An April 28 article on Yahoo!Finance by Kerra Bolton discusses the possible privatization of the US Postal Service and potential negative financial effects on US citizens. In the article she quotes Keith La Shier, AUSPL President regarding the expectation by some that every post office needs to be profitable.
The USPS is a service as well as a business and operates under the guidance of Congress. The Postal Service is intended to be self-funding and receives less than .01% of its funding from taxpayer dollars. It delivers mail daily to an ever-increasing number of delivery points all across the nation. Private companies would likely be unable to deliver regularly to rural communities which tend to be the post offices that are unprofitable.
“Universal service never meant every post office would be profitable,” LaShier said. “Yet a first-class stamp costs the same regardless of the distance the letter travels. Congress understood that the busiest post offices would support the smallest to ensure mail is delivered timely to all corners of the nation.”
Keith LaShier