People also forget about things like "the pony express" (a creative effort by a private delivery company to fill a niche market), Spooner's American Letter Mail

People also forget about things like "the pony express" (a creative effort by a private delivery company to fill a niche market), Spooner's American Letter Mail Company and other wuch precedents. The post office would have been driven out of business by private companies long ago if it were legally permitted to undercut their rates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Letter_Mail_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Letter_Mail_Company