Photo of a U.S. postwoman waving from her mail truck

Steve Bly/Alamy Stock Photo

Do We Still Need the Post Office?

October 9, 2023

The United States Postal Service expects a loss of $4.5 billion in 2023. Rising costs and the long-term decline in the number of first-class letters people send are largely to blame. In 2022, the post office delivered about 50 billion of these profitable pieces of mail—about half the number it handled 20 years ago. These trends have prompted a lot of debate about the ongoing relevance of the post office and its value to the nation. The head of the postal workers’ union and a scholar at a conservative think tank face off about whether the U.S. still needs a government postal service.

The U.S. Postal Service is a vital part of the fabric of our country and important to our economy. Every day, postal workers sort, transport, and deliver 425 million pieces of mail.

Despite the popularity of email and text messaging, the post office remains the heart of many communities. It’s essential to commerce: People rely on the postal service for the speedy delivery of online purchases, medicines, local newspapers, bills, letters, and invitations. Secure and convenient voting by mail has become an essential part of the election process for voters of all ages.

Why must the post office remain a public service? Because it does something no private delivery company like FedEx and UPS would ever do: It serves 164 million addresses, in every city and town across the country, including unprofitable routes in isolated rural areas and low-income neighborhoods, all with reasonable and uniform rates.

The post office serves 164 million addresses in every city and town across the country.

Some claim that the future of the post office is bleak because young people consider it irrelevant, but a Gallup poll shows the opposite. While Americans of all ages give the postal service high marks, a whopping 81 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds rate it “excellent or good.” Although the volume of letters has declined in recent years, e-commerce has caused an explosion in package volume, a trend that will continue.

Our nation must maintain a strong public mail system. And we can do more: With 34,000 retail offices, the post office has the infrastructure to provide customers with basic financial services, as well as internet access, electric vehicle charging stations, and more.

The Founding Fathers had it right: The Constitution empowered Congress “to establish post offices and post roads.” For 234 years, the nation’s postal system has carried out its legal mandate to “bind the nation together” for commerce and communication. Let’s ensure it remains vibrant for many years to come.

—MARK DIMONDSTEIN

President, American Postal Workers Union

With modern technology and many private companies performing similar services, it’s time for the federal government to privatize the Postal Service.

The post office is one of the few federal agencies explicitly authorized by the Constitution. Why was it so important to expressly permit the federal government to deliver mail? At the time of the American Revolution, most political discussion happened through newspapers, which had to be physically delivered to readers. The Founders authorized a post office because a representative republic requires an informed citizenry.

James Madison noted at the Constitutional Convention that the primary purpose of the post office was to secure easy communication between the states. That objective made sense in a nascent nation that was pulling 13 independent colonies into a united federation. Before radio, telephone, television, the internet, and social media, there would have been very little national conversation without a post office.

The post office is no longer necessary for informed political debate.

Nearly 250 years later, the post office is no longer necessary for informed political debate with the abundance of information we have today. News no longer comes through the mail. Bills are paid online. Most of my mail is junk and unwanted advertising.

While the benefit of the post office has fallen, its costs have grown. The post office has generally operated at a deficit since 1970, meaning taxpayers cover its losses. Yet congressional restrictions have hampered the postal service management’s ability to turn a profit by modifying delivery rates or labor costs.

The government should sell off the post office and allow it to run as a private business. In the year 2023, we are flooded with news and information. FedEx, UPS, and other companies deliver packages and remain profitable. The country no longer needs the government to be involved in mail delivery.

—PARKER SHEPPARD

Director Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation