The United States Post Office is reporting huge losses and has run up against its debt limit. There is some question as to whether Congress will raise its funding and even if it does there is a good deal of uncertainty over the long term viability of the current Post Office model. The question isn't whether there will be postal service in the United States but rather what the impact the changes in postal financing will have on our hobby. Most significantly, the majority of postal services have lower cost competitors. For first class communication, email and faxes are cheaper and faster. For packages, UPS and Fedex are more convenient and price competitive. The major effect that the near bankruptcy of the Post Office could have on the stamp market will be on the value of older US postage. Postage exists in the philatelic markets in quantities that are far in excess of any conceivable philatelic demand. Postage is traded among stamp people at a percentage of its postage (or "face") value. As the post office cuts back service and raises its package rates above UPS, the value of postage in the secondary market will be depressed even further, as fewer shippers will want to use postage. Additionally, the Postal Service has a tradition of not demonetizing its postage so that any stamp issued after 1861 can be used on US mail. This, however is a tradition not a contractual obligation, and most of the world's major Post Offices routinely demonetize their older postage after a few years. As Our Post Office further privatizes, some bean counter will no doubt get the idea to improve the Post Office balance sheet by demonetizing older postage, thus effectively eliminating the value of this material. The financial well being of the Post Office has a direct bearing on this market.