PUSHING THE ENVELOPE BLOG

When we sort through our mail, most of us don’t give much thought to the laws and regulations organizing the U.S. Postal Service. Throughout the world though, countries have established different postal models to balance access to postal services with financial sustainability. Some posts are focused on mail delivery; for others, mail is a very small part of their business. Some deliver six days a week; others deliver much less frequently. As mail volume declines across the world, countries are c

When we think of the nation’s postal history, we often think of a few well-known images: rural post offices filled with newspapers from across the country, stagecoaches carrying both mail and people, and the first air mail flights. But as memorable as these stories are, U.S. postal history is more than just a few events way back when. The recent past is also part of the story.

Inflation has reached record levels this year, and just about everything from the effects of the pandemic to the war in Ukraine have been cited as contributing factors. For a lot of people, the impacts of inflation are usually quick and direct — the price of that gallon of gas you bought this week compared to last week — but it’s a more complex story when it comes to the U.S. Postal Service. As we report in our latest white paper, inflation affects the Postal Service in different ways. For examp