![Go[ing] Postal](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!lRzt!,w_80,h_80,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9e03b0b6-2100-4e6e-b2d7-7c6c009ef6c4_1280x1280.png)
The U.S. Postal Service has been (doing a very bad job of) figuring out how to save money. America’s mail carrier has lost more than $100 billion over the past fifteen years. Slowing down the mail to cut down on expenses hasn’t exactly been a popular move, and in response, the USPS has gotten “creative” in its service cutbacks.
One approach: sticking it to apartment complexes and their residents.
As I documented in The American Spectator a few weeks ago:
Recently, America’s mail carrier has been sending notices to ordinary apartment buildings, bizarrely claiming that the complexes are “dormitories” and therefore responsible for distributing their own mail.
Located in Statesboro, Georgia, the Copper Beech apartment and townhouse complex operates similarly to any other apartment/townhouse complex. Residents enjoy private kitchens, bathrooms, and living rooms, with a few community amenities such as fitness facilities and a pool. However, the USPS has a different (and distorted) view of this property. After a petty feud over electronically logging packages escalated between an apartment property manager and the local postmaster in late 2023, the postmaster notified Copper Beech that they are, in fact, a dormitory (after considering them an apartment complex for 15 years). As a result, Copper Beech would be in charge of delivering mail from the front office to its residents.
This is far from an isolated incident. In October 2024, Texas CBS affiliate KBTX reported, “The USPS recently reclassified the Vibe on Harvey and Atrium Apartments [in College Station, Texas] as ‘apartment-type mailboxes for dormitories or residence halls,’ a move that has residents and property managers questioning its accuracy and fairness.” The reclassification impacted several College Station-area complexes, despite the residences catering mainly to local families and having setups indistinguishable from run-of-the-mill apartment buildings.
If complexes are unable to accept responsibility for sorting the mail, residents are instructed by the USPS to pick up their mail at the local post office. But the local post office then told residents that this wouldn’t be possible, and residents would need to purchase their own P.O. boxes.
These changes are, of course, a massive hassle for customers and will likely force these complexes to raise rent-related fees. While the USPS definitely needs to save money, it doesn’t need to resort to these shady tactics. Here are five ways the agency can get back on firmer fiscal footing.