The United States Post Office is not a privately run business like United Parcel Service. The postal service works with the federal government; namely Congress to approve adjustments. Because of the world wide financial crisis and the loss of $20 million daily, the United States Postal Service may cut  to  5 day delivery.

Also in the works to ease the postal service financial burden is to consolidate branches, receive government relief to fund retirees and to work with private services on merging return services. Direct Marketing reports that the funding of the retirees alone would require a financial obligation of more than $2 billion. The post office must pay into the retirement fund and is the only government entity that has that obligation.Because of the online community and the propensity of them to use the post office for mailings instead of the blue mailboxes, efforts are being made to have these containers dismantled as well.

If changes are not made immediately,   the delivery system of the post office may cut  to a five day delivery schedule among other changes.   The postal service will have a $4 billion deficit by the end of 2009. The post office works with a union in planning to cut the work hours, delivery schedule and network contribution centers. The union has officially asked for a government bailout on behalf of the American Postal Workers Union, the National Rural Letter Carriers and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union. Congress is saying that it is highly unlikely that the postal service will receive a full government bailout having been saturated with banks and automotive government bailouts.

The postal service cut to the 5-day delivery will reduce work hours and substantially save the postal service more than $6 billion in expenses throughout the current year. Consolidations and the closing of post offices have been made in cities and states of Dallas, Texas, Hawaii, Las Vegas and Cleveland, Ohio.

The United States Postal Service hopes to implement the postal service by 2011. The shorter delivery week will not diminish the postal office ability to deliver the mail because the volume of mail as been immensely depleted with the internet community. There is a proposal before the Postal Regulatory Commission to make PO boxes available for Saturday delivery for those needing Saturday mail. A conclusive report has been done on the postal service cut to 5 day delivery and the findings are that no collection of rural, contract, city route mail, or remittance mail would be made available through the PO Boxes.

All of the proposed postal service changes such as the reduction in work hours and the postal service cut to 5 day delivery  will have to be approved by  Congress. The post office is conducting its own surveys to analyze public opinion of the postal service cut to  5 day delivery including a comprehensive Gallop poll.