For many people, the marginal cost of email is free.
How about eliminating Fedex and UPS from residential delivery?
That would drive package and express service to the USPS increasing volumes. Fedex and UPS would probably cry foul and bemoan job losses, but I am willing to gamble that removing residential service would result in additional streamlining of their business model and possibly an increase profit margin long term. A win-win for all but free market enterprise. But then again, by subsidizing the USPS now, we aren’t really practicing free market enterprise in that market segment now.
City slicker, eh? Universal broadband coverage ain’t there yet. Even universal dial-up isn’t an option.
And it’s not free. Home access costs money. Often, quite a bit of money for low income people. Sure, there’s often public access at libraries, coffee houses, and such, but that assumes you live in an area that has even this luxury (and there are still significant portions of this country that aren’t served).
The USPS is incredibly cheap for what it does and without the retirement pre-funding mandate could be profitable with a few small changes.
“Surely”
Prove it.
Who pays for it, and do you think such a measure would get by stock-holders and/or Congress? If I’m on the board of a pharmaceutical company, I say that the cost should go to insurance companies. If I’m an insurance companies, I say the cost goes to pharma or increase premiums. The current Congress? They also pass on the cost.
That still doesn’t help the boondocks, as UPS and FedEx simply won’t serve them at all. It’s not worth it to them, as it’s not profitable at all.
Of course, this all ignores the fact that a postal service is constitutionally mandated, so it assumes that a constitutional amendment has been passed.
I remember this service used to exist. In fact I think it might have been on AOL, way, way back in the day. Are you sure that there are no such services anywhere?
It’s not mandated, just permissible. All the Constitution says about postal service is that “The Congress shall have Power…To establish Post Offices and Post Roads.”
Proposals to save the post office need to take advantage of their assets and skillset. True they have real estate dispersed around the country, but I’m skeptical with regards to their dispersed entrepreneurial spirit. So internet cafes are probably out for example, not that anybody has suggested that. Even wifi is problematic, though it is conceivable.
In the internet today, there is a constant battle between for-profit hackers and security professionals, with financial service companies and ISPs trying to hush up the matter where they can. If a secure email system is set up, it will be vulnerable: nothing is 100% safe. What changes are the risks: if you hack into somebody’s computer and try to lift their encryption keys today, that’s too bad. Under my plan it could be mail tampering (or not – the idea would be to encourage the bad guys to stay away from some of the most destructive activities.) . The Feds know how to play a war of attrition against the mob. Fully fund them with a special five cent per email fee and things could get interesting. The plan could even cut the deficit, eventually: just be sure that all revenues are split 50-50 with the private corporation. As it is, Google could eventually make a fortune on a scheme like this.