Oh Great, Now The Postal Service Is Broke Too

Not that anyone really *uses* the Post Office anymore, which we suppose is part of the problem, but the Postmaster General popped into the Senate today, exchanged pleasantries, and then told the Senators, "So yeah um, funny thing... we're broke too. Ha...?" The Senators rolled their eyes, sighed, reluctantly took out the golden checkbook with its goosefeather pen and responded, "Alright, goddamnit, fine, how much Obama Money do you want?" But the Postmaster General didn't want their money -- he wanted to cut his own budget! Congress does NOT like this "attitude."

The obvious step for the Postal Service is simple enough: stop delivering on Saturdays. It's the weekend and everyone has e-mail!

In testimony prepared for a Senate hearing this afternoon, [Postmaster General John E.] Potter said he needs "flexibility in the number of days we deliver mail."

"The ability to suspend delivery on the lightest delivery days, for example, could save dollars in both our delivery and our processing and distribution networks, he said. "I do not make this request lightly, but I am forced to consider every option given the severity of our challenge."

He said the cut in mail delivery would be at least one day a week. Currently, the postal system delivers mail Mondays through Saturdays.

Sens. Susan Collins and Daniel Akaka would have none of this "no mail on Saturdays" communist crap, and told Potter to, uh, do more research, there.

It makes you wonder about all of those "sacrifices" we'll have to make in government programs and entitlements if and when we ever emerge from the current financial unpleasantness. When it becomes clear, in a couple of years, that the only way to rescue the dollar and prevent the government from debt default is to completely eliminate Medicare and Social Security (or murder all people over 62, whatever's easier), will anyone in power be capable of taking a harder stand than simply ranting against a single $1.5 million earmark for days on end?

 Postmaster Proposes a Cutback in Mail Delivery [WP/Federal Diary]