[w0de0]

The internet also delivers mostly spam, and is still a public good.

The USPS needs reform, sure. But a public postal service which will deliver mail to everywhere, even at a loss, is fundamental to civilized society. Prior to the internet, this public good was more obvious. It's still needed.

Amazon delivers efficiently to 95% of addresses, so long as there's a profit to be had, and this is good for buyers. The USPS delivers to 100%, regardless of profit, and this is good for citizens and businesses - bills, legal documents, ballots and governments' communications are receivable at nearly every address in every state, thanks to the USPS. That's a tremendous public good.

If there were possible to talk about the American postal service non-ideologically, it would be a cinch to regulate away most junk mail, I imagine. Political oversight has in recent decades demanded the USPS be profitable, which misses its point.

[GhettoComputers]

> The USPS delivers to 100%, regardless of profit.

False. Did you see the part I said it already don’t serve all areas?

> The internet also delivers mostly spam, and is still a public good.

Compared to what and by what metric? You can’t opt out of physical spam, would you call it a public good (what does that mean?) if you couldn’t stop spam?

> If there were possible to talk about the American postal service non-ideologically, it would be a cinch to regulate away most junk mail, I imagine.

So you’re advocating for privatizing them?

> Political oversight has in recent decades demanded the USPS be profitable, which misses its point.

What is the point? It’s been talked about as a terrible monopoly for decades. It wasn’t profitable before they asked it to stop squandering money.