The reality is that it will be impossible for the USPS to turn a profit in today’s day and age. The people that rely on it most, those in rural areas, cannot be served by Fed Ex or some private company at rates they can afford. Nor can those companies serve those areas without charging high prices.
The postal service already can’t deliver things economically at the prices they are charging due to overhead. Even cutting it sharply (layoffs, closing sites, etc) doesn’t get you there.
The question that people will have to ask is whether they want a national postal system that serves everyone at a loss, or we do close up shop. In closing up shop, you put a lot of folks out of touch.
I was asked to take a part time postion and thought it would be cool - I can say without doubt the hardest day of work in my life was not as difficult as the easiest day sorting and delivering first class mail.
Finally one of the only roles assigned to the Federal government in our constitution is postal service and their roads.
Just as an aside, I live in a rural area and use a PO Box number for my mail. My wife ordered a package from a rural town in Kentucky. When we got the tracking information, the USPS had transferred the package to Fed Ex in Kentucky, and they delivered the package to my rural Post Office in Texas. Fed Ex must be cheaper than the USPS. Is Fed Ex union?