Is the Postal Service Worth Saving? A Debate Among Three Experts

The U.S. Postal Service is in deep trouble and potentially faces the real risk of going bankrupt this year, with taxpayers left to pay the tab. Despite declining mail volume, many Americans depend on the Postal Service to deliver to them essential goods from food to medicine.

Private delivery companies move a lot of packages, but don’t go to every household in the country. Some suggest the U.S. Postal Service is too big to fail, while others point at successful privatization of postal services in other countries as a viable option. Something we can all agree on is that the Postal Service’s finances are unsustainable and reform is critical.

Illustration: Getty Images/The Heritage Foundation

[alswann]

My father - a WW2 vet - did eighteen years at the USPS after his twenty in the Navy. It was a lousy place to work but it paid the bills. And it was financially sound until Congress screwed it up by forcing them into the federal retirement system. The Post Office operated independently of the government, paying it's own way and doing just fine. Congress just had to get it's greedy little hands on their pension funds.

[gilianrampart]

She is talking about total compensation in that 97000 yr and no other agency pre pays health insurance for retiree's
Other agencies are not paying for the USPS health insurance!

[markbosky]

Yes, it's worth saving. it's not meant to be a for-profit business

[marysoubble]

Most of ups, fed ex are delivered via Post Office. How do I Know? I did it for 30 yrs. Privatizing is bad. They will pay people much less in every way, instigating throw it in the river kind of attitude. The postal service has a standard. Those standards will not be met through privatizing.

[francisaselin]

The USPS is so bad that FedEx and UPS use the USPS to save cost. If you want delivery to very address in the US then the Post Office must be saved.

[inthewoods]

I see USPS on Sundays all the time delivering locally.

[chrisitnamthom]

It would effect you too. Your 4 dollars fist class package would probably cost 3x that amount.

[Gramsey]

Some "debate." Where are the arguments of the other side(s)? Leave it to Heritage to push public employees and public services into the clutches of profit-hungry private interests, and then call it "freedom."

[whiteguy]

Ask anyone who works there they will tell you how mismanaged it is. It's a total shit show.

[johnhendrickson]

Misleading title, not much of a debate when everyone agrees and is pro privatization

[regulardude]

Short answer: No. Sick of paying the govt to subsidize companies that send me junk mail, which is 97% of my mail.

[dmon]

Reform - no privatization its as bad as being governed...

[marysoubble]

No, no, no. No privatization. Chris, please do a lot more

[markallen]

Yes, it's worth saving. It's worth restoring to it's pre- congressional condition.No company, no other government entity is required to keep their pensions and benefits paid up into the future. History is rife with failed companies and government pension
plans that have been raided, underfunded, and outright stolen.Until congressional meddling put the current debacle in place, USPS turned a profit every year, service was world standard, and the work force stable USPS was set up by the founding fathers because it is necessary and vital to the commerce, national security, and the general welfare of the American people.. Privatized it'll be just another shoddily run money driven company, with no worth to anyone but the stockholders and the petty and corrupted politicians that destroyed a truly wonderful and trustworthy Enterprise. government service

[kangaroobooks]

Someone needs to check the books. They have some very un-American habits of hiring contractors with undocumented workers, and their inspection service does not respond to lost money orders. They over-charge for service, and in turn, offer very little service. Strict licensing of private postal service may be the solution, or militarize it under the space force.

[denniscarver]

The man is right just junk mail in my box. Keeps my trash collection in business throwing away stuff USPS lost money on delivering.

[melovemusic]

It needs privatized for sure. This business has needs privatized for decades as it would have been done years ago if it wasn't backed by the government it would have been done decades ago. It is poorly ran, archaic, and the union has made it even worse through the years with their outrages pensions and wages.

[terribeck]

The funds taken out of paycheck s should be sitting in interest earning accounts building up finding for the retirement, funds not used to be returned to operating costs.

[Ziggybopper]

Thanks to Trump and DeJoy for cutting structures to where we can’t get the mail to you.

[gilianrampart]

PHD'S AND BACHELOR DEGREES ARE AT THE USPS, ALSO!