Kitty Felde

Goodbye post office

By Kitty Felde | March 10, 2010

My old Dutch landlady is losing her job.

Annaleis isn't actually old - she just turned 50. She's worked for the Dutch post office for more than three decades. But in six months, she'll join the ranks of the unemployed. The Netherlands is closing down its post offices. If you want stamps, you can go online or drop by an ING bank branch - one of the companies that now own the Dutch postal service. It's unclear about what to do if you need to mail a package. UPS is likely to do quite well there.

And it may well be the future in the US as well.

Sweden got rid of its post offices in 2001. The Swedes pick up packages at the gas station or supermarket.

Here in the US, mail volume has dropped from 213 billion pieces of mail in 2006 to 177 billion last year. How many email birthday cards did you send last year? The US Postal Service is facing a financial crisis almost as dramatic as that of Greece. More than two thirds of US post offices are money losers. Perhaps Wells Fargo or Bank of America will want to expand their services to include stamps.

And Annaleis, my Dutch landlady? She doesn't know what the future holds. She's been at the post office her entire working life. But unlike most American workers, once she's turned in her uniform she'll still continue to collect a full salary for 18 months. Then, Dutch unemployment kicks in - at about 3/4 of her salary. Health care? Covered. Without COBRA. It is Europe, after all. But contrary to popular belief, she doesn't get her health care entirely free. Insurance costs her about 300 dollars a month.

I'll share other thoughts about European politics, bike lanes, and Starbucks later this week.