Below is a pamplet I wrote for the Auburn University Libertarians. It is a rewrite and expansion of the “Goin’ Postal on the U.S. Postal Service” blog I wrote a few weeks ago. I thought I would post it.
Goin’ Postal on the Postal Service
The United States Postal Service recently announced that, on May 14, the first-class postage rate will be increased from 39 cents to 41 cents. Admittedly, the cost of a postage stamp is inexpensive when compared to other goods people regularly purchase, such as gas, a meal at a decent restaurant, or a movie. You might even find the price of a postage stamp so low that it is hardly worth noticing an increase; if this is the case, then you are probably curious about our reason for protesting the postal service. First, the question that should be asked is not whether the price of postage stamps is low but whether it could be lower. We claim that it could be lower; why we think so leads us to what we believe is the greater issue.
Imagine that you took a weekly trip to Atlanta. I need mail delivered to Atlanta each week, and since you make a weekly trip, we work out a deal where I pay you to deliver my mail when you are in Atlanta. Do you think you are engaging in illegal behavior? You might be surprised, even shocked, to discover that you are breaking the law and are subject to up to a $500 dollar fine and up to six months in jail! Is this law just?
We believe it is not! The Private Express Statutes of the Code of the Federal Regulations create a legal monopoly on mail carrying by the United States Postal Service. With few exceptions, it is illegal for anyone other than the USPS to deliver letters within U.S. One exception allows third-party carriers such as FedEx to deliver “extremely urgent” letters; however, these carriers are not allowed to charge below a certain rate for the mail delivery, ensuring that the prices are kept higher than they would be otherwise. Despite these restrictions, the USPS has lost 90% of the overnight mail delivery service to third-party carriers. Obviously, customers prefer these other carriers: why not allow them to carry all kinds of mail?
There are often outcries from groups claiming that some businesses, e.g. Microsoft or Exxon-Mobile, are monopolies and should be punished by the government. Why is there no outcry to end a monopoly on mail delivery? How many companies in the U.S. can have their competitors fined and jailed for competing with them? Until these groups demand that the government end its monopoly on mail delivery, it seem inconsistent for them to attack companies they perceive to be monopolies.
To those who doubt that ending the USPS’s monopoly would affect postage rates, a history lesson is due. The 19th century abolitionist Lysander Spooner, in addition to his tireless fight for the abolishment of slavery, fought the unjust monopoly the USPS had upon mail delivery. He started the American Letter Mail Company, which had routes between Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. He charged less than a third of what the USPS charged. Through his fight with the postal service, Spooner forced the USPS to reduce their rates to 3 cents from previous, non-uniform rates that ranged between 19 and 25 cents between the cities of the New England. The 3-cent postage rate not only applied to New England, but to the whole country! Though Spooner was eventually pushed forced out of business by new laws enacted by Congress to protect the government’s monopoly on mail carrying, his example is noteworthy! It is time that we stand up to an injustice of the government that affects all of our lives! Help us do everything we can to end the monopoly, e.g., speaking out, civil disobedience, informing others, and contacting our representatives.
-Auburn University Libertarians
