier market, b.) create a whole slew of new jobs as unemployment continues to climb, c.) aid third-party businesses conduct their affairs more efficiently, d.) encourage consumers to buy things for delivery, knowing that they might get it sooner, or on a day when they'll actually be home to sign for it.
I understand it's a recession and that belt tightening is a good thing. In fact, as a nation, we need to do a fair amount of belt tightening, make our spending fall in line with our income, cut back on overindulgence and crass consumption (says the guy who spent ridiculous amounts this Christmas). However, a economic lean times are also a time of opportunity - a time when possibilities that were not available in the fat times open up, and though it's hard to find them, shrinking away from them is not going to help. The government's job is to provide the services which benefit society, the things the market does not solve, and which help the common good. This may just be one small way to help on many fronts without just pouring our money into a bucket.
Now clearly this isn't fleshed out, and is mostly a hair-brained late-night idea, which I may reflect upon in the morning and think is idiotic, but I think it might be worth at least looking into a cost/benefit. The increased overhead would be significant, and unless it encourages an increase in package sending overall, USPS' increased competitiveness would be at the expense of FedEx and UPS. However, there are few better cures for curing skyrocketing unemployment than creating new jobs (jobs, as the politicians like to say, that can't be offshored).
The money the gubmint is throwing into bailouts is supposed to help the citizenry by preventing economic devastation. What about helping stave off economic devastation by providing a service to the people? Instead of cutting Saturday delivery, what about adding Sunday delivery? The USPS exists not to make money (though it's nice that they do), but because an imparial common carrier courier service is a common good, one that helps society at large even if it didn't profit any single entity. It's lost money and market share because private enterprises like UPS and FedEx provide a higher quality of service for similar prices. However, all three carriers charge exorbitant rates for Sunday delivery of any kind. By providing Sunday delivery as a standard service, USPS would a.) increase their competitiveness in the courier market, b.) create a whole slew of new jobs as unemployment continues to climb, c.) aid third-party businesses conduct their affairs more efficiently, d.) encourage consumers to buy things for delivery, knowing that they might get it sooner, or on a day when they'll actually be home to sign for it.
I understand it's a recession and that belt tightening is a good thing. In fact, as a nation, we need to do a fair amount of belt tightening, make our spending fall in line with our income, cut back on overindulgence and crass consumption (says the guy who spent ridiculous amounts this Christmas). However, a economic lean times are also a time of opportunity - a time when possibilities that were not available in the fat times open up, and though it's hard to find them, shrinking away from them is not going to help. The government's job is to provide the services which benefit society, the things the market does not solve, and which help the common good. This may just be one small way to help on many fronts without just pouring our money into a bucket.
Now clearly this isn't fleshed out, and is mostly a hair-brained late-night idea, which I may reflect upon in the morning and think is idiotic, but I think it might be worth at least looking into a cost/benefit. The increased overhead would be significant, and unless it encourages an increase in package sending overall, USPS' increased competitiveness would be at the expense of FedEx and UPS. However, there are few better cures for curing skyrocketing unemployment than creating new jobs (jobs, as the politicians like to say, that can't be offshored).