Should the American postal system be privatized?
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  Should the American postal system be privatized?
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(R/L) Yes
 
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(R/L) No
 
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(D) Yes
 
#4
(D) No
 
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Author Topic: Should the American postal system be privatized?  (Read 2227 times)
A18
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« on: April 13, 2005, 02:25:31 PM »

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Gabu
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« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2005, 02:28:56 PM »

No.  Mail should be delivered wherever, whenever, no matter what, not just if it's profitable.
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angus
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« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2005, 02:30:11 PM »

isn't the USPS already separate from the federal government?
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A18
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« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2005, 02:41:22 PM »

There's no competition; no free market influences of the private sector.

The historic reason we have a post office monopoly is because the Pony Express did such a good job carrying the mail across the continent, that when the government introduced transcontinental service, it couldn't compete and lost money. The result was a law making it illegal for anyone else to carry the mail.

Many economists maintain that if entry into the mail-carrying business was open to call, there would be a large number of firms entering it, and the archaic industry we are accustomed to would be revolutionized in short order.
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angus
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« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2005, 02:51:56 PM »

well, UPS and FedEx compete, successfully I might add, with the USPS priority mail.

also, you have to consider "natural" monopolies, like utilities and the like.  Some services and goods are more efficiently supplied by one supplier.  Others are not.  I'm not sure whether package delivery falls into that category.  Back when I first started college, I thought so, but back then FedEx was new and I'm not sure UPS was around.  Clearly they cut into the postal service business.  And now we have a choice, and now the pricing is competitive and the service efficient.  Maybe some private carriers can do the same with regular mail.  But it's a bit trickier with regular mail isn't it?  Do we have to have separate boxes for separate companies?  What if I want to send a package from Peoria to Peru, but the company says, "Well, we don't do Peru, so you'll have to put it in the USPS which can deliver it to the Peruvian federal postal service." 
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David S
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« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2005, 03:52:47 PM »

The post office is one of the constitutional duties of the federal government, so I would not eliminate it. However the constitution does not say that no one else can deliver the mail, so I would just eliminate any laws intended to stop competition with the post office.

Competition forces suppliers to be innovative in finding ways to reduce costs and improve service. Its a good thing.
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A18
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« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2005, 03:57:09 PM »

The law is constitutional under the Congress's authority to enact all laws necessary and proper for realizing the enumerated powers. It is, however, terrible.

We need not abolish the post office to have competition.
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KEmperor
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« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2005, 04:11:19 PM »

isn't the USPS already separate from the federal government?

It's a complicated situation.  They are answerable to Congress on a lot of things, like if they want to raise the price of stamps and how much they pay for pensions.  They are techinically an independent establishment of the Executive Branch of the United States Government.  They run themselves like a business, however, not like a government agency.

As to whether to privatize, I support it.  FedEX and UPS have proven that private companies are capable of providing service just as well as the post office.
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A18
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« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2005, 09:41:16 PM »

The R/Ls are split, and the Ds are united.
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David S
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« Reply #9 on: April 13, 2005, 09:53:38 PM »

Maybe the question should be; should private mail delivery companies be allowed to compete with the post office? That might be more palatable to most people.

The question you posed sounds like you want to put the post office out of business.

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J.R. Brown
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« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2005, 10:02:16 PM »

No.
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True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)
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« Reply #11 on: April 14, 2005, 01:17:30 AM »

The US already has one of the lowest postal rates on the industrialized world, so while I have some sympathy with demonopolization of the postal service, I don’t see it accomplishing much.  I say let some other country experiment with demonopolization first so that we have some data with which to make an informed rather than a ideological decision about the results in so far as effects on price and quality of service are concerned.
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Peter
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« Reply #12 on: April 14, 2005, 08:40:39 AM »

Britain recently de-monopolised the Postal service - its been something of a disaster [Previously the whole thing had been run by the Royal Mail, who did do a reasonable job]. Basically all thats happened is that the Royal Mail has concentrated on competing with private companies on the  profitable bits like priority delivery and corporate deliveries, and left the non-profitable residential delivery to flounder. And prices have gone up to.
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TeePee4Prez
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« Reply #13 on: April 14, 2005, 01:39:40 PM »

Father's a postal worker.  Easy answer- HELL NO!  UPS runs their workers ragged for little money. 
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #14 on: April 14, 2005, 02:33:55 PM »

Britain recently de-monopolised the Postal service - its been something of a disaster [Previously the whole thing had been run by the Royal Mail, who did do a reasonable job]. Basically all thats happened is that the Royal Mail has concentrated on competing with private companies on the  profitable bits like priority delivery and corporate deliveries, and left the non-profitable residential delivery to flounder. And prices have gone up to.

The Government has said it's going to "review" it (which usually means "reverse all changes"...)

I made a prediction at the time that the only effect on most people would be higher prices...
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Dave from Michigan
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« Reply #15 on: April 14, 2005, 03:14:53 PM »

undecided, some of it is due to the fact that my Father works at the post office,  But also I've heard good arguements for both sides.
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Storebought
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« Reply #16 on: April 14, 2005, 04:40:14 PM »

Don't know, honestly.

The postal system was private centuries ago (the "Thurn und Thaxis" mail system of medieval Europe), but it was bought out by national governments in the 1600s.

UPS/FedEX get their profits from large business orders, and not from parcels. Could a privatized US postal system turn a profit without those huge orders?

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patrick1
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« Reply #17 on: April 14, 2005, 04:49:21 PM »

Father's a postal worker.  Easy answer- HELL NO!  UPS runs their workers ragged for little money. 

My old man is a letter carrier.  Typical disgruntled postal worker;)

  I don't think it should be privatized. Rates for a letter might temporarily go down with competition but they would eventually rise over time compared with the current system.  37 cents for a letter is pretty damn good.  There is not much profit potential for letters anyway and there already is ample competition on packages. You also can chose to send your letters with any company you want as long as you are willing to pay for it.
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TeePee4Prez
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« Reply #18 on: April 15, 2005, 01:22:02 PM »

Father's a postal worker.  Easy answer- HELL NO!  UPS runs their workers ragged for little money. 

My father is a long retired rural letter carrier and postmaster of a 4th class office. As for your comment about UPS running their workers ragged... you're right but as for the part about "for little money" I suggest you check again. The route guys work long hours and work their butts off but they are also Teamsters and they make really good money! (A good friend of mine in Albuquerque was a UPS route person and he never had time to chat during the day but we went out for beers a few times and when he shared with me what he made I was flabbergasted!)

By the way, there was no option for me to vote... only Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians. Even the independents were left off along with us "others" this time!

Drivers make great money, but have to hustle hard compared to postal workers.  Loaders make $8.50/hr. and have to work their asses off.
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David S
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« Reply #19 on: April 15, 2005, 06:25:48 PM »

Father's a postal worker.  Easy answer- HELL NO!  UPS runs their workers ragged for little money. 

My father is a long retired rural letter carrier and postmaster of a 4th class office. As for your comment about UPS running their workers ragged... you're right but as for the part about "for little money" I suggest you check again. The route guys work long hours and work their butts off but they are also Teamsters and they make really good money! (A good friend of mine in Albuquerque was a UPS route person and he never had time to chat during the day but we went out for beers a few times and when he shared with me what he made I was flabbergasted!)

By the way, there was no option for me to vote... only Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians. Even the independents were left off along with us "others" this time!

Drivers make great money, but have to hustle hard compared to postal workers.  Loaders make $8.50/hr. and have to work their asses off.

How come when I say "ass" it gets censored, but when you say "ass" it doesn't?
Discrimination against Libertarians!
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The Duke
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« Reply #20 on: April 15, 2005, 08:24:30 PM »

No.  It will never be profitable for some copanies to provide the kind of service that is given to remote areas.  Also, if you really want to use a private carrier, call Fed Ex.
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Fmr. Gov. NickG
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« Reply #21 on: April 16, 2005, 01:15:45 AM »


No...I think USPS is great.  It's relatively cheap, and I have had far fewer problems with delays than when using private carriers.  On one time I got something shipped FedEx overnight to me, it took a week to deliver, and I didn't even get a refund, because FedEx doesn't give any sort of real overnight guarantee!  I never get anything shipped by private carriers if I have a choice of USPS instead...FedEx doesn't even deliver on Saturday!
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David S
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« Reply #22 on: April 16, 2005, 07:14:30 PM »

Usually the post office is pretty good although I did have a problem with a letter I sent about 1 month ago. It was an important letter so I sent it Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation. It cost $3.85 to send. They give you a number that you can check on a website to see if it was delivered. After a week it still hadn't been delivered so I contacted them to ask about. Ultimately they sent me a letter saying they didn't know if it was delivered or not. Great!
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