Comment by geofft | Hacker News Reader

Comment by geofft | Hacker News Reader

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> The USPS lost $2.7B last year

The USPS spent $2.7B more than it gained in revenue from sales of stamps etc. The idea that a government agency is supposed to be profitable, and the use of the business term "lost" is appropriate, is a politicized, partisan one. (The extent to which the USA's post isn't really a government agency any more is also extremely politicized and partisan.)

One way to tell that the profitability model isn't appropriate is, what would happen if the USPS did achieve profitability? The USPS's own press release attributes $1.1B of their "loss" to a refusal by regulators to let stamp prices remain at 49 cents, requiring them to go back to 47 cents. How is a "company" that already has extremely below-market prices and can't even get regulators to permit them to keep a 2-cent increase supposed to maintain profitability, should they ever achieve it?

That's the point though. The USPS costs more then it takes in, by a lot. Yeah, it's due to regulators, but they're not going anywhere. That's exactly the argument against having USPS pick up additional responsibilities like banking. The USPS opens a bank branch in every post office, now those same regulators (who can't even agree on increasing the price of a stamp) are pricing loans and opening checking accounts? What reason is there to believe that would end well, especially when it's a whole new line of business for them?

Not complaining, but the fact I'm getting hammered by downvotes on all of these responses is mind boggling to me. I'm surprised how much of the tech world apparently thinks this is a good idea.

Not that I downvoted, but I think the downvotes are because your statement reads as a criticism of the USPS's internal competence and ability to run a successful operation. "The USPS is required to suck by external forces that we will not realistically be able to get rid of" is I think a pretty different position and one I'm more likely to agree with.

Fair enough. Nothing personal against the people of the USPS. I do think those same "external forces we won't realistically be able to get rid that require the USPS to suck" would also make them suck at banking though.

  The USPS spent $2.7B more than it gained in revenue from taxes.

By taxes, did you mean fees (postage and other fees)?

In analyzing USPS financials, bear in mind that they have to pre-fund all of their potential long-term pension and healthcare liabilities[0], unlike other arms of government.

[0] https://www.uspsoig.gov/blog/be-careful-what-you-assume

I did, yes, fixed.

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