The good news: The U.S. Postal Service has a plan to supplement its dwindling revenue stream.
The bad news: You’re paying for it. Figuratively speaking, that is.
As The New York Times reports…
Customers might complain about the flood of unsolicited credit card applications, supermarket fliers and shopping catalogs in their mail, but the Postal Service is hoping to deliver even more.
Faced with multibillion-dollar losses and significant declines in first-class mail, the post office is cutting deals with businesses and direct mail marketers to increase the number of sales pitches [aka junk mail] they send by standard mail.
But localities and lawmakers are fighting back.
For example, over the past five years, more than 100 municipalities have created online registries that allow residents to opt out of junk mail.
Lawmakers have pushed bills that would give residents more freedom from junk mail, but The New York Times says the bills haven’t gone anywhere yet: “The legislation has been vigorously opposed by the Direct Marketing Association, an industry trade group, which says direct mail accounts for nearly $700 billion a year in sales and employs more than 10 million people.”
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