U.S. Postal Service to Close Domestic Mail Service By January 2017
“Since 1775, the U.S. Postal Service has delivered our mail through rain, sleet, snow, and hail. But, the time has come to move forward,” announced the Postmaster General Patrick Donahue. “Beginning this year, the USPS will take steps to eliminate all U.S. mail routes ending service in January 2017.”
For years, USPS has suffered losses competing against UPS and Fedex in package delivery. Additionally, the increased adoption of email (since 1996) and text messages (since 2000) has led to the further decline of sending and receiving letters.
“No one gets letters from grandma anymore,” states Cliff Clavin, history buff and postal enthusiast. “Just look at the latest greeting card commercials – no one is walking out to their mailbox. Daughter are handing sappy cards to their mothers. Friends are trading cards at parties. All you get in your mailbox is pizza flyers and catalogs.”
The USPS pledged to continue International Mail Services and mail delivery for the Government including legal notices, fines and taxes, and social security checks.
USPS will continue to run P.O. Boxes for an additional five years. “We understand not every family or business has a physical address. By granting this extra time, we hope private companies will take over and continue these services.”
As word of the closure of the U.S. Postal Service spreads, most received the news with indifference.
