A Republican lawmaker says it's time to consider privatizing the struggling U.S. Postal Service.
Delivery delays and staffing shortages remain a problem for the USPS. The long-standing issues prompted Congressman Ben Cline to say in an interview Friday that the private sector can deliver the mail faster and cheaper. However, economic policy expert Richard “Rick” Geddes says privatization won't be easy.
“It’s a heavy lift to privatize the Postal Service today unless Congress is willing to recognize roughly $200 billion of unfunded liabilities,” Geddes explained. “You move it from the Postal Service onto the U.S. taxpayer.”
Geddes says some European countries like Germany have successfully made the change.
In February, President Biden signed the Postal Reform Act into law, which was aimed at financially strengthening the Postal Service. However, Cline says a bigger budget has not solved the agency's problems.