Dec

20

USPS, from Phil McDonnell

December 20, 2010 |

At our local post office, at the morning opening the line was 37 deep. They only had 1 person at the desk and some customers took as much as 20 minutes to complete their orders. The institution should be closed. It is obsolete and not cost effective. It is fundamentally customer antagonistic. UPS and Fed Ex do a better job.

Victor Niederhoffer comments:

As Nock pointed out, the first thing a govt does is to establish a
postal service so that they can collect the service benefits.

Stefan Jovanovich writes:

Our political parties take their origin from Jefferson's wanting to take the Post Office away from Hamilton's Treasury Department and give it to his Department of State. As Nock observed, the argument was about patronage: Hamilton already had the customs officers. Jefferson wanted the postmasters. The Whiskey Rebellion was hardly the great blow for freedom that Jefferson's orations have led people to think. He and Madison were upset by Washington (and Hamilton's) success in establishing the excise because it meant rewards for the Federalists/Whigs patronage constituency. That arguments about the national bank had the same origin. It is hardly surprising that the first thing Jefferson and Madison each did as President was try to establish an embargo that would starve the customs officers while at the same time embarking on a program of expanded postal roads.


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  1. Ed on December 21, 2010 1:37 pm

    Phil, the post office is no longer about providing a service to the public at large. It is a JOBS program. Here in Chicago, it seems to be one of THE major employers (along with other state/federal employment) for middle class blacks. They are going to shut this welfare program down? PHAT chance!

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