The U.S. Postal Service Faces Bankruptcy

They say neither snow, nor rain, sleet or hail can't stop the U.S. Post Office, but how about the possibility of bankruptcy?

Because so many people are sending letters through emails, texts and having packages shipped through other sources, the Postal Service is doing something that hasn't been done in over 40 years.

They will be making cuts to first-class mail delivery, which will do away with the overnight letter. It's estimated that this cost-cutting will save the Postal Service an estimated $3 billion dollars. This may be a short-term fix for the Post Office, but in the long run, will just push more and more people away as consumers do more on the internet. As the old saying goes, 'why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free?'

The cuts that are currently being worked on include, closing about half of the 500 mail processing centers across the United States as early as next March.

If you subscribe to a weekly periodical, like Entertainment Weekly or People, you will end up having better luck subscribing on-line and having it digitally downloaded to your iPad or other electronic device, because under this new structure it could take anywhere between 2-9 days for delivery.

According to Jim Corridore, an alalyst with S&P Capital IQ:

"We have a business model that is failing. You can't continue to run red ink and not make changes," Donahoe said. "We know our business, and we listen to our customers. Customers are looking for affordable and consistent mail service, and they do not want us to take tax money. It's a potentially major change, but I don't think consumers are focused on it and it won't register until the service goes away."

Here are more details on the struggles the Post Office faces.