Fixing the United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is in bad shape. It has already had to downsize and layoff several employees.

As it is now, USPS is bad bad bad. Last Tuesday, I went to my local post office simply to buy a stamp and mail a letter. I arrived at the post office at 1:38pm and I was shocked to find out that the post office was closed at that time. My local post office now closes at 1:30pm. I could understand this on a Sunday, Saturday, or even a Friday but Tuesday? I could not believe this recent change, especially considering 1:30pm is a pretty busy time of the day to make a postal run.

Today, the postal service is recognized as going through stormy seas. Republican house member Darrell Issa (Cal.) appears to support the downfall of the postal service in the sense that Issa and his bill are strongly against any postal bailout whatsoever. The bill calls for cuts in postal service, a reduction of service centers, and a reduction of labor benefits. This is in stark contrast to another bill titled the Postal Service Protection Act. Unlike Issa's bill, the Postal Service Protection Act is backed by Democrats in Congress as well as the postal workers themselves.

I am not member of Congress but I think there are a lot of simple solutions to fix the mess that the postal service is currently in:
1) Vending Machines: Post offices should be equipped with vending machines that dispense stamps (and possibly other items such as small envelopes). All of the post offices I know of in Phoenix do not have vending machines. I do not understand why this is, but it would solve a lot of headaches for customers who just need a stamp. Vending machines are an easy, quick, and cheap way of dispensing a necessary item for mailing letters. Vending machines may have a high initial cost, but they have virtually no labor costs. A vending machine should just be left in the lobbies of post offices so customers who need stamps can go to a post office even during after hours and still be able to mail their envelopes. Vending machines also reduce lines and the impatience of the people who currently have to wait in the personal service lines just to line get a stamp.
2) Increase Stamp Costs: Stamp costs should be increased to 50 cents and stay there for some time to come. This is a very sizeable increase and will generate plenty of additional revenue for the postal service. This also reduces the need to layoff workers. Demand for stamps is pretty inelastic so I doubt there will be much fewer stamps paid. Furthermore, what kind of number is 44 cents? The current cost of stamps is about as inconvenient as stamp costs get. Individuals have little use for the extra six cents, whereas the postal service can benefit immensely from charging each person more on stamps. Having stamps cost an even 50 cents will be a lot more efficient. At fifty cents a stamp, people do not have to get a calculator to figure out how much it costs to buy, say, six stamps.
3) Restore Hours: Post offices need to be open at least until 4 on weekdays. I know this is not the strongest point of mine because I cannot speak from an economic standpoint. However, every time I have gone to a post office in the afternoon, it has been quite crowded.