I finally started watching Star Trek because I kept seeing “Ferengi” mentioned in this context. I’m only a few episodes into Next Generation but so far the analogy definitely holds up.
Interestingly, in one of the episodes the Ferengi leader prioritizes his own personal gain (in the form of revenge) over profit and his fellow Ferengi are so disgusted by the behavior that he’s overthrown.
"Requires the Postal Service, beginning in 2007, to compute the net present value of the future payments required...Directs the Postal Service, for each year, to pay into the above Fund such net present value and the annual installment due under the amortization schedule"
The "50 years" part that you bring up is probably an exaggeration to some extent of the amount of time between when a person starts working for the USPS and when they retire, but the general concept behind the argument remains the same I would think.
However, the USPS is designed to operate in circumstances where huge losses are inevitable (like shipping to remote towns always at a loss). We already have for profit shipping companies so I see no problem with the USPS, and actually applaud my tax dollars going towards giving every American access to mail.
> Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize.
If you can't accept the reality that USPS does more than deliver "grocery store spam" I'd recommend you abstain from adding to the conversation.
The main parcel shipped by the USPS is physical waste.
https://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/us-postal-service-role-in...
It is a lot more than just “grocery store spam.”
The high risk loans and bailouts given to the post service are absolutely more expensive than mailing medicine to veterans.
The cost of mailing medicine to veterans is _part_ of the cost of keeping the post office afloat. Other parts of that cost are the problem, and private alternatives which charge higher rates for infrequently recurring mail are actually less expensive to the government.
And assuming you mean accounting for actuarial costs, other businesses certainly do need to account for those.
The postal service also delivers tax documents, ballots, bills, and (actual and important, not the junk made to look as such) notifications from utilities. It's disingenuous to argue that the postal service doesn't do anything important.
Were the US to pay for private delivery the 30-40 pieces of critical mail people receive each year and use bulk pricing discounts, they would likely come out ahead.
"Everything needs to make a profit" is straight out of right wing talking points. The purpose, of course, is to psyop all of us into privatizing everything, so a few cronies can extract wealth from everyday things Americans need.