The US Postal Service - Can We Save It?

It seems that the United State Postal Service (USPS) is about to default on its loans from the federal government. I know they attempted many years ago to make this quasi-governmental unit function independently as a self-funding enterprise, but it clearly is not working.

From the Pony Express forward, we have depended on the USPS to move our mail quickly and cheaply (Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of

their appointed rounds). I always marveled at how I could mail a letter to say, California, and then expect it to be there in two days for a mere pittance. Even at today’s rates of $0.45 cents for a letter seems a deal to me. Ask someone if they would take your missive in hand and get it to Cali in a few days for less than fifty-cents.

Here is the dilemma, or dilemmas. First-class mail has taken a dive for a number of years with email and texting taking over most of the communications between friends and businesses. Even greeting cards, though still popular because many contain moolah, cannot take up the slack. Business shipping is good but the competition is tough, with UPS and FedEx making a big dent in what once was effectively a monopoly.

In addition, when the USPS tries to cut costs (closing some very small offices and eliminating Saturday delivery) the citizenry, by way of the Congress, wails and wrings their collective hands to protest. They like their walkable post office where they can meet friends and have a chat with the not-very-busy postmaster or mistress. It is quaint and very Norman Rockwell. And it is a piece of Americana that I personally would hate to see go away. But it really doesn’t have to, you know.

Let’s be real and know that the status quo is not sustainable. The quickest answer is to raise rates to a level unheard of, but in the big picture, very reasonable. How about a $1.00 charge for a letter? Sounds exorbitant at first, but on thinking about it, how many letters are each of us mailing these days? I pay all my bills online and I email my relatives and friends. I do send greeting cards (most with that moolah to grandkids) and will continue to do so. But for those few envelopes I send, let’s keep the USPS solvent with a higher first class rate. Of course, other rates would have to go up as well, and maybe we can have a postage “holiday” in December and January (covers most card-sending times) where a special stamp can be used for all those Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa heavy mailings.

Or the Congress can just have the USPS revert to being a regular government agency that runs on tax money and goes over budget each year like all the other agencies. Then we’d hardly notice, right?

The Joy of TIVO

TIVO has become a verb as well as noun, as in “I am TIVOing the ‘Barefoot Contessa’.” No, I am not TIVOing her, but I do TIVO nearly every other thing my wife and I watch. We seldom watch live TV, and when we do, one of inevitably says, “Fast Forward!” when a commercial appears. We then both laugh and endure the creepy guy in the Allstate ad.

This fall with so many new shows debuting along with our favorites such as NCIS, Criminal Minds, CSI, and many others, I decided to get Season Passes for nearly every new show.

Now I am glad I did and a couple I started taping have already been cancelled so we no longer have to endure them. That would be “Lone Star” and “My Generation”. TIVO saved us lots of time.

We still found some duds mixed in with some promising new series. “Chase” we chased off our list almost before the pilot ended; the same with “The Good Guys” (god-awful stuff even if the lead is Tom Hanks’ son). I am hanging in with “Rubicon” (not new this fall, but still worth mentioning). My wife thinks it moves toooooo sloooow, and now that she mentions it I have noticed that the dialogue would create a script of about 3 ½ pages. Lots of dead air with people looking at each other. But the premise seems good so I will hang in for awhile longer.

Back to the fall shows. Best so far is “Blue Bloods”. The Tom Selleck vehicle where he plays the NYC Police Commissioner/Chief with nearly all of his kids in law enforcement is entertaining. It works so far with nice, tight writing.

We are on the fence with “The Defenders” (Jim Belushi), but I want to give it a chance. Same with “Hawaii 5-0”. I grew up with the original and have to get that vision out of my head. This is totally different and so when the new McGarrett says “Book ‘em Dano”, it seems like a joke.

“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO) is a great period piece, a little slow, but fast enough to keep you hooked. Steve Buscemi, usually a character actor, carries the lead well.

Last, for now, is “Undercovers”. We thought it had promise with J.J. Abrams in the credits but it is a little too cute and too predictable. Maybe it will improve but it has been already banished from our TIVO list. However, our track record for picking winners is a little sketchy. Guess who never wanted to watch a show called “The Sopranos”?