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The Federal Reserve should buy a bunch of stamps from the USPS if Congress won't bail it out.
by Despegar 6y ago
The Federal Reserve should buy a bunch of stamps from the USPS if Congress won't bail it out.
- tantalor 6y agoThe fed doesn't just give away money... they can only loan money out, which had to be repaid later.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Despegar 6y agoThey can use the stamps.
- morpheuskafka 6y agoWhat OP is saying would not be "giving away" anything. The stamps would be an appreciating investment (the value of a Forever stamp increases every time the postal rates increase) and could be sold or used at any time.
- hhfy5332 6y agoPostage rate increases are capped to inflation, though. So they don't really appreciate. But it wouldn't ever lose value and could inject some cash into the USPS.
- dmurray 6y agoThey likely have a better implied return than Treasuries and many corporate bonds though, and people invest trillions of dollars in those. Risk-free investments that beat inflation aren't easy to find. There are some issues with postage stamps as an investment, though. They're not as liquid as T-bills, though if they become a popular investment that problem solves itself. More worrying is that the USPS is not quite as reliable a borrower as the US federal government - can you really be certain this would never lose value? I'd like to see where the bond ratings agencies would rate USPS stamps.
- anm89 6y agoBut they can certainly buy assets.
- disposition2 6y ago> The Federal Reserve should buy a bunch of stamps from the USPS if Congress won't bail it out. I get this site doesn't like talking politics but it has been a largely Republican lead effort to 'starve the beast' and this is a simple fact easily confirmed by looking at voting records. Most recently: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2382/actions https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2382...