Some of the rural post offices throughout the nation set to be closed by the Postal Service could be retained if Congress provides the agency what amounts to an $11 billion bailout.
But the reprieve will be only temporary unless the Postal Service finds ways to balance its bottom line.
The Senate has approved an $11 billion infusion of cash, by a 62-37 vote.
If approved by the House of Representatives and signed into law by President Barack Obama, the measure will postpone closings of about 3,700 post offices and 252 mail-sorting facilities. But, as our senators and representatives understand, providing the $11 billion will merely delay cutbacks that are inevitable unless the Postal Service finds and implements basic reforms.
At present, Postal Service officials seem to have no long-range plan to modernize the agency. By that, we mean the Postal Service continues to operate under a 20th-century model, with little recognition of how to deal with competition from electronic message delivery and efficient private-sector package shippers.
Until and unless that riddle is solved, the Postal Service will continue to hemorrhage money - and actions such as post office closings will remain on the table.