You've probably heard that the U.S. Postal Service is in danger of being shut down. Even if it doesn't shut down completely, post offices all over the country could close. I love real mail, but I don't send enough of it, and now I'm worried that very soon, mailing a letter to a loved one will be impossible, literally a thing of the past.
A lot of people believe that the dilemma is due to former customers paying bills online and sending emails instead of letters. However, that is simply not the case. Despite the internet, despite the recession, the Postal Service made more than $600 million in profit the past four fiscal years. The problem is a 2006 congressional mandate ordering the U.S.P.S. to pre-fund future retiree health benefits for the next 75 years, and to do so within a decade. This is a burden that no other public agency or private firm faces. The Postal Service is actually paying for the future retiree benefits of people who haven't been born yet. If Congress doesn't pass H.R. 1351, legislation that addresses the financial crisis, the Postal Service could be shut down.
On Tuesday, September 27th, there are going to be rallies in all fifty states. If you are unable to attend a rally, you can mail a signed petition to your representative. You can find more information at Save America's Postal Service and Save the Post Office.
I wanted to support the Postal Service in my own small way, so I designed three postcards to help spread the word. (The first two are original illustrations, and the third contains clip art from The Graphics Fairy and Pugly Pixel. If you like the font in #1, it's called Clumsy, and you can get it here.) All three postcards are available to download for free. Just click on the links below the pictures.
Send mail while you still can!
There are two postcards per page, so you can save paper when printing multiples. They look best on heavy, cream-colored paper, but any paper will do.
Download Postcard #1
Download Postcard #2
Download Postcard #3
These are such beautiful illustrations, and for a good cause. Thank you very much! I collect postcards, so I definitely don't want the mail service to become a thing of the past. Is it ok if I link to these on my blog?
ReplyDeleteI would love for you to link to them! Thank you for your nice comment!
ReplyDeleteThese are lovely, and a great idea!!
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