We Should End The Unfair Monopoly Enjoyed By The Post Office

American industries are subject to anti-trust laws which prohibit the formation of monopolies and leave open the door to fair competition. However, those laws do not apply to the Postal Service. That orgainzation survives because of federal regulations which protect their monopoly on First Class mail. These laws provide an unfair advantage over private sector competitors, thus assuring lower standards in their operations.

Until 1979, there was absolutely no competition allowed under federal law for any letter services. However, the Postal Service allowed so-called "extremely urgent" letters to be carried by private services because Congress was threatening legislation which would have allowed private competition to deliver other types of letters as well.

The Postal Service has only managed to turn a profit for five years since 1971, when it became a semi-independent agency. With such a record of performance, any private business, without the benefit of government protection would have closed its doors long ago. Of course, the Postal Service is a quasi-government agency and is exempt from anti-trust laws, and many other regulations which completely private carriers must follow.

Under 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.

U.S. law also prohibits anyone other than U.S. Postal Service employees from placing anything into a mailbox located on private property. This is why private carriers such as FED Ex must deliver their parcels directly to the recipient, leave it with a neighbor, or place the package where they assume the customer will find it. According to the American Enterprise Institute, the U.S. is the only nation with such a regulation.

In his book "Capitalism and Freedom," world renowned and Nobel winning economist Milton Friedman wrote: "There is no way to justify our present public monopoly of the post office. It may be argued that the carrying of mail is a technical monopoly and that a government monopoly is the least of evils. Along these lines, one could perhaps justify a government post office, but not the present law, which makes it illegal for anybody else to carry the mail. If the delivery of mail is a technical monopoly, no one else will be able to succeed in competition with the government. If it is not, there is no reason why the government should be engaged in it."

The Postal Service's labor costs are enormous, as there are four separate unions which operate within the service (American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Rural Letter Carriers Association, National Postal Mail Handlers Union). The USPS is the nation's third largest employer with nearly 1,000,000 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 alone, 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. Many of us no longer receive bank statements in our mailboxes, but now view them on our computers. Instead of waiting a week or more for a letter to arrive at the intended destination, we can relay our thoughts in the form of emails which arrive instantly. Many 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 exercises 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!

The Postal Service recently announced a $1.1 billion loss for the third quarter of 2008.

The Postal Service which is planning another rate hike next spring, is the only carrier which routinely operates at a loss, and then simply raises their prices, even though their service is often rated as poor by their customers. Without unfair government protection, the Postal Service would be forced to either close or become efficient.

The laws which allow the Postal service to operate a monopoly, should be rescinded and fair competition allowed to flourish. The consumer would be the ultimate beneficiary from such a move.