The USPS needs to take a long, hard look at their Money Order, and pivot toward basic consumer banking. They were the first widespread service for money transfers. They need to return to that core competency. They should issue checking accounts and bank cards (rivaling Visa and Mastercard) for anyone who wants one. They should provide fee-free basic consumer banking services to the general public.
At this time, their operational model is “advertising platform” that happens to occasionally provide delivery services. Their reason for continued existence is bulk mailing. They aren’t a government service. They are a de facto business. They fund themselves, and they produce a revenue stream for their sole shareholder, the US Government. If they were actually a government service, they would be publicly funded, and junk mail would be broadly prohibited.
The USPS is currently a garbage delivery service. Neither snow, nor rain, nor uBlock Origin stays these ad peddlers from littering “Or Current Resident” with their stamped trash. They should shift their focus to parcel delivery, and consumer banking.
dan@upvote.au 8 hours ago
It’s the same with public transit. Some people think the government shouldn’t invest in it because it won’t be profitable, but… it’s not supposed to be. It’s a public service, just like libraries, firefighters, parks, public schools, road maintenance, etc. That’s literally what taxes are for.
Mardukas@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
It’s crazy. I mean even if you are against taxes and everything it is a shared pool if resources. What are we supposed to with it if not pay for these things? Pay for the salaries of politicians that do not utilise these resources? All the time you hear from these people what the government should not be spending tax payer money on but you rarely hear anything about what the money should be spent on.
CH3DD4R_G0BL1N@sh.itjust.works 1 hour ago
You must not be listening cuz plenty of people talk about spending it on bombing more foreign children for the good of the military industrial complex.
FishFace@piefed.social 2 hours ago
It’s because public transport isn’t always profitable that it needs subsidy, because the indirect effects of a mobile population are extremely beneficial.