Why the Post Office Works
Communism has failed. When the government monopolizes every industry, it stifles competitive innovation and leads to widespread economic collapse. Private sector monopolies cripple marketplaces as well. The Sherman Act of 1890 declared that no person or business could monopolize trade or conspire with someone else to restrict trade. The law was used to break up John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company in 1911 and AT&T in 1982.
In the package delivery business on the other hand, the US Postal Service competes alongside private organizations and no one entity dominates the market. As a result, you can send packages of almost any size anywhere in the country in a day. And mailing a letter costs less than 50 cents. We should use the Post Office model in other industries.
In an ideal situation, governments infuse neighborhood friendly moderation into the private sector and independent organizations introduce modern business practices into the public sector. The engagement of taxpayer funds directly into commercial enterprise brings legitimacy to our efforts at promoting industry reforms. By developing enforceable standards agreed on by all the players in an industry, publicly owned companies reduce the need for traditional legislative regulation. Negotiated conditions create a certain moral sway which dictated restrictions never achieve.
Post office, monopolies, AT&T, Standard Oil
In a democracy, citizens have a right to review the accounting records of public institutions. Individual investors can use the balance sheets of community owned businesses to help them assess the long range outlook for particular industries. When the government participates in lucrative, expanding businesses the people not only profit directly, they also benefit from inside the market financial feedback on worthwhile commercial opportunities.
September 12th, 2007 at 2:57 am
You are absolutely correct that in terms of first class mail we have a first class system. Somebody pays for that, but it is not the consumer. It is businesses, who use the bread and butter of the mail system, third class mail, what most people call “junk” mail. And on that end it ain’t pretty.
If you are a business who does business primarily through second and third class mail, you face a nightmare of bureaucratic regulations, increasing complex postal forms, and cranky postmasters (sorry, you don’t have enough money in your mail account, your product isn’t going out this week. No, we didn’t send back the last six weeks postal forms back with the charges we posted to your account yet, you are suppose the know you need to put money in there. We don’t care that your auditor need proof of the money you spent to replenish the account ), If you’ve never argued with a mailing specialist, that yes, you’ve been filling out Statement of Ownerships for the last seven years, and they are mistaken when they tell you you filled it out wrong, you just haven’t lived.