The Post Office Should Be Closed Forever

"The U.S. Postal Service lost $3.1 billion last quarter, and it is on its way to losing $10 billion this year. America no longer needs it. At the very least, it should be made so small that it would not be recognized and have an extremely narrow mission. In the quarter that ended June 30, the Post Office lost $3.1 billion on revenue of $18.8 billion. That is much worse in the same quarter the year before, when the loss was $2.5 billion on about the same revenue. Since there was no good excuse for the loss, management turned to the Post Office's history. "The Postal Service continues to play an important role in the American economy and society, and in the daily lives of the American public, as it has for 250 years," said Postmaster General David Steiner."

"The Post Office is huge and unwieldy. There were 533,000 career employees in 2024. The number of non-career employees was 106,000. It has 34,000 retail locations, some of which are in tiny towns that only have a few thousand people. The Post Office delivers six days a week, Monday through Saturday. Over the last few decades, the Post Office services have become less and less useful. Tens of millions of Americans use email instead of First Class mail. Documents that were once delivered by hand are now email attachments. Even promotions and catalogues are sent electronically. Many people get their bank statements and pay bills online. This means that among the primary reasons that the Post Office existed for two centuries, many are gone."

The U.S. Postal Service reported a $3.1 billion loss in the quarter ending June 30 and faces roughly $10 billion in projected annual losses. Employment totaled about 639,000 workers with 34,000 retail locations, including many in small towns, and six-day delivery operations. Declining First Class mail, electronic statements, online billing, and digital promotions have eroded core demand. Maintaining widespread facilities and daily delivery drives costs through excess staffing and leases. Management emphasized historical public-service roles, but many traditional postal functions have diminished, prompting calls for major downsizing and a sharply narrowed mission.

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