The United States Postal Service, or USPS, has been around since Benjamin Franklin created it in Philadelphia in 1775.

It serves a great, noble, and extremely useful service and so there is no reason to disband it.

However, it also enjoys a monopoly, enforced by government, on all postal mail that is considered “non urgent” and that is not a package.

This monopoly is unfounded and is not needed and it impedes progress and the streamlining forces of competition.

Package and fast delivery services in America are primarily done by United Parcel Service (UPS) and by Federal Express (FedEx).

Neither of which are government operations and both of which run entirely as private businesses.

The problem with the USPS is that because it is a monopoly, it is therefore under little pressure to be efficient or offer what people consider fair prices for fair service.

Instead, the business runs in the red, losing money every year, and begs the government for further subsidies and other help.

It is also the focus of one of the biggest labor unions, has one of the most lucrative benefits and retirement plans, and has some of the highest costs of operations of most equivalent businesses in the private sector.

All thanks to your tax dollars given to them in the form of subsidies.

Isn't it time we let some private competitors into the game to help slim up the margins a little?

US GOVERNMENT POSTAL SERVICE MONOPOLY

The monopoly that the USPS enjoys is because of a law made based on what is contained in the United States Constitution. The Post Office is one of the few government agencies explicitly listed as required by the Constitution.

“To establish post offices and post roads;”
.Article I, Section 8, Clause 7, United States Constitution

This clause says nothing about monopolizing them or even owning them, just establishing them for use. Through the 19th century, this was seen narrowly and the government merely established offices in each major city for post to collect and designated routes and roadways, but did not build or fund them.

US GOVERNMENT POSTAL SERVICE CHANGE

By merely changing the statute in the federal code which gives the full monopoly to the USPS for the carrying of post, the whole game would change. While the government's Constitutional mandate to designate roads and routes would be unaffected, the introduction of private business into post would drastically change service.

Costs would drop, services would become specialized for some and cheaper for others, and more. In other words, the business of carrying mail would improve and diversify.

All good for everyone but, probably, the Postal Service itself. It would have to adapt and compete or die.

US GOVERNMENT POSTAL SERVICE CONTROL

Of course, this would mean a huge loss of control over our daily lives and a giant change in how we view government overall. After all, if we privatized the mail and saw it work really well, why not other things too?

Do we need government-mandated insurances like Social Security and Medicare? What about police? Firemen? Even the military? Are those only the realm of government? Who knows?

The one thing that would happen, for sure, were the Post Office to become a non-monopoly would be an improvement in mail services and, most definitely, an increase in our freedoms.

Increasing freedom is one thing that, no matter what, government can't stand.