Over 3700 post offices are scheduled to be closed as the USPS deals with the transition to an information economy and the horrible economics of their business. Many of these buildings will probably be sold or just plain shuttered. I’ve got a different idea.
Turn these old relics of information into digital community centers for the next generation. Call it the Rewiring Jobs Act – let the federal government pay for utilities, broadband and minimal upkeep. Open the spaces as local technology/non-tech startup incubators and job training. Grow the next generation of businesses from the heartland.
Yes most of these centers are in more rural areas but that’s exactly the point. We cannot give up large swaths of our country. Help creative classes rise everywhere not just in the largest cities and university towns. Technology and entrepreneurism can flourish anywhere. Smart teams of technical professionals can make a living no matter where they’re located.
In many ways post offices were the Internet of 100 years ago so it’s only fitting we transform these community centers into job creation and learning hubs for the next hundred years.