Mail Delivery Slowdown Speaks to Bigger Problems for the U.S. Postal Service

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2021

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Despite more and more Americans having stuff delivered during the pandemic, the USPS is in deep financial trouble. In order to save money, the USPS has made a few operational changes. One of the big ones: The U.S. Postal Service began slowing down delivery of some letters and packages starting Oct. 1. But economists say that’s a vicious cycle -- if you make a product worse, fewer people will buy it, and that will only exacerbate the postal service’s problems. This is not new -- the postal service has been in trouble for years, facing massive losses. The Postmaster General told Congress that there’s “no end in sight,” in particular because the agency is on the hook for billions in employee pensions. We talk about the problems plaguing the postal service, how to make the agency viable for the future and what that means for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KGBD podcasts comes from Landmark College, offering a fully online graduate level certificate in learning differences in neurodiversity program.
0:09.8	Visit landmark.edu slash certificate to learn more.
0:13.9	Greetings boomtown.
0:15.3	The Xfinity Wi-Fi is booming.
0:17.6	Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile.
0:20.8	So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home
0:22.8	and on the go!
0:24.3	Learn more at Xfinity.com.
0:26.2	Restrictions apply. Xfinity, Internet required.
0:28.0	Actual speeds vary.
0:30.3	From KQBD in San Francisco, I'm Nina Kim.
0:45.8	The U.S. Postal Service began slowing down delivery of some letters and packages this month,
0:51.5	among other cost-saving maneuvers, while also preparing
0:55.2	to raise prices. Economists say the changes will only turn more customers away and make
1:00.8	the agency's long-standing financial woes even worse, and some 20 attorneys general have
1:06.2	sued to block the implementation of the budget-cutting plan. We'll talk about what's causing the problems plaguing the Postal Service
1:13.1	and how its operational changes may affect you.
1:16.5	Join us. This is Forum. I'm Nina Kim.
1:33.3	Has the mail seemed a bit slower than usual lately?
1:37.3	Well, you're probably not imagining it since the U.S. Postal Service did begin slowing down some deliveries as of October 1st. At the same time,
1:46.2	it's raising mail prices. For more on these changes, their impact and what's driving them,
1:52.0	we turned first to Jacob Bogage, Business and Technology Reporter for the Washington Post.
	...

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