By Sierra Jiminez, contributor
FORTUNE -- Two years ago, the U.S. Postal Service raised the price of a stamp by two cents to a whopping 44 cents. Then, talk of five-day delivery service and fewer post offices began to percolate.
What's next? Full-scale privatization? A buyout by FedEx (FDX) or UPS (UPS)? Or perhaps fishing licenses and stamp sales in the same location?
That last one is actually a near-term possibility.
When it comes to saving our mail service, everyone likes to think they have the answer. But making any major changes is more complicated than it seems.
Last month, Congress saved the United States Postal Service from defaulting on its $5.5 billion pre-funding payment for retiree health benefits by granting a reprieve until Nov. 18. Whether that deadline will be extended is uncertain.
In his speech to the Senate last month, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned that USPS would assume an estimated loss of $10 billion by the end of this fiscal year, driven largely by a decline in mail volume and employee compensation and benefits costs. If legislative reform doesn't come around by September of next year, the postal service will be facing insolvency. And by 2020, Donahoe estimates their debt will exceed $20 billion. More
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