The Table: Lost Rembrandt, US Postal over Money, and the (Arm)Strong Earthquake
James Dugan
MoneyBlogNewzInternational
The United States Postal Service is under attack most of the time with its antiquated snail mail and falling venue. But whether you believe it has to change or disappear, it is still the best service in the world. Case in point, the Norwegian Mail Service lost a Rembrandt sketch worth $8600. The dealer tried to save money by not sending it with a special courier. Someone received a package that was created in the 1600s. I understand times are tough, but when I have something really important, I FedEx it with insurance. Someone out there in Norway is lucky to have a new work for the refrigerator.
Do you think the US Postal service should deliver only 3 days a week to stay solvent?
National
You got mail, well, in reality, everyone is getting less mail, as the United States Postal Service net lost widened to 5.2 Billion earlier this summer. The government agency is failing to make its pension payments and it's low on cash as it petitions congress with help in restructuring. They rely heavy on stamps to make up the revenue, but as more and more email replaces the letter, they need Congress to give them more loans. The US Postal service wants to stop Saturday mail, restructure more into a product delivery service, and consolidate post offices. Whether Congress will continue to support a state associated delivery service that already cannot pay their debt is under contention, but life without home delivery is coming in our lifetime. What will dogs do?
When was the last time you sent a letter to someone through mail?
Local
I bet you thought I was going to talk about Lance Armstrong, losing his 7 Tour de France bike rides, as he give up his fight against the doping allegations. US Postal service gave Lance and his team millions of dollars in sponsorship funds. This finally ends one of the ugliest chapters for United States Cycling as it deals with the fall of its greatest hero and the earthquake of a scandal. And it has been one year since we had an earthquake in Philadelphia. You will not see any signs in our city, but Washington still has scaffolding all around. We now have earthquake drills here on the east coast as we deal with a new reality of the earth shifting beneath us.
Where were you when the earthquake happened a year ago?
Reader Comments (1)
2. Since I was recently married, I sent out a lot of invitations and a lot of thank you cards. I still have to send out actually. Thanks for reminding me.
3. Here's Armstrong's statement, http://deadspin.com/5937480/. It sounds like he is being royally screwed. Either way, I was at work, school specifically, and it came during an in-service. I felt nothing, but it did serve as an ominous sign of bad things to come.