The Post Office wasn't happy with my recent post, "Obama's Post Office Mistake." A spokesman sent me a letter claiming that: "The Postal Service is not government subsidized. The last time the Postal Service received taxpayer money for its operation was 1982."
Well, that’s true but mostly not true. Not paying parking tickets and monopoly powers are certainly a form of subsidy. In addition, The Post Office doesn't have to pay state or local taxes, and it gets to borrow billions from the government at reduced rates ($10.2 billion, by the end of this year, according to the GAO.) Last year, the FTC found that the Post Office received implicit subsidies of $34 to $117 million -- and that's not counting the monopoly, its biggest benefit.
Also, the rest of the US Federal government doesn't pay property taxes either.