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It was only wildly successful until our leaders "sabotaged" it by forcing it to obey standard actuarial practices. (Unlike the rest of the govt, the USPS is now

It was only wildly successful until our leaders "sabotaged" it by forcing it to obey standard actuarial practices. (Unlike the rest of the govt, the USPS is now required to fully fund it's pension plans.) See this comment for a more detailed explanation: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6710602 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6710602 Also, it's pretty hard not to be "wildly successful" when you get a legally enforced monopoly. Comcast is also "wildly successful", but we certainly don't want to expand that model.

themartorana 11y ago
Yes and no. It's a monopoly that can't charge what it takes to stay afloat. Raising prices or changing delivery schedules requires an act of Congress! No member of Congress wants to have to answer for that, so the price of sending a letter hundreds - if not thousands - of miles, to be hand-delivered remains under one-half of one dollar $USD. THAT IS INSANE. It's been argued, deftly, that even with a decline in volume for mass mailers, raising the price from $0.49 to $1 would not only put the USPTO all the way in the black but enable them to meet obligations for years to come. But convince Congress that it's a good idea...
- refurb 11y ago
  Wait a second. I thought they would be profitable if it weren't for the pension funding? If so, then $0.49 per stamp is high enough.
- SamReidHughes 11y ago
  They can make a profit by paying their workers less. This is really about the USPS workers' union vs. Congress.
  - themartorana 11y ago
    And your company could make more by paying you less. But that would be unfair, wouldn't it?
    - blfr 11y ago
      That's exactly what every profitable company does: pay their workers less than they otherwise could. The only alternative is to distribute all profit among employees. (And some people who believe that profiting from other people's work is immoral advocate just that.)
    - aianus 11y ago
      Not at all. In fact I would expect them to do so were it not for competitive offers from other employers.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

themartorana 11y ago

Yes and no. It's a monopoly that can't charge what it takes to stay afloat. Raising prices or changing delivery schedules requires an act of Congress! No member of Congress wants to have to answer for that, so the price of sending a letter hundreds - if not thousands - of miles, to be hand-delivered remains under one-half of one dollar $USD. THAT IS INSANE. It's been argued, deftly, that even with a decline in volume for mass mailers, raising the price from $0.49 to $1 would not only put the USPTO all the way in the black but enable them to meet obligations for years to come. But convince Congress that it's a good idea...

refurb 11y ago
Wait a second. I thought they would be profitable if it weren't for the pension funding? If so, then $0.49 per stamp is high enough.
SamReidHughes 11y ago
They can make a profit by paying their workers less. This is really about the USPS workers' union vs. Congress.
- themartorana 11y ago
  And your company could make more by paying you less. But that would be unfair, wouldn't it?
  - blfr 11y ago
    That's exactly what every profitable company does: pay their workers less than they otherwise could. The only alternative is to distribute all profit among employees. (And some people who believe that profiting from other people's work is immoral advocate just that.)
  - aianus 11y ago
    Not at all. In fact I would expect them to do so were it not for competitive offers from other employers.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]