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Its a common misconception, and it is driven by political interests that want to dismantle public services and replace them with more expensive services that ha

Its a common misconception, and it is driven by political interests that want to dismantle public services and replace them with more expensive services that have a profit margin for themselves attached.

Consultant32452 7y ago
For me it's not a misconception. 99.99% of things delivered by USPS are spam at my house. I don't even get paper statements for any of my bills. 100% of things delivered by UPS/FedEx/etc are useful things I want to get. Every time I go to the mailbox is an encouragement to get rid of the USPS. My life would literally be better if USPS didn't exist.
- freehunter 7y ago
  Cool, we'll destroy a public service that hundreds of millions of people rely on just so we don't inconvenience you any further.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - Consultant32452 7y ago
    Hundreds of millions of people are forced to rely on it. I can't be the only person who sees the primary role of the USPS is to deliver garbage to my front yard. The benefit of UPS/FedEx is if they start leaving garbage in my front yard, I can sue them for littering. If the USPS goes away there will be a very short adjustment period when private organizations and official government changes its mailing practices, but it will all be fine. I'm willing to make a compromise where the federal government can require that regular (weekly?) mail delivery be available everywhere in the country, and if it's not available from private sources the government can create one. So if you're in the boonies of the northern most territory of Alaska, you'll get weekly mail or something delivered by government subsidized mail service.
- mtberatwork 7y ago
  > 99.99% of things delivered by USPS are spam at my house. How is that the fault of the USPS? Mail "spam" wouldn't go away if UPS/FedEx took over the postal service via privatization.
  - seanmcdirmid 7y ago
    I've heard of people blaming socialism for spam, and the answer is to privatize the USPS...as if more capitalism would solve the problem. I don't get that kind of logic at all.
  - Consultant32452 7y ago
    I'm required to facilitate the USPS's delivery of this spam by maintaining a box in my yard if I want to ever get anything from them at all. If UPS/FedEx start leaving garbage in my yard I can sue them for littering on my private property.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- mindslight 7y ago
  USPS delivers packages too. You're either not looking closely enough at the shipping labels or you don't order from a variety of merchants. In general, USPS seems to make sense for smaller businesses that ship small packages. There is also MailInnovations/SmartPost where UPS/Fedex dumps packages at the local "inefficient" post office for last mile delivery. Raising the lowest price for sending junk mail to the prices of UPSFedex would certainly reduce spam, but this has nothing to do with how the services are governed. FWIW it appears you're free to individually act on your desire: https://www.quora.com/U-S-Postal-Service-Do-I-legally-have-to-have-a-mailbox https://www.quora.com/U-S-Postal-Service-Do-I-legally-have-t...
  - Consultant32452 7y ago
    You advocate for regulating the USPS to reduce the delivery of SPAM if you want. I'm happy to just see them disappear. Why should I care to have government regulate a service provider into providing a better service when a better service already exists? In practical terms I cannot stop having a mailbox, because a few times a year a check or something comes in the mail. That means I would have to go get my mail from the post office every so often and go through it all. So all that's accomplished is I have to drive a few miles down the road to pick up my USPS garbage instead of having the garbage delivered into my front yard. If the USPS didn't exist at all, everyone (businesses, official government notifications, etc) would switch to the better service providers like UPS/FedEx.
    - mindslight 7y ago
      What is this better service that delivers letters for around the current clearing price (< $1) and prevents/polices spam? AFAIK Fedex is around $30, which is the overwhelming reason spammers don't use them.
      - Consultant32452 7y ago
        FedEx letter is $7-10. http://www.costhowmuch.com/ps/fedex-letter.htm http://www.costhowmuch.com/ps/fedex-letter.htm Of course, that comes with a guaranteed delivery date, insurance, tracking, etc. I'm sure the private carriers would charge more than the USPS if they were servicing the lowest end mail, but currently the USPS is monopolizing that. Also important to note that the USPS is subsidized by the spam they deliver which primarily winds up in the landfill. If the USPS wasn't filling everyone's garbage bin with bulk rubbish every day, their clearing price would be closer to private shippers. To put a scale on that, I have one trash can in my house that is at my desk and only winds up getting garbage mail tossed in it. Every two weeks I have a 13 gallon garbage bag full of mail garbage. What is the time-cost of every household in my city dealing with that much extra junk? What is the environmental cost?

Consultant32452 7y ago

For me it's not a misconception. 99.99% of things delivered by USPS are spam at my house. I don't even get paper statements for any of my bills. 100% of things delivered by UPS/FedEx/etc are useful things I want to get. Every time I go to the mailbox is an encouragement to get rid of the USPS. My life would literally be better if USPS didn't exist.

freehunter 7y ago
Cool, we'll destroy a public service that hundreds of millions of people rely on just so we don't inconvenience you any further.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Consultant32452 7y ago
  Hundreds of millions of people are forced to rely on it. I can't be the only person who sees the primary role of the USPS is to deliver garbage to my front yard. The benefit of UPS/FedEx is if they start leaving garbage in my front yard, I can sue them for littering. If the USPS goes away there will be a very short adjustment period when private organizations and official government changes its mailing practices, but it will all be fine. I'm willing to make a compromise where the federal government can require that regular (weekly?) mail delivery be available everywhere in the country, and if it's not available from private sources the government can create one. So if you're in the boonies of the northern most territory of Alaska, you'll get weekly mail or something delivered by government subsidized mail service.
mtberatwork 7y ago
> 99.99% of things delivered by USPS are spam at my house. How is that the fault of the USPS? Mail "spam" wouldn't go away if UPS/FedEx took over the postal service via privatization.
- seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  I've heard of people blaming socialism for spam, and the answer is to privatize the USPS...as if more capitalism would solve the problem. I don't get that kind of logic at all.
- Consultant32452 7y ago
  I'm required to facilitate the USPS's delivery of this spam by maintaining a box in my yard if I want to ever get anything from them at all. If UPS/FedEx start leaving garbage in my yard I can sue them for littering on my private property.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
mindslight 7y ago
USPS delivers packages too. You're either not looking closely enough at the shipping labels or you don't order from a variety of merchants. In general, USPS seems to make sense for smaller businesses that ship small packages. There is also MailInnovations/SmartPost where UPS/Fedex dumps packages at the local "inefficient" post office for last mile delivery. Raising the lowest price for sending junk mail to the prices of UPSFedex would certainly reduce spam, but this has nothing to do with how the services are governed. FWIW it appears you're free to individually act on your desire: https://www.quora.com/U-S-Postal-Service-Do-I-legally-have-to-have-a-mailbox https://www.quora.com/U-S-Postal-Service-Do-I-legally-have-t...
- Consultant32452 7y ago
  You advocate for regulating the USPS to reduce the delivery of SPAM if you want. I'm happy to just see them disappear. Why should I care to have government regulate a service provider into providing a better service when a better service already exists? In practical terms I cannot stop having a mailbox, because a few times a year a check or something comes in the mail. That means I would have to go get my mail from the post office every so often and go through it all. So all that's accomplished is I have to drive a few miles down the road to pick up my USPS garbage instead of having the garbage delivered into my front yard. If the USPS didn't exist at all, everyone (businesses, official government notifications, etc) would switch to the better service providers like UPS/FedEx.
  - mindslight 7y ago
    What is this better service that delivers letters for around the current clearing price (< $1) and prevents/polices spam? AFAIK Fedex is around $30, which is the overwhelming reason spammers don't use them.
    - Consultant32452 7y ago
      FedEx letter is $7-10. http://www.costhowmuch.com/ps/fedex-letter.htm http://www.costhowmuch.com/ps/fedex-letter.htm Of course, that comes with a guaranteed delivery date, insurance, tracking, etc. I'm sure the private carriers would charge more than the USPS if they were servicing the lowest end mail, but currently the USPS is monopolizing that. Also important to note that the USPS is subsidized by the spam they deliver which primarily winds up in the landfill. If the USPS wasn't filling everyone's garbage bin with bulk rubbish every day, their clearing price would be closer to private shippers. To put a scale on that, I have one trash can in my house that is at my desk and only winds up getting garbage mail tossed in it. Every two weeks I have a 13 gallon garbage bag full of mail garbage. What is the time-cost of every household in my city dealing with that much extra junk? What is the environmental cost?