Post Office Going Broke?

The United States Postal Service has been losing money for years. It lost a bit over $4,000,000,000 last year. It is projected to lose 8-10 billion this coming year. The head of the Post Office is sounding the alarm, talking about cutting service, closing locations, cutting people, etc., in order to try and cut their budget deficit.

What the hell is the big deal?

The USPS is a part of the Federal Government, isn't it? Is there any part of the Federal Government that doesn't run a deficit, especially these days? 8-10 billion is pocket change for the idiots in charge.

The USPS has been cutting service and personnel for years. The customer service provided at most locations is pathetic. I refuse to visit the local location, which is about 3 blocks from my house - I can count on a 30-45 minute wait at any time of day. Instead, I travel to a small post office 12 miles away, where the people are friendly, and the wait is never more than 5 minutes.

In these days of electronic communication, Fed-Ex, and UPS, the big money makers for the post office - junk mail and package freight - are on the decline. The leadership of the post office seems to realize this. I see signs that they are trying to turn their customer service focus back to where it should be - the customer. I hope it is not too late for them. However, they've got to realize that if they keep cutting services and staff, they're only driving more of their customers away.

However, my original question still remains - if it is part of the government, why is there a concern about money? It could run for years on a fraction of the money that was used to bail out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae ...