The US Postal Service will move this month toward reducing mail delivery from six days a week to five, a change Postmaster General John Potter has said is critical to reducing its massive debt. Potter said Monday he'll submit a formal request by the end of this month to the Postal Regulatory Commission, which must issue an advisory opinion on any change in mail service that would have national impact.

As more people communicate and pay their bills online, Postal Service projections show Americans in the next decade will send significantly less mail than they do now, reducing revenue while labor and fuel costs increase. Potter says we're going to have less mail in 2020 than we have today. The Postal Service is nervous about its financial conditions and is making a lot of broad proposals. Some of the proposals, when they see the light of day may be very worthwhile.