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“The Postal Service receives NO tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.” https://fac

“The Postal Service receives NO tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.” https://facts.usps.com/top-facts/ https://facts.usps.com/top-facts/

curiousgeorgio 7y ago
> ...for operating expenses Weasel words. See https://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/ https://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/
- lawfulcactus 7y ago
  > Laws that bar any other shipping service from delivering mail and packages directly to residential and business mailboxes. Shapiro estimates that this gives the Post Office a $14 billion annual boost, more than three times what the Postal Regulatory Commission estimates it to be. > Tax breaks. The Post Office is exempt from state and local property and real estate taxes, along with other burdens like tolls, vehicle registration fees, and parking tickets. These exemptions save the USPS $2.18 billion per year. > Cheap borrowing. [...] It currently borrows the legal limit of $15.2 billion at a rate of 1.2%. Without this access, it would be paying somewhere between $415 million and $490 million per year more in interest. > Finally, Shapiro points out that the USPS pays its workers salaries and benefits far above the rates paid to similar workers in the private sector. From the article; it's not a /literal/ taxpayer-funded subsidy. Also, since that link is paywalled: https://web.archive.org/web/20200411145708/https://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200411145708/https://fortune.c...
  - curiousgeorgio 7y ago
    Literal or not, it amounts to being the same for their bottom line, and we all pay for it through taxes.
    - lawfulcactus 7y ago
      It's a random individual's approximation of the value added by their status as a government agency; and no, we patently /don't/ pay for it through taxes (unless you count subsidized borrowing, but that wasn't the original claim and it's more than a little nitpick-y).
- imchillyb 7y ago
  > Laws that bar any other shipping service from delivering mail and packages directly to residential and business mailboxes. Shapiro estimates that this gives the Post Office a $14 billion annual boost... I believe you may wish to re-read your own link. What he said is correct. What you stated is patently incorrect. The above quote is from your own article and states that is a 3rd party estimation and not-at-all a tax donation that the American populace pays for, which is what you also stated.
- cjsawyer 7y ago
  Okay, the article’s point is that their position as a semi government agency gives them an unfair advantage vs their private competitors. Of course it does.
deleted 7y ago
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WalterBright 7y ago
The PS also relies on having a legal monopoly on the delivery of first class mail.

curiousgeorgio 7y ago

> ...for operating expenses Weasel words. See https://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/ https://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/

lawfulcactus 7y ago
> Laws that bar any other shipping service from delivering mail and packages directly to residential and business mailboxes. Shapiro estimates that this gives the Post Office a $14 billion annual boost, more than three times what the Postal Regulatory Commission estimates it to be. > Tax breaks. The Post Office is exempt from state and local property and real estate taxes, along with other burdens like tolls, vehicle registration fees, and parking tickets. These exemptions save the USPS $2.18 billion per year. > Cheap borrowing. [...] It currently borrows the legal limit of $15.2 billion at a rate of 1.2%. Without this access, it would be paying somewhere between $415 million and $490 million per year more in interest. > Finally, Shapiro points out that the USPS pays its workers salaries and benefits far above the rates paid to similar workers in the private sector. From the article; it's not a /literal/ taxpayer-funded subsidy. Also, since that link is paywalled: https://web.archive.org/web/20200411145708/https://fortune.com/2015/03/27/us-postal-service/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200411145708/https://fortune.c...
- curiousgeorgio 7y ago
  Literal or not, it amounts to being the same for their bottom line, and we all pay for it through taxes.
  - lawfulcactus 7y ago
    It's a random individual's approximation of the value added by their status as a government agency; and no, we patently /don't/ pay for it through taxes (unless you count subsidized borrowing, but that wasn't the original claim and it's more than a little nitpick-y).
imchillyb 7y ago
> Laws that bar any other shipping service from delivering mail and packages directly to residential and business mailboxes. Shapiro estimates that this gives the Post Office a $14 billion annual boost... I believe you may wish to re-read your own link. What he said is correct. What you stated is patently incorrect. The above quote is from your own article and states that is a 3rd party estimation and not-at-all a tax donation that the American populace pays for, which is what you also stated.
cjsawyer 7y ago
Okay, the article’s point is that their position as a semi government agency gives them an unfair advantage vs their private competitors. Of course it does.

deleted 7y ago

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WalterBright 7y ago

The PS also relies on having a legal monopoly on the delivery of first class mail.