USPS - 44 Cents

The USPS has decided that we need to pay 44 cents for stamps. I know it is not much but it bothers me whenever any government entity decides to raise prices. Especially one that is on a slow, expensive path to being dissolved.

The Post Office lost 1.9 billion dollars in the second quarter. UPS made 400 million in profit last quarter. Fed-Ex 97 million. So I'm sure with losses like that the Post Office will raise the prices of stamps again (because it worked so well the last time). The post office has 641,000 employees and 260,000 vehicles. It costs the Post Office about $235 per residence, to deliver the mail.

The Post Office used to have a TV commercial that bragged about how well they did, and how many trucks they had, so much better then UPS or FEDEX. All I could think of when I saw the commercial was; boy the Post Office must really be inefficient to have that many more vehicles and still not make money. When that commercial came out I was living in Sidney, NE and had an event I was attending in Cheyenne, WY. I needed a box of t-shirts I was selling at the event to be there when I got there (a long story). To be sure they were on time I mailed them 2 weeks early. It is 100 miles from Sidney to Cheyenne. It took them 120 DAYS to make the trip. I contacted the Post Office and their response was that they were misplaced in North Platte, NE (a town that is 120 miles... in the opposite direction), and that sometimes happened. They also told me that I should have used a more reliable method of shipping (The Cheyenne postmaster actually told me that). So I really have not been a big Post Office fan since then.

I have got a simple solution to sinking all this money into the Post Office, why not make the Post Office go private. Eliminates a huge portion of the budget as well as another bit of government control.

It also frees up our elected officials from all that work they do, naming post offices. Maybe they could spend a third of that time, I don't know... maybe.... passing meaningful legislation (I know that is highly unlikely).

In the mean time why don't we load a few train cars with mail. Everyday I see a government owned Amtrak (also operating at a loss) fly by with 5 cars on it. Why aren't we sticking a couple of cars of mail on it and maybe both could make some money, or at least not losing so much.