Back when this episode aired, the USPS was teetering on the edge of going under and there were a lot of plans on the table to save it. With the USPS again at risk now for different reasons, join Chuck and Josh as they explore the history and future of the postal service in this classic episode.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This podcast dynamically inserts audio advertisements of varying lengths for each download.
As a result, the transcription time indexes may be inaccurate.
Support for stuff, you should know, comes from our friends at rocket mortgage by Quicken loans
home today is much more than it was yesterday, but Iraq, a mortgage home, is still
about you
during these challenging times. The top priority of rocket mortgage is the health and safety of the communities they serve. If you need mortgage assistance, their team is available. Twenty four slash, seven to answer questions and offer solutions, whether that means saving money on your mortgage or finding a new way to navigate payments.
From their home to yours. The team
mortgage is with you visit
Episode releases to three times a week, a fragile, that's! Why? Every week you- and I we break down these two
information and conditions, equal housing, lender licence in all fifty states, an m ls consumer access, dot, org number thirty, thirty.
Technology shapes our lives and we shape technology on the podcast text of you can join me. Jonathan Strickland, as I dive into tech stories, ever wondered how a particle accelerator works or
cause, the video game crash of nineteen eighty three or who really invented the radio on textiles,
We look at how tech works and, more importantly, how it affects us. You can find text off on the heart. Radio up on apple pod casts or where were you get your pod casts hey
friends and family. It's me Josh, your pal, your buddy avenging angel, all, although jazz
for this week's as Y S case. Selects.
Chosen how the? U S postal service works,
cause. As you may know,
services under threat of being closed and going under yet
no. We don't want that for some
we can quite put our finger on
hope you enjoy are episode in a rouses you to do something like save the post office.
Welcome to step you should now production of Iheart Radios Housetop were welcomed. The bog test, those Charles to reach a bright time, Amy Goodwin Democracy now warrant. Please report one or several times needed, or even a good jerry, you said, was through this old school right pushy record, and I have no idea what she meant unanimity, five of us back in like a year. You know she's back change is a document. Let's make it crappy in five minutes. We need like little anti tin cans to spearhead, did make it sound like how you doing Jerry its grip,
He'd theory gave us the thumbs and now, in our new murder, room Jerry is within art. I say
again after a long way off where she was not within our range of viewing. I know
it's gonna we're because now I'm looking at you, but I can clearly see my peripheral vision that see I'm faced by waving. Suppressing her teeth
she's rearranging the severed human heads that are in jars hell around the place as creepy yeah. You want
post office man do you want to give the disclaimer? They are only talking about the post office in the? U S of a key jested. Ok,
don't know how works in your country no one. Actually it's probably not nearly as interesting is, what's going on with the? U S: postal service, the? U S, p S, consent
if you no sir, not check but the U S pieces in a lot of trouble. There
their solvency that the amount of money that they have to keep the lights on and keep everything going is exe.
Did run out in October two thousand thirteen, if they don't do something else this year yeah, I think they lost sixteen billion dollars last year, yes, in five billion a year before, so that's it,
three times as much money in a year. That's bad news. Here's the caviar that sixteen billion dollar lost them.
Eleven billion of that was in payments to the future benefits of
Postal workers that have not yet retired but well yeah
eleven billion of it was to these future payment. I guess it would make sense. Then. Then, if you took out that eleven, they would just be about the same losses before drawing a mere five billion a year.
Each year in two thousand six, a lame duck session of Congress said you know what you guys need to make sure that your workers are taken care of right. So you guys have to start preparing and over the next ten years and they have been
and they ve been bleeding money. I mean like a sixteen billion dollar loss.
But eleven billion of it was to these future payment. I guess it would make sense. Then. Then, if you took out that eleven, they would just be at about the same losses before drawing a mere five billion a year right, but it s a lot of money to live. It is, but
their figuring out ways to make up for their actual loss and one of the big ones on the table now is cutting out.
Today: delivery yeah- I guess
Yet here they figure they can recoup two billion dollars a year. Now doing that so than the down to three the
This is the posts for the post office. It's part of the executive branch man, it's all over the place, is a party,
negative branch to part of the
your government, but it
zero dollars and tax revenue, and it's also a thrill kill cult.
That's the horrible secret. The years are all right
so they get no money besides what they can make of them.
Own revenue, the other Sally Cooperation right. So they get.
But they didn't, but there also or under the purview of the federal, the federal govern
yeah so weird word than ever,
an act without asking Congress in Congress has an exactly been forthcoming lately. Yet they haven't approved the Saturday thing it had they Congress, here's the thing is still up: they ve been tried.
Congress super that forever the Senate possibility said after two years will let you cut out Saturday service will give you eleven billion dollars and over payments that you guys made towards their retirement stuff. All is the fact that went to the house in the house to do anything with their right dear, so you know the fiscal cliff
well, you the? U S? Congress passed a stopgap measure, basically a federal budget that says within this period,
we're still able to operate right, bright and the? U S PS. As ha, you didn't
Klute our mandate from
teen, eighty one that we have to carry out Saturday. Service Ryan, that stop get so technically under
current federal law. We do
have to carry on already service in their arguing that legally so there to say that's the loophole. They're gonna use to shut down Socrates, or with yes and high diverting now ages, medicines, just packages,
going to deliver package sincerity and here's a really good reasonings voicemail their revenues from packages of increased sixteen percent over the last ten years, whereas first,
class mail in letters-
have gone down. Thirty two
then I believe
they're, making all almost all of their money cuz. It's only zero dollars and forty five cents to mail, a letter from Florida to Hawaii, four thousand six hundred and forty six. Now
They make, however, much shipping in the shipping game, which is where they make all their money, which is, I ran away the one place they don't have a monopoly. As far as the male guess, I'm glad to see medicine
mail order medicine on that, nonetheless, to express rail packages in medicine because it verses like who cares, I don't need
I dont. Yet I don't need my mail on a Saturday right,
but your medicine on a Saturday Grassy GO play. Well, that's why they included. That is now something they would still deliver right:
and post offices that are already open on saturdays will still be open on saturdays yeah, so
You wanna go to your p, o box
maybe they'll, be some male. Maybe there won't be, who knows a bet? You ve had a p o box. I've been thinking about this. Having now really there have you now. You just struck me as a kind of person that would have had a p o box. One point: that's what I get on my guns in the mail. So I'm pretty worked up about this. As you can see its current
thing here and who'd have thought that the posters
so it ever be interesting.
Sure thing parts of this are very interesting.
And we would just wanna go and say hello to all of our postal carriers out there near that,
listen to our show who one is over during the Bush error, because we ve gotten emails from you guys and gauss yeah.
Including one of our favorite people out, there is a poster worker who reigned. Austrian, oh yeah, this
We should really be a tribute to their nostrils. Didn't he's a carrier, I'm he's always been kind of cryptic about.
He does, but I'm, and that is impression, think an impression by the postal service the right
bangalore- is their yeah. This is for you, but ok. So, let's talk about this was talk about the posters,
This may involve chairs about the. U S: Pierre stood at heart,
So, for a little while, even after the advent of electronic mail, the postal,
services. The amount male they were delivering was still increasing
of two thousand seven. It was on an upward trajectory, sorry to doesn't six right too,
thirteen billion one hundred and thirty seven million pieces of mail that year yeah must, on the one sixty seven now yeah, and then there was this written.
I think two dozen. Seventy doesn't it ok. So then they had seven hundred thousand employees. Now they have about five hundred and eighty thousand Joe,
a ban in and trim the budget mode,
yank for the past few years. Well,
may I remind you, doesn't six? They also made seventy two point: eight billion dollars. I mean those stamps add up. You know
in two thousand and eleven. They made sixty six billion, while not bad
yeah, but there still losing a lot of money. I mean that's what seven billion dollars indifference in just five years near stuck it
so where the word others come from Chuck, it came from
back Yonder day
People always need to communicate. Obviously, for
long distances
and in sixteen thirty nine they.
No colonist here and there in the new. I guess you are United States yet, but in the new world needed to get worse,
back to england- occasionally and say things like
quit bagginess her hey since more tea and crumpets
and so the first
Fischer Postal Service,
established in sixteen thirty nine Richard.
Banks Tavern in Boston was the official,
male drop for overseas, their massachuset yet, and that was the
to go if you under males up yet- and I couldn't find what happened or where went on the other side of the Atlantic, primarily not up. I would imagine that I have just pointed out. Poverty said haze, Ernie Male Theo, eternal
control of five hundred miles back to your village. So that was a step. One step too was about
forty some odd years later, sixty
three William Penn establish very famous person. Obviously the first official post office in PEN Savena gives them
after an hour. The side note here in the south private messages were descent between plantations, so they would probably just give it to us.
I haven T carry this over to that. Guy
and then flash mortal a bit more
stay. Ninety one!
Crown gave to a Thomas Neil, a twenty one,
your grant yet for the postal service in the United States and he paid like seven
seven shillings a year
Nuthin right, he still do
in death, did here
with a monopoly, so the poster
This has always been kind of tricky to call money from interesting, so that can
new tools. Seventeen, seventy four,
and a lot of big stuff.
Happening around that time.
Ok, we don't like you anymore in England, controlling us over here and yet axing us
so we're gonna start and establish our own, constitute
post office for for any
male going from anyone
basically enter colonial male, yeah yeah averaged was very cutting edge of the shore. They actually do. You know that when the British were carrying out the postal service on behalf of the colonies in the colonies there,
a guy named Benjamin Franklin who was appointed the postmaster Philadelphia and he actually killed it as postmaster horsey. Did he like totally improve the roads? He said like we're, gonna start working like twenty four hours a day we have like lots of shifts, we're going
put up milestones like the the
Postal Service helped
improve the can
goodness of the colonies, thanks to him, so in the Continental Congress it hey, we want our own postal service. Ben Franklin became the first postmaster Jim
sure. And, of course, he ran it like a tight ship and he's
Do I get a feeling if we could like right?
erect him and bring him out today, he could fix
What's going on in this country, yet need say something pithy and ask for a glass of sherry, exactly
This is to me when you get super interesting, was in the nineteenth century, when what
expansion happen.
Forty gold rush, all of a sudden we needed to get stuff from the east.
To San Francisco at say what
so, because possible. It's crazy as quick as possible was to go down New York around Florida Cartesian. Yes, yes, I, like a steamship, yet
through the Caribbean and then across, like Panama and then up
the pacific side to qualify,
that was the fastest way to get me out for a while. Yet how, on our behalf,
four weeks to send a letter from the east coast of the West Coast, and that's you know,
the best case scenario: Ryan, NATO, that's what that's? How the? U S? The east coast,
Katy with the West Coast for a while until some stage coach routes routes were, were set.
But there is a southerner out and there is a central rat yet and the southern route. You can supposedly use a year round jerk as this lovely down here, but then the central rather was faster, but they said you can't use
that you around their storms yeah
so kill me man. The way these to name companies back then was so like it makes perfect sense,
you basically to said what you did like one
civic male steamship company said we're. Gonna, carry your mail to the Pacific by steam ship and then the overland male company
well we're gonna. Do it overland, it's hell, that's what we're
a gull accompany here. So they got the contract. Overly male company along the southern rout, took about twenty five days in there
My favorite one of my favor
parts of american history was born, the Downy Express yet,
and it's just so amazing, like the other idea that they had to do this. It was a different company, those competing they wanted to get
contract away from the overly company right, the secrecy and p p, and they said you know what we know that such a route shorter working to prove that we can use it. You around awareness, set up something that it's just gonna blow this twenty five day thing out of the water and they said
the pony express yeah and they had stations. What every ten twenty miles and a rider would ride from Saint Joseph Missouri to Sacramento
or be part of a line of ride while the others, the key they go about a hundred miles in they change horses every like ten or fifteen miles she s, so the same rider would change horses cause they. They rode the average ten miles an hour which then sound fast but
a factor and like the Sierra Nevada, is where they're just crawling up these mountains. So these dudes were riding hard,
and on flat ground, if there averaging ten miles an hour right here and there
going twenty four hours a day
in two thousand miles ten miles an hour. That's what,
twenty hours near that's
no that's two hundred hours, so it is
less than ten days, so that that cut
their overland companies rate by a hundred fifty percent,
yeah the there was always one
set of writers going EAST one set gone west yeah. I think when you, when you were really
by another rider yeah! You hang on it that station and animal welfare and the other for some mighty come the other way and then relieve them. Yet they were paid really well at the time. Twenty five bucks a week which
the time unskilled labour is made about a dollar week, so.
And that did you read the first add ever put in no wanted young skinny. Why fellows not over eighteen must be expert writers willing to risk death daily orphans preferred and that's
Maybe legend, but supposedly that's what it says. Apparently they were young
little light live, skinny, kids, because you know you
want some big dude like me upon a horse the horse, if you like, I don't want to I d worthy, so they were like these young boys, like, I think, the youngest ones like fourteen our
supposedly Buffalo Bill
he was a rider, although people had to say
that now area near or his is the stuff
while his by far and away the most famous famous pony, express writer, if in fact he did get, but I'm anyway. So
so think about the amount of infrastructure built up along this central rout too.
Have a station. Every ten or twenty miles you ve got all these
ploys going, they proved it. They proved that the centre
that could be used. Ie around
and so they got the contract and right now the overly company got a contract to use it
these same route that was already established and the pony expresses like you have to be kidding me:
and so the EU, the US government, said now, you guys do half and then let the let everyone company do, the other half
yeah and they were mad for about a year and a half
and really angry and then the telegraph,
was completed now everyone's like a welcome packets,
I guess, we're all out of business now. Yet there was a pony. Expresses solar cells Fargo in basically shut down ya, think American Express ended up, branching out of wealth,
go to your like these are old
companies. They have these modern banks and credit card companies is interesting. How far they go back but
about that man, even as far back as the mid Nineteenth century new technology,
putting mail delivery out to pasture near
the mail delivery would evolve, unlike figure out a comeback. That's critical foreshadowing, if is so
This is a big jump forward to the midnight teen sixties. Yeah Alot happened between and it didn't. Actually we started.
Go move further for their under the suburbs. There is a huge
population boom in the in the Post war era and businesses story to realise the value of two
act mailing and all these facts
put together meant that the postal,
This was totally overwhelmed, yeah
plainly, because it became such a big deal. Everyone
right and letters and they were using the same old hand
I guess hen, delivery methods, sorting methods,
yeah. I thought it was. They were automated at all and they needed to be right, and so there is a postal reform that that was undertaken. Yeah, and this was in nineteen. Seventy wine, the Post office department.
And at an even though this was a shortly after I was born, we weren't
the United States postal Service until nineteen. Seventy one now is when we
actually became the usb ass. It became
independent establishment
was no longer part of the cabinet of the federal
right but was part of the executive branch and got them
nobly basically to deliver mail,
yeah. Now it was supposedly just a company and they and they re up the mandate from I think so
and he ninety two that said you
The postal service is one of the most essential services of the federal government. Here no person is cut off in this country. None shall not get deliver exactly here. Everyone's going to have a mail box in everyone's going to get mail to that mailbox every day, because we need to help keep intellectual freedom going
in in ideas in business in commerce going all the time in the postal services, this federal agency that carries that up and up I'm sure that put a financial burden on them when people started building in these, like especially
people when they started building in these room
area.
Then, all of a sudden, he had to add that to your route
Well, there's lay at sixty miles up the mountain and that's the only our stairs. There's a guy who services the Grand Canyon there's a group of Indians at live at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. He has a donkey train that goes on there every day with the male really yeah.
Minutes part of its a federal mandate, you have to be able to get male. Everyone has an a mail. Is I don't you guys? You spoke signals they do
fact that actually run article inspections
yeah. I was going to say we should podcast on it. But it's it's like super basic. Is there really would be like a five minute podcast or we will have to figure out some other way to use it's a great except interesting,
so do we come,
going postal, now's, sorted thrown in the middle of this middle really was, is talking about how packages
delivered and all of a sudden it says, and then people started going each other in eighty six yeah
which is actually the post office
The dubious distinction of kicking off the workplace
shooting trend in the United States was the first one. As far as I could tell well
it's a nineteen eighty six Edmund Oklahoma,
Edric Henry a Cheryl killed fourteen coworkers
nineteen anyone another one happened include
a
supervisor getting killed with a samurai sword
November. Nineteen. Ninety one item
Mcilveen, shot and killed for co workers. When did five others,
shot himself and then-
one, ninety three and then in two thousand three, two more insight.
Of postal workers. Killing fellow postal workers is like
between eighty six and ninety seven forty people died at postal Post offices from postal ramp
and gave birth to the term going postal, which is used as a vernacular fur like, despite losing it ugly,
and if you are interested in that at all, there is a really good documentary. I think it's a Netflix streaming right now called murdered by proxy area in its all about the postal shootings we like, where they came from, there's a lot of scrutiny at like that of the management techniques of people
post offices, there's gotta, be something to it. I mean how you, if you watch that, like it, was regularly how many other industries had that many office
sittings here, retail, very
the homicide rate, is three times higher in retail than it is at the post office that you don't like going retail. That just means you're going shopping, but it's like drinking the Kool aid. They really drink, flavor Aiden's right, Kool aid, someone with that distinction
Ah, you are I so those gone who is not here I mean we had dimension it, but I want to dwell on, but it was weird in this article. The way it went cigarette in the middle of this came up out of nowhere zip codes, this chemical, zip
AIDS were introduced in nineteen. Sixty three
officially put in place and mandatory and nineteen.
Sixty seven because
just so much male going on you headed
categorize it more specifically right that was part of that the post office being swamp. This was the first step towards automation, was like a standardized
causing, as is long will, they did have other ones, but it was like one.
New York City or something like that in area, so
This is just a nice little cocktail party factoid
rezoning prevent plan, I never knew
till I read this. Did you know that
before, but I I'd forgotten. Ok, so design improvement plan in its he
data base its a five digit number represents
location. Obviously, where you're trying to send someone and
Now they have the zip code plus four in some areas of like, I guess,
major urban areas have low more specificity, rightly Lily delivered to your like they put it on your stomach. If you behind,
is it plus, for I think certain buildings even will have their own plus four, if it's a big enough building, great or
get a lot of mail is a person that what after is
as for four minutes, is that some high volume male receivers get in, unlike if it was cool male above to give the man said the fur
Did their represent the state in Georgia? That's a three,
It increases as you move west,
and there are some states that share each digit. Gaelic too, is taken up by a lot of states.
There's the District of Columbia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia West Virginia man
all two's, only man if I live in one of those states, so then you got the second third digits those regions within the state
The first three of those create was called the s.
Code. The sectional centre
facility.
And then the fourth and fifth digits are even more specific. Basically just
HANS down as you go left or right until you, ve got just courthouse by the state
this section facility get this post office
yet this neighborhood yeah and then this. Maybe this billing net is high volume. Male receiver named Josh Clark. That's right
you. Ve got the zip code that allowed automation and little known fact as the years postal service.
Inches handle a ton of the. U S is male handles. Forty percent of all of the male in the world are really yeah, while so before the zip code. This was
really difficult. It also went from fear mailing something from New York to San Francisco. It went through every distribution facility in
country between New York and San Francisco before it got there.
Yes now. Zip codes was
about how what a letter does? Ok, then? This is all thanks to zip codes, soap,
Our little love letter mail it to Emily, which is weird
We live together
be romance. That's actually is a great example, though, because you can male something from your mailbox
be delivered back to you. I reckon I never done it
that's the poor man
mark, thou yeah right. I've heard about that is to male something new yourself into those holes are held,
It depends on the judge, probably quicker
so, you put your mailbox postal carriers. Gonna pick it up, they can take it to the post office.
They're gonna, put it on a truck and then take that from the post office to a processing plant where it
We have a long awaited machines,
dance and sorting shape and size yet would
they sort everything out, make sure everything's facing the railway up right, yeah,
and then the that they packages
we'll package put on one one belt
measures are put in another.
The letter saying MRS Stick with the letter that Europe its it goes into.
Slot, so it's facing upwards and upright for front words and upright,
and then they put a little
bar code on the back of the letter in I think ultraviolet ink.
Yet well. First thing it does. Is it gets a postmark and cancellation lines? Basically, you can't use the stamp again. Yes,
and even try it be cheap. We ve seen the wide out checks we seen doctoring up. A stamp was is probably a federal offense. They probably is,
and then so after that the barcodes printed on the back of a piecemeal and then there's an optical scanner that reads the address, which is pretty cool and if
if there really really really accurate to yeah, but
If your handwriting is terrible, they have a new
system. Now, where the this conveyor belt takes a picture of it.
Send emails, a picture, you a human being at a computer or who reads a wake us. What? I think you every two types it in and then it so it stays on the line. It doesn't have to come out any longer. That's that's pretty Lena technology, yeah and,
so based on this, this address.
Including the zip code, it Prince, of bar code at the bottom. If you look at a letter any letter you get has a little
code on. Yet it's a that's with red. That's right! That's the thing
the back is invisible. I think right yeah this for
this. To show off. We have invisible link
Their processing machines, then read those barcodes and then
sort them in their little bends. Accordingly
code and it's just base
replacing everything.
What will eventually be a trade will be delivered back.
You, a post office right or sorting facility, or does it go
straight to a post office again,
to now another processing plant. Right. So imagine each processing plant like regional, like as a bunch of male coming in on
rocks that sorts and then sends out and then
based on its zip code that it serves it. It gets a bunch of
that's from other distant
facilities that right without our already according to visit, could so they say it's getting a flat,
of mail by zip code, yet it
also sorts through those that right
and it actually sorts him into
individual carriers route in order.
And that's what's delivered to the post office,
so it arrives at the Post office ready to go on the truck yes and
That doesn't mean that the postal workers doesn't have much to do. They all have agar they'll have like circulars magazines, Yoke male, they have to go through and put it for every address, all that crap had in the world at my recycling men. Basically, although the coop
I remember a junk mail episode from years. New had got so my autograph from people like no, no, no, you can't you ready junk mail height. That's acquainting, keep innocent business;
in others,
things that should happen more than just once in a blue moon like getting together with friends even when it's just digital are having a nice dinner, happy hours, something Yemen and what you're talking about in Blue Moon is on a mission to celebrate and inspire more of those moments. We're talking about Blue Moon beer, which was created during the ninety. Ninety five baseball season at San Lot brewery course field in Denver, Colorado, it's a bright, well crafted beer, but it also
beautiful little twist of flavour- and I must
take a more subtle sweetness that comes from Valencia Orange Peel.
They also little coriander for some balance in an ode to create a smooth, creamy finish, the excellent
time, you're hanging out with friends, even online or just enjoying a night in by yourself reach for
a blue moon, it's the beer! You can enjoy every day that
and you can have blue Moon delivered by going to get dot
blue Moon beer, dot, com and, finally,
delivery options near you, Blue Moon
reach for the moon, Celebre
responsibly: Blue Moon, brewing company, Golden Colorado, Ale,
world yours, the ball park as the new cars with a fresh perspective, culture, bail, you not just material in a building in one city- impress us talk about this there. All eighty every owner is severally own away out creeping or social media. Ok, she carries out a little quality or wherever they may gripe announced by any measure. Does I'll see you do the millionth right? O ceilings were explained sitting handrail summer right out like like Yahoo or Google or alive. My man is in jail and I started the like someone else. I know it's not right, but I really can't take one of Philip. What should I do even couple round with your very obvious? Those key worrisome is make sure you check out on our brand new back and apply large share of animal. Now on the radio have on Apple pie, gas or whatever you get your plaid cast.
so
If you're gonna addressed a letter, there are a few guidelines. You know you
put your address legibly in the front, get it a little
return address in the upper left corner, yet on the front and put it on the back up. Her left corner there and dont use pier
It's in commerce like
p o box- is not p period o period Babo. That is a matter apparently
as for greater efficiency. In reading your letter, maybe because I always put
Atlanta Comma G period- I do too and they still get there, but don't you wonder if they get there like earlier? Maybe so
it is supposedly you need to be
well to read the address at arm's length, so don't write, tiny and don't write so big
They can't do other things to the envelope like scan and stamp, and things like that.
And then you know, you gotta put your return address, because if something happens, you want to come back to you, although
Do that much anymore. Los Angeles, but like Atlanta, Georgia, really
I am for your return address on it now, but I rarely male things in a lot of times when I do it's for works all this put my land, Georgia has two forks or something oh gadgets and is not the kind of thing that if it doesn't come back to me, I would care
I got have had some precious thing. I would put a return address,
feeling that you're gonna get some email from postal carriers that are like. I hate people rightly because whether you care, if it comes back to you and I am sure they have to get it back to you,
a lot of type, a delivery services. We surfaces services, we won't go over here, but I did want to say that media mail is a great little trick, not a trick but a great tool if your mailing things like books,
doored, dvds, because its super cheap yeah, but it takes a while
it's part of that mandate from one thousand seven hundred and ninety two that they want to keep the intellectual juice of America flowing through the postal service. So things like that, like creative stuff for books, or course
and pleasure, and I think that's how.
And if you ve ever ordered a book on Amazon for like two cents
go and how can they celebrate forty cents
because they charge you like for ninety five for shipping and they pro
pay like eight cents.
What with media male that's the greatest
of the twenty first century, not really mean they're, making their money via shipping instead of the book itself, but of publishers.
Like it, of course, because they want to sell their books new yeah enough for
since on Amazon
In fifty three, which they shot full of mail from
Service has a monopoly on delivering mail, but not on delivering package's right here.
Because they're kind of in competitive business against, like you, p S and FED Ex Ante H, and all those guys, those guys
gonna hidden in in invested in infrastructure of say, like air delivery area, transportation of mail and the Eu
Postal service has tried that before like this,
guided missiles. Nineteen fifty three receive shot full
mail from a submarine to naval station in Florida? But, as is too expensive right,
so the postal service said: hey you PS, Hey Fedex, you guys have a bunch of planes.
We are putting our male on it and they said sure
a few billion dollars a year and the postal service a great but at the,
in time they kind of they.
Stepped forward into the twenty first century. By doing so, and
the postal service having
access to everyone's mailbox is often tat by you. Pierre Fedex deliver what's called in the business, the last mile, yeah, so a lot of
I'm too, especially if you're a rural person. If you get
from Amazon, and it was ship by you P S, but eventually it made its way into your postal carriers.
Now, it is being delivered by the posters,
the others way more mixing of of pack
mailing than you would think, sounds like a Swinger Party or something pretty much.
And part of that deal in two thousand one with that acts was hey, Fedex
Can we put our boxes it? Europe
post offices and they said,
were four hundred twenty six million dollars
and they said you know
he hit her out on your plane. They said cheer for six point three billion over seven years, but its inner seems a good agreement and they did the same with GPS and we scratch our back.
You scratch yours
your bag will scratch. Yours then works, but it discussion on back and other workers
harder each Agatha. So if the realised that the postal service needs a few billion extra dollars, you say why just up the postal rates, while the federal government keeps its thumb,
they want to make sure that anybody who
needs to mail. A letter can do so without great expense. Yeah, it's a big deal.
Change the postal right like it is,
more than you think. There's a layman. Like me, a dispute carries out a few cents per square with the prompt. Yes just print. This forever stamps genius idea to go back and reprinted bunch with the amount, great idea or
The one cent member embargo,
when Thou way get the one cent, yet with the ducks the edge is like everyone needs the once it. Whenever there is the rates, yeah he's a good, she hit didn't think about now
so. But yes, there is a very long. Protracted difficult process of raising the postal rates is not a very easy thing now and it involves a ton of bureaucracy. Should we get it
better disbelieve at that, it's up to me
we should leave it at that. Ok, so if you are going to mean something from your house, you need your little mailbox and
I just installed mine in what seemed like a sensible manner. I didn't realize that there their actual rules, in fact,
supposed to contact the Post office
before installing your mail box, which I had no idea,
to make sure it's like the correct placement and heighten so like the the
office person or the male carried and had to get out of the truck. Oh they'll filled burned down
What? If it's not the specification, so you want to contact the post of I didn't, but I guess it is lucked out because they say generally forty one forty five inches from the road surface to the end,
I deplore the mailbox or point of entry and then
back, sixty eight inches from the front face of the curb or road edge to them.
Bucks door right. I guess I just got lucky them, because I get my mail with.
Any burning down of you now or without a post office spots Box, which we talked about they been around for a couple hundred years and that
if you want to have you
ok to your long box in a post office and get your mail there
You can certainly do that. Its handy,
If you're starting out of business- and you want to make people think that you're,
working out of your house you can.
The post office and say look. I have a p o box, which
means I'm working under my bedroom. It's a code,
are you getting guns in the male? Is our peoples
I'm sure, there's a lot of people who try to get guns in the mail and their p, o box is sure. Ok
or if you want.
Tend to move around a lot in the same town any
I worry about changing your mail, enforcing your mail girl, just getting a box. So those are some reasons even took feature. The post office,
if it's around after October, two thousand third year. What is the future of the post of well there's a lot of stuff coming down the pike
The cancellation aside, email this
There really go and hard after package delivery services. Now what trying to oh? It's like the flat rates and civilians is really like courting businesses to say, hey, consider us instead of view p S or Fedex rent,
and especially with prescription medicines you're, because
we have an aging population is going to do nothing but increase in size. So you gonna need more prescriptions through the may also help us get into that yeah and you can get stuff like that certified and ensured signature, delivery, approved and stuff like that. Yet its helpful part of the post offices pledges that that you, the your blood
carrier won't take your medication before delivering it.
Hey you up for some right
but there is also a line of clothing coming out postal, sir.
This line of clothing coming out shut up, I'm not
in the old rain heater snow,
This. We almost didn't mention this so the
postal services, creed right sure, either rain nor snow nor sleep, Sleep Helen.
In or sleet nor Snow Nora.
Neither snow nor rain, nor heat nor gloom of night stays. These carriers from the swift completion of there were appointed rounds,
and it's actually not the post offices. Official motto: they don't have one, but it's been linked to them in it.
Actually and adaptation of something from Heroditus. The greek historian, who was making a comment about how the Persians, even during their war and like five hundred BC, they were one
the first ones to establish a real postal service and even during war, the postal service didn't stop. There were still
Documents being delivered in Heroditus was coming commenting on the hand that, through that came from it, should include like we're
sublime.
Did originally like. That's irritation. It wasn't a loss of wine, but it was something like he had some sort of sicknesses.
Volunteer right there
putting the male before themselves. The show must go on back.
So. There is a lot of clothing called the Rayner heater snow
and their numb there also talking about creating a federal email,
addresses that you get at birth. Just like you have a
physical address. You would also have an email address, but your email address is attached to you rather than the physical location. You live out and
if you say needy, correspond with iris or Social Security administration. Something like that. You would send like this very secure email through this
Postal Services, Porto everything as he gets use like
gmail or Yahoo, herb whatever right for every day stuff, but this is like the big stuff, the really important step
The postal service would also offer like a digital, lock box for thee
like like a will, or you
medical records or something like that year at an end, listen is every
piracy purse,
in the country now says in a way I wanna Federal, email
The main aim here that I have the same things through your work
so the number, the beast, obviously here that I would want that either I'm not a bit conspiracy. Oh it's not you that you have to send it to. That. Is that if you send it through that, if somebody hijacks IDA reads it gonna be in a lot more trouble federally speaking than they would be, if, like they read your gmail yet because in it illegal to open
like a federal offense to get someone exactly and that's what this there's? This guy runs a think tank for the postal services whose, like it's not just about me,
documents. It's about protecting
connecting this of the United States, an american sir? How do we do that in a digital world? Is thinking of others, so,
even the least bit interested by this episode that we just recorded theirs.
Esquire article,
called at peace.
Didn't that is an esquire. Do it's called? Do we really want to live without the Post office and its by Jesse Liechtenstein, and it is really good near its a
a good overview of what is just kidding
we need a here. She, I think kind of leaned toward we need it and the more you start no agreed about the more this weird kind of civic affection for the Post office developed Ray,
Where am I don't want to get rid of the post office? You want the post office who doesn't want the post office kind of it kind of develops yeah. I used to
You know, maybe it was a simpler day or maybe there people stuck with their roots longer, but I remember my post men growing up.
Is the same guy for years, and we have done. We live in a neighbourhood, we lived on a street in the world
with like six houses and so
you know how to run out and check the mail and Wave Adam, and we would give him my gives a Christmas and that's all some and now I have no idea who my postal carriers, which is my fault, any, did just go out there. I think you do else
the postal service, is responsible for the largest food dry.
In the United States every year area yeah. You know that for driveway, like you just put, I can't food in Europe come in
mailboxes in picks it
you can do that yeah. I've never had a that hasn't publicized, but it like
at least around here. I guess, but it's a huge true drive or at the very least postal carriers are taken in
Kansas Ravioli for dinner, is delicious. I love him. Yes, it don't just put cans of food in your mailbox chicken do when that is bizarre haven. That's gotta be the worst day of the year for letter, carry hammock gotcha. Can you imagine tat a lot of weight? Be anything else.
No respect your post postal carrier,
Nobody gonna meet their postal care. I want to my hug, actually don't do that. Lay my macy or something, but given the way there
If you want to learn more about the post office, you can type that were those words into the search bar has to work that come and be sure to check out the Esquire article two it's vehicle and because, before we get into that Turkey, one a message from responsive. Let's do it.
We ve quickly found ourselves in tough times that none of us could have predicted a couple of months ago. The economies in a rough spot, because a cobra, nineteen and small businesses and individuals
sprinting really hard times with their personal finances, to
That's why we ve wrapped up how the money episode releases to three times a week, because people need money help now more than ever, the edge of the virus has taken its whole on our whole world man. It's awful seeing the health impacts in the economic hardship has been really tough for a lot of votes to, but we,
a positive and optimistic approach and we're here for advice and help as people seek to navigate the complexities of moving forward to every week. Matt and I break down time with money trees as well as timely money information that you need to know to put yourself in a strong financial position.
It easier to whether uncertain times like we're currently experiencing as right.
Important money, advice three times a week that you can start implementing today. So let's nor show how the money on the Iheart, radio up apple, podcast or wherever you mustn't podcast.
Ok now it's listener, Josh's told us fan who thought we were wrong and did little research, and we may not be wrong Africa as nice, as we had a bunch of filmmakers right in when we talked about the subliminal messages being inserted into oh yeah movies and nineteen fifties by James Victory, because we said it's one, three thousand of a second or something and a bunch of you'll make yours. When we joined twin forefront per second swimming switch out, one frame, it would only be went when there's no way, there's no way and where'd you get this number which gives number. I went back and looked out. I mean I see this number in various places, but
So we got this email from Brian Henry the disputed this, and then he wrote back with this. Guy's looks like it
spoken too soon. I was assuming that victory was just changing the film itself, which result in the messages showing much slower in it, the maximum one. Twenty. Fourth, the second.
I did some research and apparently he use something called a ever heard this before a touches. Stethoscope catcher still petition touches the scope, I think
The chief disco
to protect the messages on the screen, not the movie projector. He said so this way he would have a lot more control over the speed of the messages and so to all the filmmakers out there who wrote in and challenged us whom I wrote back to a few of those like teeth on an mm like I'm looking for it,
In summary, I kinda funny about by researchers apparently put that near to teach us to go up in smoke. It knows what I say here and that is from Brain Henry Thinking, brain
Further research in Vienna, good guy, said hey. I was wrong. Word user womanizer! Thank you. If you want to, let us know that you were wrong, even though you have told us.
We were wrong it first love, though you can tweak the tourist as why escape had cast. You can join on Facebook outcome such that we should know, or you can send us an email to stuff podcast. A house of works. Dotcom study should know is production. I hurt radios has to have works from what had cast my heart radio. I heard your appetite cast her wherever you listen to your favorite checks.
Here's something good is a new shell from the Seneca women Podcast network, and I heart radio. Each day we aspire to bring the Good NEWS, the silver lining, the glass half full, because there is good happening the world everywhere every day. We just need to look for and share it. Here's something good is a short daily show that offers positive stories. Helpful suggestions and shared experiences to inform and inspire you every day. Listen to hear something good on the eye: heart, radio, apple podcast or wherever you listen to your favorite chose, subscribe now.
I'm Danny Shapiro host of the head, podcast family secrets. I just
launched. A new package called the way we live now are lie
have been disrupted interrupted, but that does not mean that we can't reach one another in ways that are both powerful and intimate I'll talk with peace.
Across the great human tapestry. What's life like for you today,
We'll be reminded that were not alone. Listen to the way we live now: honey, I'll radio, app apple pie casts or wherever you get. Your pipe casts
Transcript generated on 2020-05-01.