USPS provides first class mail service to all Americans for the same cost (whether that letter is addressed to down the street or across the country) and provid

USPS provides first class mail service to all Americans for the same cost (whether that letter is addressed to down the street or across the country) and provides mail service to almost everywhere people live in the United States, whether it be a small rural town or New York City. So in part, it's a matter of equity -- that everyone in this country has equal access to postal services and the benefits they provide (which are admittedly cross-subsidized). This same rationale goes into telephone universal service funds and has been discussed in the context of the national broadband plan too. None of the USPS' private competitors do (or I can imagine would do) this.