[Sequoyah101]

If they are allowed to set rates at will then their monopoly on first class letter postage should be eliminated.

[muawiyah]

USPS is bound by the Letter Mail Monopoly established in law a very long time ago. It's not just FCM, but all letters ~ including checks. However, because of improvements in the process of handling checks called the "Clearing House Banks" legislation was written providing an exception for the way checks are handled outside the mails ~

Yes, checks are letters.

USPS is also required by law to provide UNIVERSAL DELIVERY SERVICE.

Frankly, no one wants to do business under that standard ~ they only want to handle high revenue pieces deliverable in downtown business districts in about 200 cities nationwide.

[cripplecreek]

If they are allowed to set rates at will then their monopoly on first class letter postage should be eliminated.

From what my post master says, that's exactly what she would like to happen. I think people assume there is more competition between the USPS and the parcel services than there really is. UPS and FedEx both leave at least half of my packages at the post office and the postmaster says the post office picks up a bonus for dealing with them.

I apologized for making the postmaster deal with a half dozen packages at a time and she said she wanted them delivered there.