The Post Office is privatised in the Netherlands and works just fine. Japan is about to privatise their post office. Britain has opened its postal service to competition and no ill effects.
It is unlikely the USA would suffer if it followed suit.
Regards, Ivan
It would help if I had put a private company OR the U.S. Postal Service. D'oh.
From a strictly economic standpoint, I'd have privatized the USPS long ago. But the USPS does have its uses, such as assigning ZIP codes and such. I wouldn't get rid of it completely, but I'd scale it back considerably. Like, they wouldn't deliver mail anymore.
"Since the U.S.P.S. can't seem to manage their finances properly, provide lousy service and have an attitude about it to boot, isn't it time to let a private company or companies take over the mail service in this country?"
80% of my mail is unsolicited junk, and I only buy 2 books of stamps per year. I would rather pay 50 cents per stamp to a private company than continue with the USPS. Government postal and rail service needs to be phased out.
I completely disagree. What examples do you have that make you come to that conclusion?
I think the USPS just gets bagged on because they are a government entity.
I think they do a magnificent job, for very little money. You think spending $.37 or $.39 is too much to ask to take a letter anywhere?
I am amazed they don't make more mistakes, given the magnitude of the job.
My hat is off to every mailman in this country, who get my mail to me everyday, rain or shine.
Since I have no basis for comparison, this is a tough question to answer. A private company MIGHT be better but would they be cheaper?
Keep the U.S. Postal Service!!!- Otherwise, the bars in America will be empty between 2:00 and 5:00 pm.
Any idea what it would cost to build and run a nationwide mail distribution system equal to what the post office operates? No thanks. I'm not generally a fan of government monopolies, but occasionally they make sense. If the USPS were privatized it would inevitably end up being 200 separate companies all trying to coordinate with each other to get the mail delivered.
I use FedEx or UPS, it may cost more but I know the item will get there when I send it.
The last time I sent something important via usps they lost it, however if I sent a box of rocks usps 3rd class to Siberia it would be there the next day.
I don't really care one way or the other. All I want to figure out is how to stop all these damn catalogues from coming.
The USPS is a typical government bureaucracy, bloated by waste, mismanagement, shady finances and union labor.
What amendment to the Constitution created the USPS???
The USPS does okay. I wouldn't mind seeing privatized, but keep in mind that mail delivery is one of the few enterprises government is involved in that is actually in the constitution.
Today the USPS pays excessive salaries to members of politically powerful postal unions and fat manager salaries. It mostly delivers "junk" mail. I have no doubt that if the monopoly was lifted, we would see improved postal solutions.
I don't think it matters much, if there's only one of them. A private monopoly would be just as non-self-correcting as USPS; what's needed is competition, whether it's public-private, private-private or even public-public.
Give the franchise back to the Church.
Overnight delivery was considered impossible till Federal Express started doing it. While the Post Office doesn't do a bad job, now that first class mail is becoming more and more obsolete it's time to consider if we really need a US post office.