POSTAL PRIVATIZATION

Looking through various sources there is a difference of opinion about whether the USPS is subsidized. Perhaps not in a direct or transparent manner as other subsidies, the de-facto claim of subsidization rests in the USPS' monopoly on letters and postcards, its tax exemptions and lending-rate favoritism all allowing for cushy union wages. It is supposed to be a for-profit operation but owned and regulated by the federal government.

Along with dwindling mail volume, fiscal problems arise from congressional control catering to domestic protectionist interests on behalf of the USPS' competitors and catering to demands of the labor unions within the postal service. Thus the USPS itself cannot properly raise or lower prices for its offerings, close less trafficked branches and has to pre-fund pension and health plans for its workforce at levels higher than expected for privately owned free-market entities. Countries like Germany, U.K. and Japan have privatized their postal services as far as allowing private ownership and we consider similar for the USPS in whole or in part as to whichever best maintains it as capable of functioning as a national mail carrier. As Japan privatized their postal system -- a system that already piggybacked with banking and insurance services -- we propose somewhat similar but while making a combination newsprint-postal industry.

In whatever order best suits we take the following steps: Congress will de-monopolize regular mail delivery and let private mail carriers meeting certain standards compliment and compete with the USPS. This would likely start with private carriers contracting out deliveries for the USPS. The USPS will be deregulated as proper to better compete with UPS, FEDEX & DHL in the arena of parcel delivery. Overall, wherever private carriers become dominant the USPS will scale back. Wherever no private carriers deliver the USPS will avail itself to fill in the void and fulfill the mandate as national mail carrier as efficiently as possible. When the USPS is fit enough, IPOs will be offered for appropriate proportions of the company.

One industry that already has the base infrastructure, resources and experience that it can expand to help deliver regular mail is the now faltering newspaper industry. As contractors for the USPS, they can deliver mail by way of newspackets which will be abridged editions of their daily newspapers which will configure as large outer envelopes containing a batch of mail for a particular address. Perhaps people will subscribe to this service on a daily basis or instead more intermittently. Otherwise it could be the case that delivery is covered by senders' postage assisted by revenue generated through advertisements and coupons within the newspackets.

Just as newspapers have incentive to deliver their editions throughout cities, metros and surrounding rural areas they will now deliver newspackets to those masses. Newspackets will entice recipients to visit the complete online newspost edition along with the various leads to consumer deals and online coupons. The newspaper industry will be reinvigorated while facilitating private regular-mail delivery wherever this symbiosis is cost-effective. All of this allows the USPS to eliminate inherent bureaucracies in its service to various local or regional areas. Both the USPS and various private newspacket carriers will evolve between them protocols and standards for interchange of all regional and national mail delivery. Privatization of the USPS would make it more accountable and efficient and greatly lessen its appeal as a congressional football.

CONTINGENCY POST

Note it is a good idea that if no private nor independent organizations are willing then certain governments should make agreements towards having access to newspacket presses with the proper compensation or in some cases maintaining their own newsprint presses by the most cost-effective manner so that they can disseminate essential news and information to isolated, off-grid communities when hit by natural or perhaps man-made disasters. (Hurricanes, earthquakes, ice storms, cyber attacks, EMPs, etc.)