Opinion: Congress needs to act before the U.S. Postal Service goes 'bust' because of 'outdated constraints'

The USPS does 'what no other business would do.'
(Photo by Victória Kubiaki, Unsplash)

The U.S. Postal Service does what no private company can: It delivers mail 6 days a week to every address in the country at an affordable price. But the business model the USPS has been mandated to use is outdated and has plunged the delivery titan into insurmountable debt. Should the USPS be allowed to go bust? No. Congress needs to address USPS structural problems now, writes The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

Last week, the USPS "reported a $2 billion quarterly loss. 'We are in a cash crisis,' Postmaster General David Steiner said. 'We require urgent Congressional action to expand our borrowing authority and to address outdated constraints on the organization," the board writes. "The important part for lawmakers to hear is that last part."

The USPS business model was implemented when letter delivery and profits were reliable sources of revenue. Since the advent of email, Evites and online communications for almost every business need, the demand for "snail mail" sank, and with it, USPS profits. They write, "Last year the USPS handled 108.7 billion pieces, down 49% from a peak of 213.1 billion in 2006. A majority of what’s left is euphemistically categorized as 'marketing mail.'"

When Steiner testified to the House about the state of USPS finances and its inability to address losses without sizable shifts in its business model, he candidly pointed out the massive demands and their corresponding expenses that the USPS undertakes every day, saying, "We deliver from the tip of Puerto Rico to the tip of Alaska for 78 cents. That’s a distance of 5,000 miles.”

When addressing the House, the "Postmaster laid out two paths: 'First would be to remove the mandates that ensure the Postal Service loses money,'" the board writes, "Second, 'public service reimbursement,' meaning 'payment by Congress in return for the Postal Service doing what no other business would do.'" The editorial board writes, "Start with option one, and let Steiner run the business like a business."