The Post Office Hustle

The Wall Street Journal reports:

With the economy still hobbling along, few industries have pricing power. But neither rain, nor sleet nor recession can stop the United States Postal Service, which wants to raise the price to deliver a first class letter to 46 cents from 44 cents. Congress should refuse and finally force this public monopoly to adapt to the 21st century.

Next to the public schools, the postal service may be the most inefficient monopoly in America. The post office lost $3.5 billion last quarter, and losses are expected to be a cumulative $238 billion over the next decade, by its own admission. Postal rate increases are supposed to rise under the law only at the rate of inflation, but this latest request is four times the increase in the consumer price index. The federal Postal Rate Commission will decide on the request in early October.

Meanwhile, mail service to captive customers keeps deteriorating. The snail-mail system now often delivers not to the doorstep but to cluster boxes. It long ago ended twice daily delivery to most business and residential addresses, and it now wants to eliminate Saturday delivery—which, alas, probably makes sense given its declining revenues.

Mail volume has fallen by 20% since 2007 as tens of billions of letters, birthday wishes and bill payments are now emailed. This trend has long been foreseeable, but the postal bureaucracy hasn't adapted. The same economic forces have buffeted Federal Express, UPS and thousands of private local couriers, but somehow they still manage to turn a profit.

Can you say overpaid government worker?