Why Congress Can’t Save the Postal Service

The U.S. Postal Service’s reach into every state and congressional district is a big reason why Americans shouldn’t expect Congress to make the drastic changes that the postmaster general says are needed for the service to survive—especially before the 2012 election.

Proposals to cut Saturday service and close underused post offices in order to save billions of dollars have met united opposition from Democrats and many of the conservative Republicans who swept into office campaigning on smaller government.

Cornell University associate professor Richard Geddes compared efforts to save the postal service to the closures of under-used military bases. In concept, lawmakers support