Last year the United States Postal Service lost $2.8 billion in what they considered a "decent year"  and anticipate a 17% drop in volume (and thus revenue) this year, due in part to online bill paying.  By 2010, the USPS anticipates losses as high as $12 billion if changes aren’t made.  Since they are running out of money, the Postmaster General suggests Congress to pass legislation that will allow the elimination of either Saturday or Tuesday delivery. And they’re cutting positions by 15% and instituting a hiring freeze, Postmaster General John Potter told a Congressional subcommittee.

Wait! Wut?! A loss of 2.8 billion is considered  a "decent year"? WTF?

Postal Service spokesman James Wigdel explained the drop in revenue:

The old model was people religiously at the first of the month putting their stamp on the envelope and sent their credit card mail and all that remittance mail off. More and more people are doing that online.

That’s not the only reason: I’ve noticed that while lots of people shop online, many sellers–private and commercial–use UPS or FedEx ground service to deliver packages, maybe because they are more economical?

Additionally, the USPS will pay almost $70 billion from now through 2016 for retiree health benefits. But Postmaster General Potter pointed out that if USPS paid for retiree health benefits out of its Retiree Health Benefit Fund instead of its operating budget, that change would have allowed the service to reach a $1.6 billion profit in 2007, instead of a $5.1 billion loss. Um, isn’t that what a "retiree health benefit fund" is for–to pay retiree health benefits?

Wait! Wut?! The postal service had a $5.1 billion loss in 2007? No wonder 2008 seemed like a decent year!

The postal service has come up with some other nifty ideas to save money. Maybe they should have implemented some of these sooner:

• • *A new process for evaluating and adjusting city delivery routes.
    *Reduction of employee work hours and overtime by pursuing even greater efficiencies throughout the organization.
    *Halting construction of new postal facilities and directing funds to the sites with the most critical needs (i.e., buildings badly damaged or destroyed by natural disasters).
    *Improved fleet management and delivery routing to reduce fuel usage.
    *Expanded energy efficiency to reduce energy use throughout Postal Service facilities.
    *Reductions in employee travel budgets through the use of Web and video technology to conduct meetings and conferences.
    *Renegotiations of supplier contracts to reflect reduced needs.