The Beginning of the End for the Postal Monopoly

The Postal Service has been a government agency since 1775, and since 1872 it has been illegal for anyone but government employees to deliver a letter. Because of this and many other reasons, the USPS is a prevalent example of a government-controlled monopoly. The United States Postal Service is the largest postal service in the world. With over 800,000 employees (778,171 being part-time lobbyists), it is the US’s largest employer. In the past few years, the Postal Service’…

…net income has gone down considerably every year. It has gone from $1.8 billion in ’95, to $1.8 billion in ’96, to $1.2 billion in ’97. Many people are urging the USPS to consider privatization. Because of the vast amounts of money that it is losing, it may do just that. But until then, if the service continues at this pace, we can expect to see higher prices, longer zip codes, more unproductive workers, and the USPS even farther in debt.