New Changes at USPS Has Many Texans Upset

Something that is sometimes overlooked when we think about the United States Postal Service is that it's a service. It says so right in the name. It wasn't designed to turn a profit—it was built to serve Americans.

We're hearing a lot lately about how the post office is losing money, but that's okay. It's designed that way.

The US Postal Service (USPS) is not designed to be a profit-making entity; it's a public service with a mandate to provide affordable and accessible postal services to all Americans, not to generate profit.

I read recently where someone said we don't get mad at the military for not turning a profit. They're both designed to be a service to Americans. Although, since the 1970s, the USPS has depended on postal customers to keep running, when it stopped receiving taxpayer money. So, it is in some sort of weird limbo.

New Changes at United States Postal Service for Texans.

So that takes us to a big change that will bring major changes to Americans' First-Class Mail service. The changes will begin on April 1, 2025.

USPS is launching a 10-year strategy to address changing mail trends in the hopes of solving its growing financial challenges. The USPS has been losing money to the tune of a $100 billion loss since 2007. This is in part due to the decreased volume of first-class mail.

Over the same period, the post office has seen a surge in handling packages thanks to surging online commerce. Now the USPS is looking to balance this shift in demand.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy "By implementing the new standards and the operational initiatives to which they are aligned, we will be better able to achieve the goals of our modernization plans and create a high-performing, financially sustainable organization, which is necessary to achieve the statutory policies and objectives established for the Postal Service by law."

What does this mean to you? According to Newsweek, it is the changes to first class priority mail, and the length of time for packages to reach their destination, that have some people upset. Now some first class mail will take longer to arrive.

According to the USPS under the new changes, 14% of first class mail may actually start getting first class treatment. Not exactly crystal clear, right? You can read more about the changes here.

The goal for these changes is to save an estimated $36 billion over the next decade.