No longer do I wonder — as during and long after the pandemic — whether my mail will arrive daily. In that sense, the U.S. Postal Service has returned to normal.

In any deeper sense, such as whether we’re getting the public service we need and deserve, the jury is still out.

In May 2020, just after the pandemic began, the Postal Board of Governors appointed Louis DeJoy as postmaster general at the behest of President Trump.

DeJoy was a major Republican donor and Trump fundraiser. His appointment harked back to the days before the post office was “privatized,” when the postmaster general was explicitly a political appointment — and a Cabinet member.

Significantly, DeJoy had no postal experience. He made his fortune by founding New Breed Logistics, which still benefits from postal contracts, and there’s no doubt DeJoy knows the package business. What he doesn’t seem to understand is his constitutional responsibility to deliver the mail.

His much-touted 10-year plan to make the Postal Service solvent relies on two main elements: raising the price of First Class stamps and drastically cutting delivery guarantees. These aims are utterly contradictory.

Already, the overnight delivery guaranteed for First Class mail in Maine is history, and the two-day standard is looking shaky. Opposition by the congressional delegation delayed DeJoy’s efforts to shut down processing in northern Maine, but it’s part of a larger effort to centralize letter-sorting which inevitably means longer delivery waits.

Rather than being businesslike and unavoidable, as DeJoy insists, raising prices while cutting service is a recipe for a death spiral — similar to what happened to private businesses offering public services such as passenger railroads and, unless something turns around, many of America’s local daily newspapers.

All this is happening with minimal consideration or even public debate. Union leaders constitute a near-majority of the Board of Governors, and President Biden has appointed several new members.

So far, they seem fine with DeJoy’s plan, which suggests they’re “company union” stewards rather than the skeptical kind. One hears something entirely different from the rank-and-file members who staff postal counters around the state.

To a person, they dislike DeJoy’s plan and understand that its long-term effects mean further reductions in mail volume, even as revenue-producing package delivery grows. Rather than reliable mail delivery, its unique task, the Postal Service is positioned as a competitor for FedEx and UPS.

What few remember is that the post office, like public schools and electricity transmission, was a brilliant American invention based on the idea of universal service affordable to all.

Through innovations like Rural Free Delivery (RFD) a far-flung nation was knit together through prompt delivery of printed material and packages. First Class mail was delivered one mile or 3,000 miles for the same price. In strict business terms, that doesn’t make sense, but as a public service it does. Crucially, low-income families and individuals can afford it, something that’s been an endless struggle with our non-universal health care system.

The postal system is simple, easy to navigate and understood by just about everyone. Compare that to health care, where even those with advanced degrees struggle to understand their bills, and universal standards are nowhere in prospect.

Congress has ultimate responsibility, and it did pass a bipartisan reform bill in 2022. Its major provision was to forgive a largely fictional “debt” the Postal Service carried by pre-paying employee health benefits, unique among federal agencies.

Service improvements and effective regulation through the Postal Rate Commission were no part of the legislation.

It’s true Americans no longer send countless personal letters through the mail, to our loss, but they rely on it for election ballots, birthday cards, legal documents and notices, and prescription drugs many need.

Timely delivery is essential, and exactly what DeJoy’s plan ignores. Postal rates are hard to compare across national boundaries, but overall the United States has provided efficient delivery at reasonable prices — a record now in serious jeopardy.

There’s no constitutional requirement the post office make a profit or even break even, and it will never do so if delivery becomes unreliable.

First Class rates have risen rapidly — from 50 cents to 73 cents over just six years — a 46% increase, cleverly disguised by the temporary “Forever” designation now become permanent. No further increases should be allowed until DeJoy shows how service will improve, and certainly not further deteriorate.

Neither Trump nor Biden seemed inclined to hold DeJoy accountable, but a new president and Congress will take office in January.

Postal delivery is a nonpartisan and bipartisan issue. It’s about time it got the attention it deserves.