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I am all for bailing out USPS. But it won't be permanent. They'll have issues again, their very nature of being a government-operated institution guarantees tha

I am all for bailing out USPS. But it won't be permanent. They'll have issues again, their very nature of being a government-operated institution guarantees that. This is not the first time the USPS is in trouble. After the financial Panic of 1837, the USPS almost collapsed. Congress had to step in to help it, and by 1845 they gave USPS complete monopoly, which killed the more efficient and cheaper private mail delivery enterprises. See "America's First Great Depression" by Alasdair Roberts.

jumelles 6y ago
It hasn't been government-operated since 1970.
- didgeoridoo 6y ago
  It’s an independent governmental agency under the executive branch. If the USPS isn’t “government operated”, then neither is the CIA, FCC, or Social Security Administration.
  - adelHBN 6y ago
    Great reply. That's exactly what I said. Fannie Mae isn't technically government-operated - but it's a government-sponsored enterprise.
    - Craighead 6y ago
      Actually it's a low quality comment similar to yours.
- adelHBN 6y ago
  That's just semantics. That's like saying Fannie Mae is not government operated. Yes, both are technically correct. Regardless, they are encumbered by government oversight. They are U.S. government-sponsored enterprises.
  - adelHBN 6y ago
    Not sure why someone downvoted me on this! Fannie Mae, USPS and many other institutions are government-related, government-sponsored businesses. They are not completely free like regular businesses to do as they wish to earn a profit. My comment was correct and relevant to this discussion.
dTal 6y ago
>They'll have issues again, their very nature of being a government-operated institution guarantees that. By which you mean that bad actors in government repeatedly sabotage[0] an otherwise extraordinarily well-run and cheap service, right? It's a standard playbook from, ahem, a certain type of politician: sabotage a well-run service, then point to its failure as evidence that the concept of government is broken; privatize and profit. The fact you had to go all the way back to 1837 (!) to find evidence of instability speaks volumes. -- [0] The most relevant sabotage in this case is the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (2006) which single-handedly destroyed the USPS's balance sheet. Seems rather unfair that the government gets to dictate how the Post Office spends money, but doesn't fund it at all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Regulatory_Commission#Postal_Regulatory_Commission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Regulatory_Commission#P...

jumelles 6y ago

It hasn't been government-operated since 1970.

didgeoridoo 6y ago
It’s an independent governmental agency under the executive branch. If the USPS isn’t “government operated”, then neither is the CIA, FCC, or Social Security Administration.
- adelHBN 6y ago
  Great reply. That's exactly what I said. Fannie Mae isn't technically government-operated - but it's a government-sponsored enterprise.
  - Craighead 6y ago
    Actually it's a low quality comment similar to yours.
adelHBN 6y ago
That's just semantics. That's like saying Fannie Mae is not government operated. Yes, both are technically correct. Regardless, they are encumbered by government oversight. They are U.S. government-sponsored enterprises.
- adelHBN 6y ago
  Not sure why someone downvoted me on this! Fannie Mae, USPS and many other institutions are government-related, government-sponsored businesses. They are not completely free like regular businesses to do as they wish to earn a profit. My comment was correct and relevant to this discussion.

dTal 6y ago

>They'll have issues again, their very nature of being a government-operated institution guarantees that. By which you mean that bad actors in government repeatedly sabotage[0] an otherwise extraordinarily well-run and cheap service, right? It's a standard playbook from, ahem, a certain type of politician: sabotage a well-run service, then point to its failure as evidence that the concept of government is broken; privatize and profit. The fact you had to go all the way back to 1837 (!) to find evidence of instability speaks volumes. -- [0] The most relevant sabotage in this case is the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (2006) which single-handedly destroyed the USPS's balance sheet. Seems rather unfair that the government gets to dictate how the Post Office spends money, but doesn't fund it at all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Regulatory_Commission#Postal_Regulatory_Commission https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Regulatory_Commission#P...