I love the US Post Service and so do nearly 90% of Americans. Of all the government agencies out there, it may be the one with the most bipartisan support. It plays an incredibly vital role in the American economy and yet doesn’t receive any direct taxpayer funds. It also isn't a public good.
Ah, I don't know if nationalization is the way to go here, but devoting resources to making broadband available is, I think, a noble cause. I suppose a legal issue would be whether tying access to the internet to mail delivery would be violating some sort of right or if the folks opposed to Obamacare would make the same arguments here as they did then, that it is unconstitutional to force someone to buy something. It seems that internet based mail would appeal to the green constituency since delivery trucks could be eliminated. This would reduce costs for the USPS significantly as well.
Another thought on the USPS: Most mail can be delivered digitally these days. Advertisements, political mail, even bills can be sent directly to my inbox. While I like getting a physical letter as much as anyone, are the days of first class mail delivery simply a relic of the past?
You should check out those stats! There are 100 million Americans without internet access according to the FCC. Perhaps we should nationalize broadway access?
One of the constant refrains about the USPS is that it is a governmentally created monopoly and as such it can't be as efficient as a private firm. The arguments in favor of cream-skimming are certainly persuasive here, but could you see an avenue whereby some form of competition in the delivery of first class mail would improve the situation? Imposing a regulatory bargain for any firm wanting to deliver first class mail, so they would have to serve all sub markets, seems like a first step.
Private goods *can* be efficiently provided, but that doesn't mean that they are efficiently provided. I use USPS as my example of a government-regulated monopoly as well. You essentially see can use the price of a stamp as the price ceiling imposed on their regulated producted.
Ah, I don't know if nationalization is the way to go here, but devoting resources to making broadband available is, I think, a noble cause. I suppose a legal issue would be whether tying access to the internet to mail delivery would be violating some sort of right or if the folks opposed to Obamacare would make the same arguments here as they did then, that it is unconstitutional to force someone to buy something. It seems that internet based mail would appeal to the green constituency since delivery trucks could be eliminated. This would reduce costs for the USPS significantly as well.
Another thought on the USPS: Most mail can be delivered digitally these days. Advertisements, political mail, even bills can be sent directly to my inbox. While I like getting a physical letter as much as anyone, are the days of first class mail delivery simply a relic of the past?
You should check out those stats! There are 100 million Americans without internet access according to the FCC. Perhaps we should nationalize broadway access?
100 million? That's nearly a third of the US. I find that incredibly difficult to believe considering the concentration of people in urban areas.
One of the constant refrains about the USPS is that it is a governmentally created monopoly and as such it can't be as efficient as a private firm. The arguments in favor of cream-skimming are certainly persuasive here, but could you see an avenue whereby some form of competition in the delivery of first class mail would improve the situation? Imposing a regulatory bargain for any firm wanting to deliver first class mail, so they would have to serve all sub markets, seems like a first step.
Private goods *can* be efficiently provided, but that doesn't mean that they are efficiently provided. I use USPS as my example of a government-regulated monopoly as well. You essentially see can use the price of a stamp as the price ceiling imposed on their regulated producted.
I didn't click on all of your links so maybe you included this, but I really enjoyed this podcast from Planet Money on the Postal Service: https://www.npr.org/2020/08/21/904855736/crisis-at-the-post-office.
Thanks again for tying a topic to modern-day issues.
They always have such great topics!