6 ms·

End the government-mandated monopoly on mail -- let the market take care of the issue. Probably 50% of the mail I get is stuff I don't even want in the first pl

by jstalin 14y ago

End the government-mandated monopoly on mail -- let the market take care of the issue. Probably 50% of the mail I get is stuff I don't even want in the first place. In fact, it's a criminal act to deliver mail without paying the USPS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Express_Statutes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Express_Statutes http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1693 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1693

eli 14y ago
My understanding is that multiple competing private postal services has not played out well in countries that have tried it. (For example, http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n09/james-meek/in-the-sorting-office http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n09/james-meek/in-the-sorting-offic...) And presumably the same number of companies would want to send you junk mail regardless of who owns the post office...
jcampbell1 14y ago
I remember being a kid and getting a call from the post master telling me I could go to jail for putting my lawn service flyers in people's mailboxes. Fortunately, in the rural area I lived, the mailboxes had separate slots for newspapers, so I just put the flyers in the newspaper slot.
UnoriginalGuy 14y ago
Your second point has nothing at all to do with your first point (unwanted mail); and is barely the USPS's fault. I disagree with letting the "market" decide when it comes to vital infrastructure (mail, internet, roads, telephone, electricity, water) because the "market" is not always a healthy place (e.g. see US internet/cable/telephone market, see UK train market, et al). It is one of the few areas where a state run monopoly might actually help business. While it certainly hurts opportunities within that specific sector, in really helps other businesses in other sectors compete globally.
Vivtek 14y ago
Hey - great way to make sure nobody can afford to deliver rural mail. That ought to work great. "Let the market take care of the issue" really isn't always the best policy.

by jstalin 14y ago

eli 14y ago

My understanding is that multiple competing private postal services has not played out well in countries that have tried it. (For example, http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n09/james-meek/in-the-sorting-office http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n09/james-meek/in-the-sorting-offic...) And presumably the same number of companies would want to send you junk mail regardless of who owns the post office...

jcampbell1 14y ago

I remember being a kid and getting a call from the post master telling me I could go to jail for putting my lawn service flyers in people's mailboxes. Fortunately, in the rural area I lived, the mailboxes had separate slots for newspapers, so I just put the flyers in the newspaper slot.

UnoriginalGuy 14y ago

Your second point has nothing at all to do with your first point (unwanted mail); and is barely the USPS's fault. I disagree with letting the "market" decide when it comes to vital infrastructure (mail, internet, roads, telephone, electricity, water) because the "market" is not always a healthy place (e.g. see US internet/cable/telephone market, see UK train market, et al). It is one of the few areas where a state run monopoly might actually help business. While it certainly hurts opportunities within that specific sector, in really helps other businesses in other sectors compete globally.

Vivtek 14y ago

Hey - great way to make sure nobody can afford to deliver rural mail. That ought to work great. "Let the market take care of the issue" really isn't always the best policy.