The Post Office, rapidly becoming one of the country's most endangered creatures, continues to dwindle on the brink of existence today, with word coming from Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe that he plans to slash jobs for some 35,000 postal workers.
Earlier this month, the Donahoe said that post offices would be killed this winter unless Congress got its acts together ASAP, but now he's apparently changed his tune, saying the Postal Service simply cannot wait for Congress to quit dilly-dallying. He is attempting to close 252 post offices around the country, a move which would put 35,000 out of a job and add a day to the time it takes to deliver much of the mail. "We are not going to sit back and do nothing," he said. "Congress and the administration know the gravity of the situation."
There are close to 500 post offices "targeted for closure," half of them in the next three months. If they do go under, the Postal Service could save $3 billion a year, though they're still facing a crippling $9 billion budget deficit. Donahoe, in the meantime, insists that everything is going to be okay, okay? "The Postal Service still is a critical part of the American economy," he said. "We are not going out of business." We'll see about that when we get an angry call from Grandma Lois in Boca claiming she never got our thank-you card.
