August 17, 2005
Why Continue the Post Office Monopoly?
What interest does the government have in monopolizing mail delivery? I understand that the Constitution specifically assigns government this role, but why persist?

-asked on my Anarcho-Capitalism MySpace group

I'll take a stab at it.
  • The USPS employs thousands of federal workers. An instant constituency for the status quo.
  • The USPS supposedly attempts to deliver mail to everyone equally, evenly, throughout the country. Another instant constituency: "How will the poor get their mail?!?"
  • Chipping away at a massive federal monopoly is likely to raise questions regarding other state monopolies, even if that chipping is limited in extent to rhetorical questions aimed sarcastically at the proponents of privatization: "So after FedEx buys the Post Office, I bet you want Caterpillar to buy up our interstate highways!"
  • Sheer, institutional laziness and apathy.
  • The desire to maintain some control over some of the communications networks in the US.
  • Because every other "modern, industrialized, civilized, western, advanced, cultured" nation does it.
Readers are encouraged to contribute "reasons" of their own.

Posted by Drizzten at August 17, 2005 10:58 AM

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I believe Congress members get a free mail privledge(franking?) for election related materials. I bet you'd have to get rid of this first if you ever want to privatize the mail service. Although maybe fedex,ups or any of the other bigshots in the mail business would offer to continue the franking privledge if they were allowed to carry the first class mail and other types of mail they're forbidden from using now?

Posted by: Elliot on August 20, 2005 11:41 AM
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