Snail mail.

• Author: Rundles, Jeff
• Position: RUNDLES wrap up

IN THE 1947 CLASSIC CHRISTMAS MOVIE "Miracle on 34th Street," a smart, smitten lawyer proved, in a court of law, that there was a Santa Claus, and that he was the very man portraying St. Nick at Macy's, citing the United States Post Office as a "branch of the Federal Government" that "recognizes this man Kris Kringle as the one and only Santa Claus." Children wrote letters to Santa back then. Today, kids email Santa and follow his sleigh by satellite.

I can't even remember the last time someone actually wrote me a letter and posted it by so-called snail mail, except for a birthday card or a thank-you note. I got my youngest son's last "Dear Santa" letter, cute as ever, via electronic means after I signed up for a convenient service. Santa and I are good friends, and both of us pretty much gave up on the U.S. Postal Service years ago. Sadly, some fairy tales just come to an end in reality.

Of course, I didn't give up on the USPS completely in that I still have a need to post a few First Class letters to pay bills - and mail birthday cards from lime to time, but like most people I now pay many of my invoices via Internet banking, with my cell phone, or by pre-arranged automatic bank draft.

In September the U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe testified to Congress that the USPS would lose SIO billion in the fiscal year that just ended, Sepl. 30. He wants to completely restructure by shutting down 3,700 smaller post offices, eliminating Saturday deliveries and changing a labor agreement that would allow the USPS to lav off 120.000 workers over the next (bur years.

Just before that testimony, the USPS in August released a statement that it could save 31.5 billion annually by relaxing its delivery promises instead of one to three days for First Class mail and two to three days for Priority mail, they would add about a day to save the money. This could be a metaphor lor government as a whole: While the rest of the world is speeding up, the Postal Service thinks it could better serve the publ ic by slowing down.

The Postal Service has had a tough time for nearly 40 vears since about the same time it became a government-owned corporation instead of a department what with the advent of such competitors as FedEx and UPS. and the appearance and popularity of electronic communications and transactions like email, texting and online bill-paying. But it's not...