4 ms·

It actually was profitable for most of its existence. It zealously guarded its monopoly on first-class mail because that's where the money came from. And it did

It actually was profitable for most of its existence. It zealously guarded its monopoly on first-class mail because that's where the money came from. And it did so before it was spun out as a quasi-private entity. This is actually one of the challenges of public services in the US today; many things, from mail delivery to bus and train service to road construction and vehicle registration, were once self-sufficient but haven't been for a long time. There's a lot of reasons for this, but one of the outcomes is that entities which used to take care of themselves now have to beg for a growing portion out of the general fund. However, it's clear that the 1970s experiment to have it turn a profit again didn't work and likely never would have worked (it was, in many ways, set up for failure).

jermaustin1 1y ago
For the USPS, it would be profitable if it wasn't required to self-fund and pre-fund all retirement benefits for current and future employees 75 years in advance, paying for retirement health care for "workers" who aren't in the workforce, or even born yet. It was a political ploy to force the USPS into debt in 2006 with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. No other federal agency or private sector business pre-funds its retirement benefits.
- kbolino 1y ago
  That requirement was repealed in 2022. The USPS still isn't profitable. While it reaped the benefit of that repeal and reported only a small loss in 2022, it reported much larger losses in 2023 and 2024, comparable to its loss in 2021 (when the requirement was still in effect).
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - strongpigeon 1y ago
    Last quarter was slightly profitable [0], but yeah the losses in 2023 were pretty big. https://about.usps.com/what/financials/financial-conditions-results-reports/fy2025-q1.pdf https://about.usps.com/what/financials/financial-conditions-...
  - jermaustin1 1y ago
    If I'm not mistaken, they still carry the debt they acquired to pre-fund, and still spend about $10B on retirement benefits each year. But to me, none of that really matters, because I don't believe a government entity should be turning a profit on me, because then it is a tax. So I want the USPS running at a loss (pulling from appropriations as needed), but as close to breakeven as possible. If it ever pulls a profit, I expect prices to drop in accordance.
    - kbolino 1y ago
      If you see it as a tax, and the tax funds the service, and you like the service, why wouldn't you want to pay it? About half of their liabilities were forgiven as part of the 2022 legislation. They still have debt and retirement liabilities, but those are more in line with other large services (private or public) now. However, they've each increased over 20% per year since 2022, which is quite a lot. Personally, I would like to see a return of postal banking, in which case the postal service would pay out its profit to its accountholders. ---- FY23 report showing the halving of liabilities from '21-'22 (p. 29): https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2023.pdf https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2023... FY24 report showing the significant increase in other liabilities from '22-'24 (p. 28): https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2024.pdf https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2024...

jermaustin1 1y ago

For the USPS, it would be profitable if it wasn't required to self-fund and pre-fund all retirement benefits for current and future employees 75 years in advance, paying for retirement health care for "workers" who aren't in the workforce, or even born yet. It was a political ploy to force the USPS into debt in 2006 with the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. No other federal agency or private sector business pre-funds its retirement benefits.

kbolino 1y ago
That requirement was repealed in 2022. The USPS still isn't profitable. While it reaped the benefit of that repeal and reported only a small loss in 2022, it reported much larger losses in 2023 and 2024, comparable to its loss in 2021 (when the requirement was still in effect).
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- strongpigeon 1y ago
  Last quarter was slightly profitable [0], but yeah the losses in 2023 were pretty big. https://about.usps.com/what/financials/financial-conditions-results-reports/fy2025-q1.pdf https://about.usps.com/what/financials/financial-conditions-...
- jermaustin1 1y ago
  If I'm not mistaken, they still carry the debt they acquired to pre-fund, and still spend about $10B on retirement benefits each year. But to me, none of that really matters, because I don't believe a government entity should be turning a profit on me, because then it is a tax. So I want the USPS running at a loss (pulling from appropriations as needed), but as close to breakeven as possible. If it ever pulls a profit, I expect prices to drop in accordance.
  - kbolino 1y ago
    If you see it as a tax, and the tax funds the service, and you like the service, why wouldn't you want to pay it? About half of their liabilities were forgiven as part of the 2022 legislation. They still have debt and retirement liabilities, but those are more in line with other large services (private or public) now. However, they've each increased over 20% per year since 2022, which is quite a lot. Personally, I would like to see a return of postal banking, in which case the postal service would pay out its profit to its accountholders. ---- FY23 report showing the halving of liabilities from '21-'22 (p. 29): https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2023.pdf https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2023... FY24 report showing the significant increase in other liabilities from '22-'24 (p. 28): https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2024.pdf https://about.usps.com/what/financials/annual-reports/fy2024...