The Post Office

I just don't see how one can compare USPS to fedex and UPS. Do we really want to turn USPS over to the free market where cost could go up by over 500%. All USPS has to do to undercut UPS is charge 15 dollars a letter. Didn't bother to look up fedex, but same idea, just undercut them by 20%.

Do we wnat a country where it cost that much to send a letter? USPS could make a profit, but thank god they are limited by gov't. Reliable and affordable mail service is what the US should be trying to achieve. USPS should not just waste money, but I think it would be a mistake if their only goal was to make a profit (like fedex and UPS)

 

Well I just priced out fedex and to get a letter across town in 2 days cost 19 bucks. I can send it across town in one day with USPS for less than 50 cents.

Competitive services, yes; competitive pricing, no.

 

Union workers have much more power in the public sector, you can simmer down now.

He's a coward that stole money from the taxpayer, a private sector worker doesn't do that.

Lol relax buddy. FDR raped you a long time ago.

FDR doesn't like PUBLIC unions, because the government doesn't go out of business. Stfu now and stick to your comic relief, your political views are weak.

 

Well tough luck dude, the USPS is now bankrupt.

That's what happens when you don't care about profits. Stick to e-mails or whatever if you're too cheap.

 

english please, me no habla

 

Why is that a mistake? What if one of their goals was to break even?

 

I like the idea of it breaking even. I agree, though, that it's certainly not necessary (or even that desirable) for it to make a profit. It's overall an excellent service (and part of the lifeblood of my own small business). I want its services to be as cheap as possible while attaining financial stability. If it tries to earn a profit, that will cause our business to have to raise shipping rates more than necessary, which would cut our profits. That would effectively becoming an unnecessary tax on businesses, and a regressive tax on individuals. I'm not necessarily anti-tax--I just prefer government that exacts taxes out of business and individuals in as straightforward a manner as possible.

Just charge a simple corporate tax rate, and a simplified progressive tax rate for individuals. Get rid of almost all deductions, and don't try to raise government taxes with gimmicks like excessive postal delivery charges. If we do all that and really simply things, then we can all have a rational, straight-forward debate about how much tax is too much tax. Right now the way our government raises taxes is so convoluted that it's practically impossible to really tell the impact of any supposed tax reform. (Not to mention that it's become a ridiculous burden for everybody to comply with the tax code.)

I doubt there's more than one or two people on this board who'd disagree with me on this basic point. It's amazing how fucked up our political system is that such an obvious, universally desirable outcome in our country continues to be completely ignored.

 

Yeah, that would totally suck if everybody had some skin in the game when they vote to increase spending.

 

I agree that profit shouldn't be a goal. But breaking-even should be (or even a requirement). I'm sorry that raising mail rates would affect your business, but there are lots of handouts and subsidies the government could provide that would help my business. That doesn't mean they should do it as our deficit and debt is out of control.

Maybe I am mis-remembering, but I thought you were in favor of the government charging a tax on miles driven. Also in favor of tolls? You seem to be in favor of prices / taxes that are directly related to the service provided, but for some reason that doesn't apply to raising the cost of delivering mail.

Again, I apologize if I am mis-remembering your position on a mileage/ usage tax. But you want a simple, straight forward tax system, but you are also in favor of applying tax / price increases directly to services and infrastructure, as long as it isn't something that affects your business, like the mail delivery. Seems inconsistent.

 

As I said, I'm perfectly fine with the postal service raising rates so that they can break even. That's very fair. I just don't want to see them raising rates beyond that to earn a profit. At that point it becomes an income stream for the Federal Government as a whole, which I dislike. It's a round-about tax. I prefer something more transparent.

I don't remember really being that big of a fan of taxing per mile usage. Seems too onerous to track. I do like the idea of an added gas tax, though, for the same reason I like the idea of the post office breaking even. The price for fuel delivery, just like the price for mail delivery, should reflect true costs. There are enormous hidden costs in current gas prices. Highway maintenance, environmental damage, wars and other foreign policy based on keeping oil pipelines open, just to name a few.

Also, I'm a strong believer in markets and market innovation. The way the market works now, we'll never ween ourselves from the influence of countries like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela until they run out of oil. Only then will the market respond with rapid alternative energy innovation. But I'd rather not wait around while helping to prop up those countries. I think there's a very good argument to be made for spurring that weening process along by raising gas taxes now.

If my choice is for a gas dollar to go to Saudi Arabia or the US Federal Government, I'll pick the US Federal Government every time. I wish ten years ago after 9/11 our president had framed it this way. Call it the Patriot Tax. We'd have a much different, better country now.

 

Why is it necessarily screwing everyone over by raising the rate? If in step 1 they simplified the tax code and lowered the rate to 3% (a rate that even libertarians would have to recognize as unsustainable), is it necessarily screwing everyone over if they raise it to 15%?