Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

Postal Services Going Extinct

by April 7, 2025
April 7, 2025
Postal Services Going Extinct

Chris Edwards

President Trump’s anti-market impulses are taking center stage this week with his damaging tariff policies. But the president is occasionally supportive of pro-market reforms, such as his remarks on possibly privatizing the US Postal Service (USPS). A Trump reform push would be welcome because the USPS is an ailing dinosaur in the modern digital economy.

The figure below shows that USPS revenues are a shrinking part of gross domestic product (GDP). While revenues from packages and shipping have risen, revenues from letters, marketing mail, and periodicals have plunged. Excluding packages and shipping, USPS revenues have fallen to less than one-third the level of 2000, relative to GDP.

The volume of first-class mail has fallen 57 percent since peaking 2001, even as the US population increased 21 percent. Mail volume is falling year after year, relentlessly. While USPS package and shipping volume has grown, we do not need the government providing that service because it is provided by numerous competitive private firms. 

With its core products in terminal decline, the only way for the USPS to survive is to cut costs, innovate, and find new markets. However, those are difficult tasks for a government entity, and we also don’t want the government to expand unfairly into private industries. Therefore, the best solution for the USPS to survive and add value to the economy is privatization.

More on USPS reform here, here, here, and here.

Chart based on author calculations from USPS financial statements here, here, here, and here.

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Noem’s Homeland Security ‘unapologetic’ about using lie-detector test on suspected intel leakers
next post
We Have a Bad Globalization Narrative, Not Bad Economics

You may also like

SNAP and Obesity

May 3, 2023

The Price of Shortsightedness: Emergency Spending’s $2 Trillion...

March 7, 2024

More Bad News for Link Taxes, Eh?

November 14, 2023

What Americans Think about Trade with China—and Trade...

September 10, 2024

Take the Time to Appreciate the Benefits of...

December 1, 2023

Data Show Trump Would’ve Released as Many Border...

January 5, 2024

Tenth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity for First Amendment...

July 21, 2023

Claude AI Thinks Marco Rubio Is Apparently Breaking...

March 14, 2025

Money Still Matters: The Case of Argentina

March 21, 2024

Cato Tax Bootcamp: An International Tax Primer

February 4, 2025

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump ally stands firm against ‘big, beautiful bill’ despite pressure: ‘It’ll completely backfire’

      June 8, 2025
    • Rubio condemns assassination attempt on Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe

      June 8, 2025
    • Obama WH physician says Biden doc should have performed cognitive test

      June 8, 2025
    • Trump warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Elon Musk funds Democrats

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,571)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved