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by jjeaff 2784 days ago
And I suppose you also think that Social Security is completely self funding as well?

The USPS has borrowed up to the max legal limit from the government. (currently somewhere upwards of $15b in debt.) The government has to continually increase that debt limit to keep it from folding.

They also enjoy a government imposed monopoly on delivering mail to mailboxes, pay no taxes, vehicle license fees, parking fines, nor market rate interest on their debt load.

It's not that amazing. Borrowing from the government with no end in sight is the same thing as "getting money from the government."
2 comments
wcarron 2783 days ago
Umm, not sure what social security has to do with this? Nor do I understand the condescension in your tone.

However, > pay no taxes, vehicle license fees, parking fines

These all make perfect sense to me. How __else__ do you expect mail to be delivered even moderately efficiently?

> government monopoly

Only on first-class mail, first of all. Second of all, if you read tfa you'd realize that a mandate for maintaining a government-run post office is literally in the damn constitution. Are you also upset that there are government monopolies on the judiciary and declaring war?

edit: formatting

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jjeaff 2781 days ago
I was merely pointing out that they do in fact receive federal funding. The comparison to social security was because SS uses the same wordplay to claim it is self funded as well. But in actuality, federal tax money is keeping both programs alive.

And it's not just first class mail that has a monopoly. It's all/any mail that is placed in a residential mailbox.

>Are you also upset that there are government monopolies on the judiciary and declaring war?

Huh? Those make complete sense to be government monopolies. It doesn't make much sense that the federal government can bar a private company from placing a letter or small package in my mailbox, that I paid for and installed at my own expense.

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acct1771 2784 days ago
They're doing that to keep retirement plans funded way further than they should have to, but have been legally obligated to.
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