Because, of course, FedEx and UPS would love to have access to cherry-picked first class mail business. But because someone (hmmm, might have been our Founding Fathers) decided that the Post Office was so critical that it was a public utility, they can't get to it. Unless their pet congresscritters finally manage to drive the USPS out of business. Which they're doing a great job of.
(h/t +George Wiman)
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Post Office: Doing Fine. Congress: Still Dumber Than a Sack of Hammers
Despite what some technobrats might have you think, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is actually still functioning. That might come as a surprise, since USPS is running a $5 billion deficit–supposed …
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Welcome to Britain. We’ve just had the Royal Mail privatised. Selling price 330p. Price 1 week later 500p.
Reason for selling “It needs access to capital, so needs to borrow.”
It is profit making. So why can’t it borrow? Because as a public service that shows up as a GOVERNMENT debt, when “its all about the deficit stupid”.
We are now wondering how long the Universal Service will last.
@LH – The USPS is an odd duck — it’s a quasi-governmental agency, and has been since (I think) the 70s. So it’s completely private as far as the books go, but it’s managed by Congress, which gets to pass all sorts of zany things they must or mustn’t do. Can’t raise postal rates without congressional permission. Can’t actually raise them to make a profit that could go into investment. Can’t change service levels. Must put aside money for 75 years of all potential pensions for all employees, present and future. Zany.