The post office is the perennial butt of jokes, but they do a good job. Things don't get lost in the mail. And while there is the occasional bad apple who steals a check, those instances are rare, and the Postal Service seems to make a good effort to crack down on them.
But the USPS keeps losing money, $16 billion in fiscal 2012. And the culprit is the overseer, the U.S. government. There are ways to fix the problem -- end prefunding of health benefits, ending Saturday delivery, raising the price of stamps, union contract reform -- and from time to time, efforts are made to correct these problems. But government keeps getting in the way.
There's hope. Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif) has proposed some changes which could address the problems. If can get a majority in the House to go alone, then they'll have something to send over to the Senate.
Maybe this time.
Post Script. While the postal workers do a good job, the USPS' financial woes provide a good lesson on why government planning committees should never control industries. Whether voters learn the lesson is another matter.
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