The U.S. Postal Service, unbeknownst to many, operates as a quasi-private organization, with an operating budget that it must make the most of and a directive to cover all of its expenses. For years, however, the USPS has struggled to make money as the Internet and private carriers have chipped away at the money-making services it provides. Some have offered conjecture that deliveries will stop on Saturdays in order to cut costs, while still others think the service may go the way of the Dodo bird. Tony Conway, who leads the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, notes that if the USPS were to go away, "a lot of people would miss it."That goes double for businesses, some of which rely on the post office’s relatively cheap rates to mail massive amounts of correspondence annually. While detractors note that private carriers could pick up the slack if the USPS went under, there are various parts of the country that receive no private carriers, and are reliant on the service to receive mail.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has been struggling for a while to keep the USPS afloat, but he insists that the organization is not going under. A spokesman for the service noted, "The Postal Service is not going out of business. We will continue to deliver the mail as we have for more than 200 years. The postmaster general has developed a plan that will return the Postal Service to financial stability. We continue to do what we can on our own to achieve this plan and we need Congress to do its part to get us there."
For those who came of age in the 1980s, there are a number of iconic songs, television shows, movies and events that may meld together in your minds. A montage of sorts. But, whether you loved or hated the movie, "Back to the Future," which starred a young Michael J. Fox, is definitely part of the collective consciousness of 30-somethings and 40-somethings. Now, for those who wax nostalgic for the days of yore, the creators of that film will have a little something special for those inclined to make the purchase.
