Desperate times even get government bureaucrats to make desperate-and sane decisions. Well maybe.

Today the Post Office finally unveiled a series of major changes, but only because it must deal with a $3.8 billion loss in its 2009 fiscal year, and a $10 billion deficit. It never should have gotten to this point. It is like the person with a big lump on their body who got diagnosed with cancer but never bothered to go for surgery until it was too late.

I have felt for a long time that it is one of the most wasteful government services we have. I'm not speaking about the employees. Actually, my letter carrier trudges through all sorts of weather and delivers the mail like clockwork everyday, important for someone working from a home office (he's like my co-worker). Only a fraction of the days are truly Goldilocks-like-not too hot and not too cold. And the people working at my local branch work hard, are very efficient and actually very helpful, always pointing out the better or cheaper options for services.

My problem is with the macro picture. Like education and other government services, the U.S. Post Office has not made many meaningful changes for the past six or seven decades, even though the world has totally changed and virtually every other private industry has gone through countless revolutions.

But, alas, today the P.O. has proposed eliminating Saturday delivery altogether. This is stunning news to some and upsetting to many others. However, what is stunning to me is that they are only proposing to eliminate delivery for one day.

They could go much, much further.

Everyone except seemingly the Post Office has known that e-mail has dramatically cut down the number of letters and other correspondence that are mailed. Even the SEC permits companies to stop mailing proxies if the shareholder agrees to view it online. FedEx and UPS have grabbed a big piece of the package shipping market.

Meanwhile, virtually every senior citizen has their Social Security check automatically deposited into their bank account. So, that constituency also is no longer a factor.

So, the reality is would be unaffected if they eliminated even more than Saturday service. They should reduce residential delivery to three days per week. So, we'll wait an extra day for that credit card solicitation we don't need or the mutual fund statement telling us what we have known for several weeks. And even three days may be too much.

A friend of mine who has his own small law office, however, assures me he needs mail everyday Monday through Friday. So, I'll give him that one and recommend retaining five days of service for businesses.

But, even more drastic decisions need to be made. For years I have felt there was no need for a brick and mortar branch in every neighborhood, especially in densely populated areas of the country. Where I live on Long Island, half the people live closer to the P.O. branch in the next community than their own branch.

What they need to do is close down at least one quarter of all branches. Then, to avoid long lines, offer a 25% discount to those who weigh their own packages, affix the correct postage and drop it in the box, all without human assistance. Right now there are no incentives to use the automated machines except avoiding lines.

And there is certainly no reason why a human needs to sell stamps.

Of course, the reason none of these changes have been made is the same reason why schools haven't changed for decades-Unions. They thrive from the status quo and large numbers of members. The fewer workers there are the less clout they have and the less money the union leaders make. Very simple.

Watching the losses pile up at the Post Office and the unwillingness to make meaningful changes at school systems heavily explains why the average American fears a public option for health care.