Rural Maine: Brace for Longer Waits for Your Mail Next Year

As someone who lives in rural Maine...

This wasn't exactly the kind of news I was hoping for. Although, I do understand that the postal system seems to get more complicated every day. Maybe I'm being too simple, but I sort of assume that the USPS is like a lot of other business models in America that are slowly becoming obsolete.

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People don't send mail like they used to. Once upon a time, unless you wanted to pay for a long distance phone call, you sent someone a letter. A lot of letters were sent well into the 90's. I assume that with the advent of no long distance calling, and the rise in emails, the post office has struggled to find ways to stay relevant.

New proposals, if they go through could impact certain people.

The USPS is looking to overhaul its methods of transportation and processing. There will be more of an emphasis on reginal hubs for distribution. Now, if you live closer to these centers, it could mean your mail actually shows up a bit faster. But as you get further away from where the action is, things could slow down.

Ultimately, the reasoning behind the proposals doesn't have much to do with the flow of mail, so much as how much it costs to get the mail where it's headed. If the new proposed changes are permanent, the USPS could save as much as $3 billion annually. That's not chump change by any means.

When would these changes go into effect?

Nothing is expected to change until at least 2025, according to WABI. And who knows if those changes will be gradual or sweeping through all at once. It also seems like a case where the prices of things, like stamps and delivery rates, but nothing feels like it gets better for the little guy.

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Hopefully, it's all a bunch of hooey, and we rural Mainers won't suffer too badly. But either way, some kind of changes are absolutely on the way. But the worst case scenario could happen, where everything gets pricier... and slower. that's the kind of perfect storm no one wants.