Modern technology is certainly having a negative impact on some traditional institutions. The growth in the cellular phone industry has eroded the need for traditional land phones, and definitely the need for pay-phones, which once characterized the American landscape.

The Internet, introduced in the ‘90s, has not only revolutionized the way information is researched, but through email services, it has threatened the existence of the United States Postal Service (USPS), an institution that for over 250 years toiled unceasingly night and day through storm snow and sleet to deliver mail. Today, more people are communicating with each other, paying bills and perusing retail catalogues via the Internet, rather than depending on the postal service.

The result of this shift  is that the USPS incurred $3.8 billion in debt last year, and faces the real prospect of cutting service. Last September, it was proposed that the delivery of Saturday mail be dropped, but the U.S. Congress did not approve the measure. However, the request is being made again, and is likely to be approved by Congress this time. The U.S. Postmaster General, John Potter, estimates that dropping Saturday service would save about $3.5 billion.

According to the USPS, mail volume in the U.S., including South Florida, fell by some 15 percent last year. Nationally, over the past decade, mail delivery declined from some 200 billion pieces annually to about 167 billion pieces and could fall to 150 billion pieces nationwide by 2020.

Matt Brewster, a recently retired Miami USPS carrier, thinks it will be unavoidable that Saturday mail be cut, and post offices closed on Saturdays. “This is unavoidable, because the volume of mail, particularly the regular one-ounce mail, has dropped significantly. Customers now email regularly and more are also getting their bills by email.”

Mail-room supervisor, Laurie Deavers, a South Florida college student, says that stopping Saturday service will be most inconvenient. “Receiving mail is one thing, but Saturday is key day for many businesses touse  post offices to send packages and bulk mail. Taking away Saturdays is going to create tremendous pressure for residents and businesses during the week.”

Not only could mail-carrying services be reduced, but the blue mail boxes once found on almost every block in South Florida are being removed due to under use. According to reports, over 400 mailboxes are being removed in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and several more are to be removed in Palm Beach County.

As less people use traditional post offices, the USPS could also close post offices, resulting in job losses. But with all these changes, according to Potter, the USPS could incur a cumulative loss of $238 billion over 10 years.