Where do get the idea USPS would shut down entirely?

From the article linked.

I really wish they would just steeply increase the rates on presorted commercial mail (nonprofits exempted). Let the junk mailers pay closer to a fair share (and perhaps deter some of them) rather than having the public pay for a bailout.

Whatever happens, the market fundamentalists will tell you it is a good thing. They don't care if the market (read: rich, fat assholes) screws people over and causes mass suffering, they only care that the government stops trying to prevent them from screwing people over.

Obviously most of us care more about putting an end to suffering than allowing these rich assholes to have free reign over everyone's livelihoods, but what gets missed is that the reason the USPS exists is to provide a delivery service to remote areas that no one else will serve. Those people in remote rural locations that are only served by the USPS will be left with no service.

We are all the 'market'. The market is not rich fat assholes.

The PO delivers government tax forms and benefit checks, so it will be some time before that could cease because everything is electronic. Ironically it's the outlying areas, where PO delivery is most expensive, that are most Republican, and benefit from a massive tax transfer from blue state urban areas in the form agricultural, electric power, telecommunications and Internet access, health care, transportation (price of gas, road) subsidies, as well as having many retirees drinking tea.

But one or 2 PO's in Portland and twice a week mail delivery? Could happen. Or mail by bike - that would be cool!

The PO should do some big deals as exclusive shipper to the large online retailers.

Why does no one consider that FedEx and UPS are competing with each other? They're certainly not competing with the USPS dinosaur. They've already beaten it. If they hadn't, it wouldn't be shutting down.

What PDXwahine said. We already went over this last time Smirk posted about it -- UPS and other freight carriers aren't in competition with the USPS, and their rates are tied directly to the cost of fuel.

So, private monopolies are bad, but public monopolies are good? Maybe the government will relax rules on who can delivery what types of mail, and who can use mailboxes. At least in Portland we can rely on bike messengers.

Re: frankie: keep telling yourself that, sucker.

Re: PDXwahine: The USPS isn't in danger of being shut down because it's losing in the marketplace, it's in danger of being shut down because of the expenses and restrictions on its income that Congress has imposed on it. Basically, Congress ties its hands, preventing it from turning a profit or competing with the private companies.

Re: TheGolden: in theory, yes. Private monopolies are generally bad because the absence of competition mean their customers get fleeced.

Private companies are after one thing and one thing only, the enrichment of their shareholders. If that isn't you, you had better hope that they believe low prices and quality services are the best way to improve shareholder value. But without any competition that won't ever happen. Their prices will increase and their services will degrade in quality until someone else finds a way to compete against them.

Public monopolies do not serve shareholders but the public, and can be mandated to serve other purposes, such as providing services at a minimum of cost by not turning a profit, and serving everyone, even those who are the most expensive to serve. Of course, that can be sabotaged when Congress does things like mandate it turn over its revenues.

I read an article that pointed out labor and health / benefit costs of the USPS vs Fed Ex, etc.
Staggering difference.
Man,if they go to 5 day per week delivery it is seriously gonna fuck with my netflix.

@PAUL CONSTANT -- The USPS was cut loose from the federal trough in 1981 by Reagan. No tax money but stupid interference from congress. They were prevented from doing the postal reforms that were done in the EU decades ago.