The Postal Service

[Screened Gear]

That is not entirely true. If the post office was removed or failed. There would be a ton of packages that need to be shipped to Afghanistan. Now Fedex knows they can't compete in that market so they just don't. If it was a fair market they would have deals and transports to handle that area. With fair competition comes lower costs to the customer with out a need for subsidizing. What the gov is doing is making areas where Competition is not driving pricing and the need for better practices and technology. Competition is what gives the customer choices to pick the winners based on performance not by how many people will lose jobs if they fail. Its what american business was founded on and what made this country so great.

No... what the Post Office does, in many cases, is something that private enterprise doesn't want a part of.
No private company wants to deliver a birthday card from Broken Spoke, Montana to Blackwater, Mississippi for $.49
They might do it for $4.90... but not $.49
So it's not a case of customers choosing winning businesses... it would be a case of businesses choosing winning customers.

I going to take a guess at something..... you probably shipped shirts to a US serviceman.
The Postal service is based on helping citizens stay connected... it's part of their business model to honor that premise.
So, I guess in this case the connection between you and your customer was subsidized (by default) by some other customer.
It's not about what's "fair"... it's about what is good for a society.
Yes.... competition helps make America "great"... but so do many other practices, like a fully functioning Postal Service.

I understand your point and see you feel strongly about it. I am not looking at it as an emotional decision. The point is the Postal Service can deliver a birthday card for 49 cents because of bulk mail in that area. They deliver thousands of letters in that area so they can drop off another for 49 cents with out any cost. This worked for many years because society sent thousands of birthday cards and letters. Today its not the case. That 49 cent card is not being sent with tons of other 49 cent cards. Its a failing business. Its a failing service no matter how nice it is to only charge 49 cents. The reason the private enterprise doesn't want a part of it is because not like the gov the private sector has to make profit. If it was a fair market and no one was given help companies would have to compete on their strengths. In a fair market with competition the customer is in control and has all the power. I had a professor once tell me you vote with your money. That always stuck with me. We the customer vote for what taco place is worth our money. If the other taco places don't have as many votes, they can't survive and with time either make better tacos or fail. This is what drives our businesses. Giving anyone a unfair advantage will remove competition from that market.

[ScreenFoo]

I admit I'm missing the competition argument here--if the post office is failing, even though it has a complete and legal monopoly on every mailbox in the country, how will two or three publicly held profit-driven competitors give us better service and rates? 

[royster13]

Most schools, police departments, fire departments, etc. lose a boatload of money too......But I doubt many would want to privatize them....Most Post Offices in the world have their issues, however, because a portion of the demographic they serve would be totally left out in a private sector model, I think it is best if the Post Office continues to operate.....

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Most schools, police departments, fire departments, etc. lose a boatload of money too......But I doubt many would want to privatize them....Most Post Offices in the world have their issues, however, because a portion of the demographic they serve would be totally left out in a private sector model, I think it is best if the Post Office continues to operate.....

Agreed, but these are state and local operations, and thus the states are able to sortof "compete" with each other at some level, and the better ideas emerge and evolve. The feds foul up everything they touch, and if we were truly constitutional, the federal government should field armies and protect our borders, and that's about it. But that's all theoretical and isn't EVER gonna happen.

[inkman996]

Most schools, police departments, fire departments, etc. lose a boatload of money too......But I doubt many would want to privatize them....Most Post Offices in the world have their issues, however, because a portion of the demographic they serve would be totally left out in a private sector model, I think it is best if the Post Office continues to operate.....

Agreed, but these are state and local operations, and thus the states are able to sortof "compete" with each other at some level, and the better ideas emerge and evolve. The feds foul up everything they touch, and if we were truly constitutional, the federal government should field armies and protect our borders, and that's about it. But that's all theoretical and isn't EVER gonna happen.

I disagree with out federal government we would have basic anarchy, imagine every one having free reign to do what they want.

[beanie357]

I like the post office. Think we should have it.

I do think they are a prime example of government based ineptitude though. Come on, they used to have a monopoly by decree, and ran themselves into the toilet, and still are controlled by congress. Private enterprise they are not.

Heck, they even use private distribution networks for part of their service. Hello?

[ScreenFoo]

I suppose this isn't super common knowledge, but enough so that Wiki had it--

"Congressional role

Of related significance is the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA), which obligates the USPS to prefund 75 years' worth of future health care benefit payments to retirees within a ten-year time span – a requirement to which no other government organization is subject. Thus, in addition to the weak economy and the diversion of mail to electronic means, the mandates of PAEA have had a considerable impact on Postal Service finances. As a consequence, it has been charged that the US Postal Service budget crisis of 2011 is, in essence, an artificial one.[31][41][42][43]

Congress also has the ability to affect the USPS budget by changing rates for postage.[44] "


Might be easier to put in perspective that enough crises are manufactured we can't really afford the time to pay attention to most of them...