4 ms·

The US Postal Service did serve as a bank from 1910-1966. It should simply restart.

by xkekjrktllss 3y ago

Tao3300 3y ago
We'll probably see people get demailed then too. They'll probably go for inmates first.
- kitesay 3y ago
  Ask the homeless about their mail address. Not having a physical address is a huge problem.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    Exactly, that's a non-starter for a whole pile of essential services. Which makes homelessness very easy to fall into but extremely hard to work your way back out of.
  - MrDrMcCoy 3y ago
    Post office should offer free services for receiving and holding mail for up to 30 days. Not necessarily a P.O. box, as there's limited space for that, but something they can get for you during business hours. Would significantly help the homeless and van-lifers.
    - willy_k 3y ago
      https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-General-Delivery https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-General-Delivery
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
robocat 3y ago
In New Zealand the government added a bank (kiwibank) to the postal offices in 2001. However the postal offices are now being closed. I expect the same problem would occur with The US Postal Service shutting down branches? Also see: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38158144 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38158144 https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwibank https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwibank
- xkekjrktllss 3y ago
  What problem? What are you talking about? Specifically, what problem do post office banks have that private banks do not? Private banks close branches all the time.
  - robocat 3y ago
    In 2018: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/376881/new-zealand-post-to-close-79-shops-i-do-have-concerns-pm https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/376881/new-zealand-post-... New Zealand Post wants to shut its last 79 shops, but will not say when the last branch will close its doors New Zealand Post said the move from stand-alone stores was old news and 801 of its 880 stores were already franchised. Franchised means the branch has closed as a dedicated Post Office. Kiwibank originally had branches at the Post Offices. Kiwibank is left with much less branches than there were Post Offices - branches often replaced by ATMs in the wall: it has "325 Kiwibank Limited Branch and ATM Locations" https://kiwibank.banklocationmaps.co.nz/en/nzl https://kiwibank.banklocationmaps.co.nz/en/nzl I presume it will take much longer in the USA for the Post Offices to close. There is no reason something similar won't happen there - the same economic forces occur in the USA. Note that most franchises are an in-store counter or small area set aside for the Post Office supplies. I can think of franchises in book-stores, stationery shops, pharmacies, and even a public library. I know of one Post Office branch of that 79 that remains open, however it is mostly run by unpaid volunteers including a friend of mine (no banking counter).

The US Postal Service did serve as a bank from 1910-1966. It should simply restart.

Tao3300 3y ago

We'll probably see people get demailed then too. They'll probably go for inmates first.

kitesay 3y ago
Ask the homeless about their mail address. Not having a physical address is a huge problem.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Exactly, that's a non-starter for a whole pile of essential services. Which makes homelessness very easy to fall into but extremely hard to work your way back out of.
- MrDrMcCoy 3y ago
  Post office should offer free services for receiving and holding mail for up to 30 days. Not necessarily a P.O. box, as there's limited space for that, but something they can get for you during business hours. Would significantly help the homeless and van-lifers.
  - willy_k 3y ago
    https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-General-Delivery https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-General-Delivery
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

robocat 3y ago

In New Zealand the government added a bank (kiwibank) to the postal offices in 2001. However the postal offices are now being closed. I expect the same problem would occur with The US Postal Service shutting down branches? Also see: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38158144 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38158144 https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwibank https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwibank

xkekjrktllss 3y ago
What problem? What are you talking about? Specifically, what problem do post office banks have that private banks do not? Private banks close branches all the time.
- robocat 3y ago
  In 2018: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/376881/new-zealand-post-to-close-79-shops-i-do-have-concerns-pm https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/376881/new-zealand-post-... New Zealand Post wants to shut its last 79 shops, but will not say when the last branch will close its doors New Zealand Post said the move from stand-alone stores was old news and 801 of its 880 stores were already franchised. Franchised means the branch has closed as a dedicated Post Office. Kiwibank originally had branches at the Post Offices. Kiwibank is left with much less branches than there were Post Offices - branches often replaced by ATMs in the wall: it has "325 Kiwibank Limited Branch and ATM Locations" https://kiwibank.banklocationmaps.co.nz/en/nzl https://kiwibank.banklocationmaps.co.nz/en/nzl I presume it will take much longer in the USA for the Post Offices to close. There is no reason something similar won't happen there - the same economic forces occur in the USA. Note that most franchises are an in-store counter or small area set aside for the Post Office supplies. I can think of franchises in book-stores, stationery shops, pharmacies, and even a public library. I know of one Post Office branch of that 79 that remains open, however it is mostly run by unpaid volunteers including a friend of mine (no banking counter).