The Decline of the Street Corner Mailbox

The Chicago Tribune reports on the decline of snail mail:

Since 1999, the Postal Service has removed more than 42,000 collection boxes. As of last year, about 295,000 mailboxes remained in use.

Along with mailboxes, the Postal Service is facing a drop in jobs. In the past five years it has reduced staff through attrition by more than 80,000 employees. The current postal workforce stands at about 700,000.

The Postal Service's 2007 budget accounts for an expected reduction of about 3 billion pieces of first-class mail from 2006 levels. Last year, about 98 billion pieces of first-class mail were delivered.

The decline in mailboxes is not just due to decreases in mail, however. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Postal Service removed about 7,000 mailboxes around the country for security reasons. Among the cities that cut back, were New York, which took out about 100 boxes near churches and mosques, and Chicago, which removed almost 200 boxes, mostly around Sears Tower.

Does the postal workforce need to be that large?