I have no idea why people complain about poor service from the U.S. Post Office. I love it! The idea it could be privatized by our resident He Who Shall Not Be Named irritates the hell out of me – I expect it would destroy it completely.
The U.S. Post Office provides one of the best services available to the consumer. As with all things, costs increase as prices increase. But let’s think about it – I can send a letter 3000 miles for about 50¢. UPS and DHL and FedEx don’t do that. Here are current USPS rates for a variety of things, as shown at stamps.com:
Many times government, whether local, state, or federal, can do a better job than private enterprise. And vice versa. What works depends on the service. Roads should not be privatized, nor police or fire services. Private companies can compete with the government sectors. Not all government sectors work efficiently, nor do private entities.
Personally, I cannot fault the Post Office – it is dependable 99.9% of the time. My mail is delivered. I can track letters and packages. I can get service on Saturday, and even Sundays depending on what it is. I buy stamps so I can mail bills. If email were not so prevalent, I would write letters more frequently.
Kudos to the USPS!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 
Same here! Is that your shot?
Nope – royalty free image. But I used to have a POB like these years ago. Since then, replaced with keys rather than combos.
I dunno, N. It’s been operating at huge losses for years, and its financial position isn’t getting any better. Considering the delivery service I’m getting regularly from Amazon and other online retailers, maybe it could be done better. The issue with privatizing would be to ensure that all addresses would get service, as they do now. That’s a must. Maybe a private service would charge more for all the advertising which clogs my box now.
Our regular mailman does a very reliable job. Occasionally we get a sub, and on several occasions those have put ALL the mail for our 20-house neighborhood in one box and then hightailed it out again. Fortunately the neighbor who gets the mail sorts it and puts it in individual boxes. 🙂
I get it, but not everyone will get the service the PO provides, nor will they be able to afford it. Letters may be obsolete in many ways, but the junk mail is less than it used to be, and it helps fund things. I could go on and on, but this is not the place!