91–100 of 160 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
At the same token, we probably should rethink the USPS from first principles. We want delivery to every address, but certainly there is a problem when ~50% of what's being delivered is junk mail[1] 1. https://facts.usps.com/table-facts/
Why first principles? Create a do-not-mail list. Make up the funding gap with taxes.
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> The USPS is a crucial part of the US infrastructure. Mail delivery and shipping are crucial, not the USPS. There are plenty of other private companies that can and do show the ability to do what the USPS does - only more efficiently (and without consistently losing money). At this point in history, there's no need for us to continue supporting the tax-subsidized[1] money pit that is the USPS. Yet another piece of e…
To add to the ongoing list, the USPS is the only delivery service that cannot open up your mail/packages without a warrant.
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> No one else does what the USPS does They certainly could if it weren't for laws preventing them from delivering to people's mailboxes.
What are the laws preventing UPS from delivering to extremely rural areas?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
At the same token, we probably should rethink the USPS from first principles. We want delivery to every address, but certainly there is a problem when ~50% of what's being delivered is junk mail[1] 1. https://facts.usps.com/table-facts/
Why first principles? Create a do-not-mail list. Make up the funding gap with taxes.
I would prefer that nobody subsidies the delivery of landfill to my mailbox.
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What? USPS is the single largest parcel carrier in the US (dwarfing UPS and FedEx by package volume). That ain't even including the numerous packages that UPS and FedEx delegate to USPS for last-mile delivery (via SurePost and SmartPost, respectively). Hell, a lot of rural communities are entirely dependent on USPS for parcel delivery because they're outside of the service areas of other carriers. I don't know where…
> What? USPS is the single largest parcel carrier in the US They're the only unsolicited advertisement carrier in the US.
My point, though, is that the "unsolicited advertisement" functionality of USPS is minor compared to its significance as America's top parcel carrier, and to write off USPS as "just a source of junk mail" is throwing not only the baby, but also the tub and half the house, out with the bathwater.
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What are the laws preventing UPS from delivering to extremely rural areas?
> What are the laws preventing UPS from delivering to extremely rural areas? Apparently it's literally illegal for anyone but USPS to put something in your mailbox https://blog.oup.com/2017/07/mailboxes-us-mail/ .
Unrelated to this specific article: The USPS is a crucial part of the US infrastructure. The thought that we could loose it over mail in ballot voting is a sick joke.
This doesn't seem to be a common opinion, but I generally don't understand why USPS is critical infrastructure. Vote by mail is just about the only essential service they provide that I can think of, and that could potentially still be supported in other ways without USPS the other 364 days of the year. Many of the justifications I've come across of why mail is essential seem to center around transmission of informat…
Working with low-income folks daily, this is not true in total. We have to check phone numbers and e-mail addresses every time we interact with our clients, because they cycle through them almost monthly. Physical addresses tend to change annually.
>And public libraries provide internet access for those who don't have it otherwise.
There is no public library with internet access within 100 miles of my current address.
>How is an essential government service entirely ad-supported like USPS is?
They're not entirely ad supported?
>I just think all these arguments about how essential it is to the fabric of modern society are bit outdated.
And this is my take - your view is of a young, middle- to upper-middle-class person with no problems accessing the modern world today. For poor people, for rural people, the mail is essential. I receive all of my bills via mail, because the internet is so bad here. My bank does not offer bill-payment, and I don't want to link my bank account to a third party site, outside of using my bank to auto bill pay, if that's even an option.
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I don't get why it has to lose money at all in the first place. Sounds to me like they're offering a unique, highly in-demand service, in a market that is currently booming. Perhaps they should consider reworking their pricing structure? Just a thought.
The USPS does not have domain over the pricing structure of its most popular commodity: first class mail. That is regulated to the Postal Regulatory Commission. As for other services offered they do maintain control, which is why priority delivery starts at $7.15. They're also mandated to provide door-to-door delivery with first class mail, so effectively every piece of rural mail costs them money, but they can't do…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What? USPS is the single largest parcel carrier in the US (dwarfing UPS and FedEx by package volume). That ain't even including the numerous packages that UPS and FedEx delegate to USPS for last-mile delivery (via SurePost and SmartPost, respectively). Hell, a lot of rural communities are entirely dependent on USPS for parcel delivery because they're outside of the service areas of other carriers. I don't know where…
He's talking about junk mail. This is mostly what they deliver.