Commission may close some post offices

The only topic likely to generate more debate than raising the price of a postage stamp is the suggestion that small post offices should be closed as an economic move.

Never mind that, at the current 37 cents for a first-class letter, U.S. postage is a bargain. But current postage rates and the expense of U.S. Postal Service operations have created a whopping $11 billion debt.

As a result, President Bush named a federal commission to look at USPS operations and make recommendations. One was to close more small post offices.

How small?

That hasn't been determined yet. But there are post offices here in Southeast Missouri where not a single postage stamp is sold in a day.

Primarily, the arguments for keeping these small operations alive have more to do with socializing and convenience for a handful of postal patrons than with streamlining and efficiency.

The fact that postmasters are paid on a federal scale that takes little account of the size of the postal operation being administered is one strong argument for closing some of the smallest post offices.

And then there's the concern about postal patrons who have boxes at their local post office in communities where carrier delivery isn't available -- walking and motor routes having been eliminated long ago as an economic measure. Would these customers have to go to boxes in another town, or would carrier routes be restored?

In spite of these concerns and questions, there are good reasons to take a close look at the commission's recommendations. Without effective change, that $11 billion is only going to get bigger.