Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by dffdsa432 on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @07:34AM
(#36679524)
I don't get it. The USPS has lost billions due to government policies and can't enforce prices due to government policies. They are forced to deliver to unprofitable routes and have prices set to inflation due to government policies. Private delivery services like Amazon and Fedex are generally profitable and don't have these issues. Why is a government alternative better?
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Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by richbell on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @07:41AM
(#36679591)
> They are forced to deliver to unprofitable routes and have prices set to inflation due to government policies. Private delivery services like Amazon and Fedex are generally profitable and don't have these issues.
I, for one, think it's a good thing that people are entitled to their mail regardless of the profitability of their mail route. That's the point of a public service.
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by vharuck on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @07:51AM
(#36679677)
A cynic would say Congress's actions, loading the USPS with costs while denying it control over prices, is so that people ask "Why is a government alternative better?"
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by cartoonworld on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @07:52AM
(#36679690)
None of the competitors offer a similar service to USPS.
Among other core competencies, USPS has nationwide daily coverage of the entire United States and centuries(?) of experience interoperating the the respective mail services of every country in the world and then some.
Amazon wont even take MY package one town over.
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by Karunamon on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @08:28AM
(#36680035)
None of the competitors are allowed to offer a similar service to USPS.
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by ClumsyPilot on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @08:46AM
(#36680211)
Is fedex forbidden from delivering to a lonely hut in Alaska for the same price as USPS?
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by Karunamon on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @08:59AM
(#36680353)
Quite literally yes when we are talking about letters. Even if they did it for cheaper.
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by triceratops on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @11:31AM
(#36682418)
Ah yes letters, the backbone of revenue for any delivery service.
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by Karunamon on Wednesday July 12, 2023 @09:20PM
(#36703944)
Irrelevant snipe. I am not the one who said "a similar service". In a world where USPS had to compete, other entities could deliver letters.
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by triceratops on Thursday July 13, 2023 @01:00PM
(#36712419)
It's extremely relevant. Other entities could deliver letters, but would they? At prices competitive with USPS?
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by jmye on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @08:17AM
(#36679926)
Is it your opinion that some people simply shouldn’t get their mail, or that people who live in rural areas should pay exponentially more to get their mail delivered? Why is either of those things desirable?
USPS is not a business, and it’s a fundamental mistake to pretend it is, solely for the sake of slandering it.
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by lostlogin on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @01:48PM
(#36684584)
Wait until you hear how much money the US military has lost.
Re:Why privatisation has been a costly failure in Britain
by cycomanic on Tuesday July 11, 2023 @04:05PM
(#36686546)
Welcome to the world of privatising public services. This has been a scheme of free market politicians for years; call public services too expensive, strip them of funding and hamper them in other ways, then call out how they are not delivering on their promise. Then sell the off at bargain prices, often with additional government guarantees on revenue. After privatisation services don't improve and cost never go down, but somehow the public is better off?