Postal Policy Lunch -- June 2011


Consumer Postal Policy Lunch
Friday, June 24, 2011
Washington, DC

Prominent postal researcher Robert Cohen led a policy discussion based upon the findings of his September 2010 paper, “Implications of Declining Mail Volumes for the Financial Sustainability of the Postal Service,” which he coauthored for the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General. In that paper, the authors utilize a flexible forecasting model and conclude that if mail volume continues its decline and no other action is taken, significant price increases, in excess of inflation, will be necessary to avoid insolvency. The findings raise crucial questions relating to what is in the best interests of household and small business consumers of the Postal Service’s market-dominant products and services.