With the U.S. Postal Service posting a $4 billion loss this past year, some are now asking whether it’s time to privatize.
The Postal Service reported a 10-percent rise in sales to the tune of $70.6 billion in fiscal year 2018 - yet net losses were $3.9 billion. Last year, the agency lost $2.7 billion.
“Well over $50 billion of what they owe is because of retiree health prefunding requirements that nobody else in the government has to do,” says Art Sackler with the Coalition for a 21st Century Post Office.
He says no private company would ever take on that burden. Plus, the Postal Service is written directly into the U.S. Constitution.
“It’s the only actual service provided by the government that is included in the Constitution, if you exclude the military,” says Sackler. “And the way it is interpreted is the Postal system has to serve every American, every day, everywhere.”
Sackler says just forcing retirees 65 and older onto Medicare would save the Postal Service $3 billion a year. But it's up to Congress to make it happen.