The United States Post Office has been losing billions of dollars every year. The end result already in the works is higher first class postage and much longer times to get a letter to your home. As a result, if you have not already done so, it is time to go paperless with auto debit from your checking account for all bills to insure that your bills are paid on time. This is particularly important for any credit card, mortgage company, or other bills that will incur interest charges, or stiff penalties if not paid on time. You can also call in payments as an option tied to your checking account.
The US Post Office is really gravitating more toward package delivery and junk mail that is not time sensitive. Amazon uses the Post Office to deliver many of its packages at very low discounted rates, which is why they can offer Amazon Prime free deliveries. You should assume 7 - 10 days for a first class letter to get to you, or whom ever you mailed one too. The notion of 3 - 5 day turn around is long over.
The fact is that Congress demands that the US Post Office provide services to rural areas that are just not cost effective. There is literally a post office in every little village in America. The federal government will ultimately have to bail out the post office if this expectation continues.
If you choose to live in a second or third tier city, expect delays in your mail. It will take ever longer for first class mail to get to you. It is what it is. Go paperless. It is good for the environment and probably the only real alternative anyway.
