单项选择题
The U.S. Postal Service, confronting a $ 7 billion loss in 2011, has requested a 2-cent increase in first-class postage. Since the increase will only erase part of its deficit, the USPS is considering other cost-savings measures, including ending Saturday delivery. The news has generated a predictable response from organizations and businesses that depend on cheap mail. "Consumers everywhere will pay more for the letters and packages they need to send; businesses--large and small--will suffer and even more jobs will be lost," complained Tony Conway, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers.
When the U.S. Postal Service loses money, it’s effectively subsidizing inefficient business models and operations. And less mail would be better for the economy, better for businesses and consumers, and better for the environment. So rather than complain about the rising cost, power mail users should do what others do when the price of any resource rises--figure out how to use it more efficiently. Businesses have to get smarter. And many uses of today’s mail simply aren’t smart.
If postage rates were higher, direct marketers would be wiser about the volume of junk mail they send. Couldn’t Pottery Barn offset the cost of higher postage by sending us one catalog every month instead of the two identical ones they’ve been shipping for the last several years Couldn’t Home Depot, which I’ve never patronized, save a few pennies by ceasing to send the mailers addressed to my house’s previous owner, who moved out eight years ago How about all those baby-product Vendors whose offers I receive on a weekly basis Surely their sophisticated data-mining techniques can tell them my kids are approaching their teens.
Why can’t my electric utility company, which is so concerned about energy efficiency, simply e-mail me my 14-page monthly bill instead of printing it out and sending it through the mail If sharply higher rates spur more people to adopt electronic billing and bill payment, it would be a boon to the economy.
I understand that the increase in postage rates can impose a hardship and extra cost on nonprofits and charities. And I understand that expecting older people and those with less means to adopt computer-based payments isn’t entirely realistic. But 10 years from now, mail won’t be nearly as important or vital as it is today. Already, the best way to deliver social-welfare benefits isn’t through checks sent in the mail, it’s through smart cards. And for those with computer access, e-mail is essentially free. In the future, the best way to deliver cash benefits to people without bank accounts or computers will be through mobile phones.
A. They should write complaint letters to the USPS.
B. They should use mail efficiently and smartly.
C. They should do something to prevent the price-rise.
D. They should ask the government for subsidizing.