Aunt Minnie’s Postal Subsidy and an Unfair Rate

Bill McAllister’s Sept. 19 Outlook article outlined the dismal downward spiral of the U.S. Postal Service.
But there’s a clear fix: Congress should end the Postal Service’s monopoly and repeal its universal service obligation, which were conceived before the advent of telephones and e-mail. Hardly anyone relies on letters as a primary means of communication anymore.

Consequently, the Postal Service delivers mostly junk mail these days. But while consumers are stuck with hefty first-class prices, big companies get special deals for mailing in bulk. That’s why “standard mail,” the category used by business mailers, contributes about 45 percent of mail volume but only 25 percent of revenue.

The Postal Service’s secret is that Aunt Minnie subsidizes the corporations that send us stuff we don’t want.

DON SOIFER
Director
Consumer Postal Council

Don Soifer