Why do republicans hate the post office and use it as an example of why the private sector is always better?

Question

Anyone who has used Ebay knows that UPS charges two or three times as much to ship a product in the same amount of time, or maybe one day sooner. If the product isn't time sensitive, the post office is far less expensive. When I've sold items, no one has ever requested UPS. When I buy items, I always select USPS if it's an option. The "free market" of ebay prefers usps. I've never had anything lost and usually the items are $100+.

If there was no post office, the prices for sending anything through the mail would be astronomical and things would still get lost in the mail due to human error.

The other thing people bring up is that the post office is losing money. They are going to lose about $6 billion this year, which is about $20 per US citizen. If fedex and UPS handled all the mail, the costs per year to each citizen would go up a lot more than that.

Answer 1

The private sector is always better,,,,There is nothing the government can do that the private sector business can do better and more efficiently.



The tax payer does not have to support UPS or Fed Ex.



With email, ebills, automatic deposit, and faxes, there is little need for the US Post Office, in fact the only thing keeping the post office going is junk mail.



Now there is no doubt the Post Office has improved but remember it was competition with UPS and Fed Ex that forced USPS to improve, and it was Fed Ex that started overnight delivery.



Privatize the post office and you will see lower prices and increased service.



Federal Retirement programs alone are costing the Taxpayer astronomical amounts, and are unsustainable.



My mail carrier makes over 78k per year, plus sick pay, 18 holidays, 4 vacation days per month, and can retire at 50 years.

Answer 2

The private sector is better because it`s survival depends on producing a product and making a profit on it`s products to sustain itself !! If the private sector can`t sustain a profit , they go out of business ! Whereas the government produces nothing , no product , and sustains its` bankrupt programs by raising taxes until they are not sustainable any longer ! An example for you ; read up on the Kansas City school system having to shut down over 50% of their schools because there is no more taxing that can be done to the taxpayers ,and after the government had spent over 2 BILLION dollars "TAX PAYER DOLLARS" to supposedly upgrade and build new schools only a decade or so ago !!! The US Postal Service is just the most blatant example of a government failure to run any kind of business that everyone knows about......

Answer 3

"Anyone who has used Ebay knows that UPS charges two or three times as much to ship a product in the same amount of time"



-- umm no. Sometimes UPS is cheaper, sometimes FexEx, and sometimes USPS.



UPS makes a profit, USPS loses money hand over fist. Comparable services, Prviate sector does a slightly better job at the service and WAY better job financially.



USPS Lost 2.8 Billion dollars last year even tho it has many special privileges, including sovereign immunity, eminent domain powers, powers to negotiate postal treaties with foreign nations, and an exclusive legal right (aka MONOPOLY) to deliver first-class and third-class mail.



UPS made 3 Billion.



The government is a joke. Have a nice day

Answer 4

The post office doesn't make money though. As a business, it's designed to lose money, it's efficiency in cheap shipping is gained by a business model that is designed to be a drain, to not make profits.



While the cost of shipping is low, the total cost for shipping is spread across all the tax revenue collected and distributed to the post office. The price you pay is not the true cost, essentially your use of the post office is subsidized.



The private sector recoups its costs and even makes a profit on the rate it charges to ship a package. They do not take money from all US citizens that pay taxes, and collect a fee on top of shipping your package. The nice thing about this is if you don't use it, you don't pay for it. I pay for the post office, and I don't use it, and I don't get a choice.

Answer 5

Well with the post office you get an apples to apples comparison, so it's an easy target and an easy match. But then look at VA hospitals compared to private hospitals and you see the government is not so good as the private sector. How about the IRS, going all the way to California to pursue 4 cents when the plane tickets alone for the two agents were 1600.00. Seems like when Government is involved they don't consider the cost, because it has no affect on their bottom line.

Answer 6

I'm not a Republican but I don't like the government sponsoring any institution that continually loses billions of dollars annually, whether it's the postal service, Amtrak, etc. When an institution is losing money and the taxpayers are held hostage to continue supporting that institution then it has become nothing but a government jobs program.

Answer 7

They also conveniently forget to acknowledge that NO tax dollars go to the Postal Service. It is required to pay for itself.