In reference to Stephen Chapman`s April 15 column about rising postal rates, perhaps Mr. Chapman is right: Maybe it`s time we gave the old ”free market” a whirl at the postal service.
After all, it`s worked well for the phone company. They`ve been broken into many small pieces that make more money than they ever did as a monopoly. And now they don`t have to answer for their mistakes as one; no, they can each enact their price increases separately, as the ”market” will bear.
And then there`s the airline industry. The regulated oligopoly of the past has been replaced by the deregulated mess of the present. Who can argue with lower fares, but would you argue it`s as safe or comfortable or convenient as before?
Maybe Mr. Chapman has the money to pay for ”competitive” overnight delivery (currently more than $9 per package). And certainly Mr. Chapman lives within the limited area served by UPS. But there are those who depend on the postal service for service that no ”competitive” vendor would provide. Rural families, the free mail for the blind and Congress`
”franked” mail are examples of these services–services that the $20 billion in subsidies now finances.
The postal service is unarguably riddled with problems. It suffers, as any large company can, from mismanagement, bloat and poor performance. But breakup and ”competition” are not magic words. Anyone who fails to recognize the recent example of failure of these ”panaceas” is doomed to live through them again and again.
