[shadowgovt]

The postal service, as a Constitutionally-mandated requirement of the federal government (though the post itself is a private company, responsibility for ensuring there is a post and that it works is Congress's), is some very old and very serious law and enforcement.

The Postal Inspection Service traces its lineage to 1772; the FBI to 1908. USPIS being separate from the FBI is one of those quirks of American enforcement, like how the Secret Service is responsible for physical security of the President and other political figures... And financial services.

[wtallis]

> Constitutionally-mandated requirement of the federal government

The constitution says: "The Congress shall have Power [...] To establish Post Offices and post Roads;"

This is not a constitutional mandate. It is constitutional authorization. The federal government is not obligated to fully exercise every power it is granted.

[shadowgovt]

In this case, and speaking specifically around the time that the Constitution was ratified, I suspect a Congress that failed to exercise that power would have been replaced by a Congress willing to, since people liked receiving correspondence and it was fairly vital to doing any kind of long distance business.

[pixl97]

Lol, a government will always exercise any power it is given, and that's why your laws must be overly limited in the first place.

Just see the interstate commerce clause and what's happened with that