elwoodblues

What the heck do we still need it for?

It's entirely possible (and cheaper) to pay bills through the internet. Many companies are already doing this.

I don't know about you, but I haven't sent but three or four actual letters since I got online. A postcard, a thank-you note, and a couple other things. The vast, vast majority of my communication is by email, phone, or fax.

95%+ of my non-bill mail is junk.

So, why do we still have this government-sanctioned monopoly?

Sorry this is short, I'll write more later; gotta get to class.

pz

Off the top of my head, because you aren't most people. Most people do most of their communication through quaint, old-fashioned media like mail.

For another, physical media are more easily verified. A cancelled check is pretty good evidence that you actually paid your phone bill, while an electronic transaction is invisible bits and vapor.

For some things, the value is as much in the instantiation as in the idea. Try sending your sweetie a birthday gift by e-mail, for instance, instead of a box of chocolates, some flowers, or a tangible, hand-written love letter. You'll find out.

theyeti

To deliver the mail, silly.

Shadowy Man

Is the USPS government-sanctioned? I thought they operated on their own now.

I still use the mail pretty frequently, thank you very much.

Hugo Holbling

FYI, the majority of mail in the UK is (unwanted) advertising. As a result, mail volumes are still rising, in spite of the internet. My guess is that the same holds for the US. In addition, many people still like to receive letters because it shows that the sender made an effort, especially if it's hand-written. This holds for correspondence with elected officials in particular.

The solution to unsolicited mail is to tip your postman at xmas and ask him to "kill-off" (postal slang for return to sender, marked "refused") all junk.

theyeti

Elwood, you have an odd habit of assuming that the rest of the country is just like you. You hated your public school, therefore all public schools are terrible. You don't use the USPS, therefore no one needs it.

Really now. If no one needed the USPS, it would wither away. It's paid for by stamps sold for the mail it delivers (and some to collectors I guess), so if the amount of mail it was delivering went down, so would its budget. But then again so would the work it had to do, so it would simply down-size. AFAIK, there has been no reduction in the use of the postal service. The internet, on-line banking, etc. seems simply to have increased the total amount of communication, not reduced that amount of mail being sent. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but either way there will always be a need for a postal service.

theyeti

theyeti

The USPS is still a part of the government, but it's self-sufficient. It's able to cover its costs through the sale of stamps. There are occasional bad years when the Feds have to fork over some money, but for the most part it's not paid for by taxes.

I imagine that Elwood's beef is with the fact that it's not privitized, but I can see little or no advantage to doing that.

theyeti

elwoodblues

A fair point, and one that had crossed my mind before. Ultimately, I think that's going to have to change. Whether through encryption or some other method, we're going to have to find some way to trust properly assembled 'invisible bits and vapor'.

UPS. FedEx. These seem like good options.

Oh, and for check cashing/bill payment, automatic withdrawl makes a good deal of sense these days.

I do this. I also do my damndest to rectify this. Air it out, communicate it, and find out when I'm wrong. It seems I may be wrong here; people are still using mail much more than I'd thought. Good, now I know that. I don't think it's going to continue for very long, but it seems to be the case here and now.

You guys seem awful soft on the idea of a government mandated monopoly. After seeing all the bitching about Microsoft and other businesses, is it any more 'right' when your own government does it or charters it?

And I'd think the environmentalists would be more concerned with an organization that assists in this much waste.

Total weight of bulk mail in 1990: 7,600,000,000 pounds
Weight of bulk mail recycled: 400,000,000 pounds
Percent of bulk mail recycled in 1990: 5.2%

pz

Nope. One reason UPS and FedEx can be profitable is that they are selective about where they deliver. Rural areas would be left in the cold if we relied on them.

Autonemesis

Lowest cost option for delivery of a single page letter across town:

FedEx: $9.33
UPS: $8.76
USPS: $0.37

Need I say more?