The Time Has Come To Close The Post Office
By Dave Gibson (09/30/07)
If ever there was a model for inefficiency. bloat, and incompetence it has to be the United States Postal Service. That organization's own acceptance of low expectations and poor business practices now combined with advances in technology have rendered it completely obsolete.
The only reason the Postal Service has survived is due to the forced charity of the American taxpayer, as well as federal regulations which give the bloated beauracracy an unfair advantage over their private sector competition.
The Postal Service has only managed to turn a profit for five years since 1970, when it became a semi-independent agency. With such a record of performance, any other business would have closed its doors long ago. For 31 years, the taxpayers were forced to provide financial support beyond the funds which Congress budgeted.
Due to federal law, the Postal Service enjoys a monopoly which ensures their continued survival. The Postal Express Statutes of 1845 as well as the Postal Code of 1872 rendered the delivery of mail illegal by anyone other than the U.S. Postal Service. However, the Postal Service allows companies such as United Parcel Services and Fed Ex to deliver so-called 'urgent letters' if they charge more than three dollars or twice the USPS postage fee. Charging anything less is a violation of federal law.
The Postal service estimates their letter handling operations to be worth $45 million a year. While that figure is impressive, it is completely negated when you consider the fact that the U.S. taxpayers are forced to provide the USPS with $100 million a year.
The Postal Service's labor costs are enormous as there are four separate unions which operate within the service. The USPS is the nation's third largest employer with 800,000 on their swollen payroll. Only Wal-Mart and the Defense Department employ more people. Inefficient labor practices is a major reason the USPS is a failing proposition. The Postal Service spends a whopping 78 percent of their budget on labor expenses, compared to 60 percent spent by United Parcel Service, and 40 percent spent by Fed Ex.
Today, all of your bills can be paid online or by phone. Instead of waiting a week or more for a letter to arrive at the intended destination, we can send emails which arrive instantly. Most homes are now equipped with fax machines to send documents that could once only be sent through the mail. Personally, the only thing I now receive in my mailbox is junk mail. Are we keeping the Postal Service in existence to assist direct mail businesses in their annoying operations?
In 2003, a whistle blower working in USPS Inspector General Karla Corcoran's office brought to the public's attention incredibly wasteful practices occurring in her office. CBS News reported that millions were spent on corporate retreats for USPS executives, as well as thousands on so-called 'team building exercise's which included videotaping employees dancing and making gingerbread houses. It was also discovered that the Postal service was paying $1,750 bonuses to any employee who took an online "morale-boosting" test.
In 2001, the office of Inspector General conducted an investigation which identified $56 million in unnecessary spending. Unfortunately, that money saving effort cost $117 million!
Technology and a nearly $10 trillion national debt now dictate that the time has come to close the useless Postal Service. Congress will never make the courageous and practical decision to actually close that beauracracy. They will not risk angering unions who line their pockets, nor 800,000 employees who vote. However, if they simply repealed the laws which provide the Postal service with a monopoly, private competition would force the USPS to either close or become efficient.
Either outcome would relieve us of an organization which has been rewarded annually for failure.
(Printer friendly version) Email: Dave Gibson
