Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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proxyaddress

physical proxy address
  (+5)
(+5)
  [vote for,
against]

You should be able to register a physical proxy address with the postal service.

It could be like assigning "john doe, 1234 over-here street, city, state, 99999" registered to "PSx1234567"

Then for delivery requests you could simply enter "PSx1234567"

Then the postal service could have an API(application programming interface) so that third parties could automatically look it up, or call for that address.

That way when you move, you could just change your address once, and all services will continue to function correctly, or conversely break when appopriate, eg utility services. Or you could even register multiple delivery addresses and the primary address could be programmed to change for different times of day\week\year. For example: a Work address for AM and home address for PM, or a friends house for a being out of town a week, or a address in a different city for snow birds (old folks who escape winter).

Also you could assign different classes of mail to different addresses.

Like envelopes and 0-2 lbs to "po box address", 2-100 lbs to "office address", > 100 lbs to "warehouse address", location queries to "your physical address"

Also with the API, it could consolidate all tracking from all USPS and third party mail.

The USPS could charge something like 1c per query or reasonable like that for the service.

nustada, Sep 12 2012

My Own Postal Code
[xaviergisz, Sep 14 2012]

PostalID
[xaviergisz, Sep 14 2012]

[link]






       It's a brilliant idea. Unfortunately power hungry politicians and corporations will never give up the ability to track your physical address.
Voice, Sep 12 2012
  

       @Voice   

       I guess I could see how it could be used in fraud. It could be mitigated by tying it to your SSN or UBI.   

       But at the same time that is my main reservation that it could also be abused by the tyrants, but it is already usually perjury to use a false address on legal documents.   

       It could have a separate physical address, and delivery address. license services could just query for the physical address.
nustada, Sep 12 2012
  

       [+] for the thought; it makes too much sense to have the national postal service as a central repository for registered mailing addresses.   

       The legal system is concerned with physical residency, not mailing address (except of course when they want to mail something).   

       So good idea, though it'd be just as useful to collection agencies and snailspammers.   

       I would tend to think of it as internal to the national mail service though, rather than available to independent delivery services.
FlyingToaster, Sep 12 2012
  

       @ FlyingToaster   

       I agree to some degree.   

       It wouldn't have to be mandatory, for those who would like to use the service. Maybe it could have a customizable white/black list filter.   

       /_\rant warning/_\   

       I have little sympathy for people who don't pay their debts they are usually criminals or idiots. If you can't pay because you lost your job, you are an idiot for miscalculated risk/means, not having a second income and not having savings. If you get disabled, I believe there are programs in place to mitigate/pay your bills.   

       If you have robin hood fantasies, and think lenders deserve to be robbed from. You shouldn't be using their services in the first place. You are not born into their fiefdom.   

       People who don't pay their bills should at a minimum be harassed. But I think dishonest/foolish people are the bane of society and should be treated like horse thieves in the old west.   

       /rant
nustada, Sep 12 2012
  

       //treated like horse thieves// voted into public office ?   

       //rant//
I'm guessing you've never been on the arse end of a collection agency which client was fraudulent in the debt claim, or was engaged in a similar-name fishing expedition or which the actual debtor gave false information or information was transcribed incorrectly.
FlyingToaster, Sep 12 2012
  

       I'm guessing that neither has [nustada] ever been seriously injured and had to apply for the // programs ... to mitigate/pay your bills. // Even if your application is accepted on the first try (which it won't be), it will be weeks or months until the first check arrives.   

       I was once out of work for three months with a knee injury. I filed for short-term disability on the very day I became eligible, was promptly denied, filed again and was accepted. I didn't receive a dime until I'd been back at work for six weeks, by which time I was drowning in medical bills and mortgage payments, all past due. After I received what should have been the last check, I called to cancel my benefits and was accused of commiting Social Security fraud because I was working full-time while collecting disability compensation. As far as I can tell, my story is hardly atypical.   

       Some people who have collections agencies after them are indeed irresponsible shitheads. Many, however, are not, and we'll graciously accept the apology of any self- righteous (expletive deleted)s who insist otherwise.
Alterother, Sep 12 2012
  

       #FlyingToaster re rant   

       Not personally, but a bank tried to take my mothers house even though it was paid for years ago.   

       She didn't fix the problem by avoiding creditors, instead she sued them and had them criminally charged.   

       As long as you keep records you should have nothing to fear from such scenarios. The burden of proof would still be on the collector that you incurred such debt. If there is not sufficient proof, they have no claim, and should be criminally liable for harassment and fraud.
nustada, Sep 12 2012
  

       @Alterother re:rant   

       Why didn't you have a secondary source of income, and a savings account to tied you over? Almost everyone can tutor, mow lawns, etc until your emergency reserves are sufficient.   

       Government incompetency and inefficiency is another can of worms. I would trade in "social security" for liberty and natural selection any day.   

       Not to say you are not being truthful, but my experience is different. My father went into disability and was on it a year before he passed. He had none of the complication you mentioned. On the other hand his disability wasn't unforeseen.
nustada, Sep 12 2012
  

       //nothing to fear//... ah yes, the mating call of ... something slimy. Harassment is okay because there's legal recourse available to those who can afford it and have nothing better to do with their time. Beating somebody up is fine because "time heals all wounds". Auto theft is just peachy because insurance eventually covers it.   

       yeah right.
FlyingToaster, Sep 12 2012
  

       // Why didn't you have a secondary source of income, and a savings account to tied you over? //   

       Because I'm a blue-collar hillbilly and at the time my wife and I were living hand-to-mouth. She was working full- time _and_ going to college to earn her bachelor's in biochemistry (her second degree; she also has an associate's in computer networking and is a licensed veterinary technician, now working on an associate's in business admin. She is the Energizer Bunny of undergrad education). My secondary source of income, then and now, is freelance welding and metal fabrication, which requires two functional knees.   

       Broaden your perspective. Not everyone in the world, not even everyone on this forum, has sufficient income and savings to live without a paycheck for several months.   

       Irresponsibility is not the only reason why people become delinquent in their debt. I am not dishonest, foolish, or a criminal; I _am_ an idiot, and damned proud to be one, but my wife handles the household finances, so my idiocy has no bearing on money matters. Nevertheless, I've been in debt (though not as deeply as some) and have been hounded by collections jackals many times. How did this happen? In my case, bad timing for the most part. I also do not have a credit rating, which makes it very difficult to clear a debt in my name (or do anything else, for that matter). In the past, we've actually had to transfer debt from my medical expenses to my wife's name just to convince the collections agency that the person paying it off actually exists. Although I have no idea how true it is, I have been told more than once that I'd be better off with piss-poor credit than none at all.   

       I hope that helps explain how an honest, forthright, and hardworking person could find themselves mired in debt. If it doesn't, let me know, because I have a whole quiver full of very strong language that can spell it out in hilariously vindictive detail. Also, please do not take my acid tongue for animosity. I'm an asshole to everyone.
Alterother, Sep 12 2012
  

       // Almost everyone can tutor, mow lawns, etc until your emergency reserves are sufficient.//   

       wrong, wrong, WRONG.   

       Several times I've worked very hard doing everything possible and still failing to make ends meet. And some of those times were after working through extensive emergency funds.
Voice, Sep 14 2012
  
      
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