Your "Going Postal" editorial Nov. 9 demonstrated a significant lack of understanding of the United States Postal Service and its role in our communities throughout the nation.

The U.S. Postal Service is a $65 billion business enterprise, anchoring an even larger Mailing Industry that is greater than $1.1 trillion per year. Yes, that's right - over one trillion dollars! The processing and delivery networks that we all rely upon are the largest and most comprehensive in the world. It supports local businesses, just like the NetFlix hub in Post Falls, to deliver their products on time every day. In fact, due to our rural nature in North Idaho, FedEX and UPS are some of the Postal Service's largest customers turning to USPS to deliver their packages "last mile" to customers at less cost to consumers.

All of this is done each day with NO TAX dollars! The U.S. Postal Service has been funded solely from stamp and service revenues since 1971.

Just like so many businesses in today's environment, the Postal Service has reduced its career workforce from a high of 893,000 employees in 2005, to less than 492,000 today. This was made possible by the use of advanced technology, attrition and retirements, and a hiring freeze in place since 2007. Not bad for a huge business enterprise. What Fortune 500 company has been able to reduce its employment to this degree, maintain high service levels, and anchor a huge Industry?

That brings me to the next issue - solvency. The U.S. Postal Service has posted an Operating Profit for five of the past six years, even during our severe recession and a decline in volumes. So, why have we been hearing nothing but red ink at the Postal Service? Congress!

In 2006, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. In short, it created a new Postal Regulatory Commission, regulated monopoly and competitive products (although only for the Postal Service), and required an annual pre-payment of $5.5 billion for future retiree health benefits. That payment is on top of the annual $2.5 billion payment for retiree programs funding already at 80 percent of projected costs. Operating profits were reduced to $15 billion in debt (the statutory limit).

If that isn't enough meddling in business decisions, the Office of Personnel Management, who calculate retirement obligations for the U.S. Postal Service, assumed that our Postal Service would employ more than 700,000 employees and continue to hire the past few years. Employment has been reduced, but OPM refuses to correct their calculations. This has resulted in a huge over-payment to the U.S. Government. The Office of the Inspector General, USPS Management and the Postal Regulatory Commission have estimated that the Postal Service has overpaid its old Civil Service Retirement by up to $75 billion, and the Federal Employee Retirement System by another $7 billion.

So, why not just give the Postal Service its money back? It's already been spent on other programs of our federal government - it's not there. If this were corrected, that would add to the deficit - and we all know how likely that is to happen in our current political environment.

There is no doubt that increasing uses of technology by American consumers has impacted the Postal Service. Estimates in 2002 suggested that broadband growth in the United States would be around 5 percent per year. Advances in Internet use have more than doubled that pace since the recession started. First-Class mail has been dropping for several years. Correspondence mail that you suggest is the core of postal business represents less than 10 percent of First-Class mail. The major component has always been financial statements, bills and payments. Yes, the check is in the mail! As users have moved to the Internet, advertising mail has seen modest increases. Some would call it "junk mail," but to the advertiser it represents the most effective way to promote your products and generate sales. A small response rate generates strong sales and connects a solid business to its customers. There is value in the mail!

These changes in mailing patterns create a unique challenge to the Postal Service. Automated processing in the network challenges the Postal Service to combine processing installations and reap an economy of scale. Major consolidations have been made in southern California, suburban Washington, D.C., in Kansas City and Sioux City. Even Twin Falls, Idaho, was considered a few years ago, and Pocatello, Idaho, is being considered today. More is needed to maintain a competitive business environment.

Congress inserts itself, again, in this process. These changes can have massive impacts on local labor markets. Fewer employees in one city, and more in another, leads to constant bickering between members of Congress and stalls the well-intentioned change that is needed. Politically, these changes take time, attention and effort - but it is needed now.

Let's take a look at the retail outlets of the Postal Service. There are almost 30,000 post offices, stations and branches in the United States. Some are small and unprofitable, while some are larger and very profitable. Some have only a part-time postmaster. Where are the small and less profitable offices? It is our rural communities, of course. But that is the value of "Universal Service" the Postal Service provides. There is value in the mail - especially in North Idaho.

Left with no action from Congress, stymied by the OPM for overpayments, and hitting a statutory debt limit, the Postmaster General is using the only tools left to maintain the Mailing Industry - cut expenses to the bone and beyond. He has proposed eliminating Saturday delivery that saves less than $3 billion per year. He proposed consolidating rural post offices as "Village Post Offices" that may save $200 million per year. He has proposed severe changes in overnight service to consolidate 260 Processing Centers into 150 that may save $3 billion. Each of these changes would be drastic, require years to accomplish, and may even deteriorate the strength of the Mailing Industry in the future. When you add these all up, it's not enough to overcome unfunded Congressional mandates.

Our Postal Service is a constitutionally required "binding of the nation." For Americans, there is value in the mail. For the future, change is needed. Given a level playing field, your Postal Service is up to that challenge.

Lloyd Wilkinson is a 38-year retired postal executive. Prior to his retirement, he was the District Manager (chief executive) in Spokane, responsible for Idaho and eastern Washington. He was also the District Manager in Omaha, responsible for Nebraska, Kansas and part of Iowa. Before moving to Spokane, he was the postmaster in Denver. He retired more than a year ago to Post Falls.