1A The Plight Of The U.S. Postal Service
Mar 25, 2026
Richard R. John, Columbia professor and postal historian; Hansi Lo Wang, NPR reporter on USPS operations; Kevin Kosar, AEI policy analyst on postal finance. They discuss the USPS’s long financial decline, the tension between public service and business pressures, delivery-day and pricing reforms, borrowing limits and pension issues, and the postal role in elections, rural access, and parcel competition.
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Cut Delivery Days To Reduce Costs
- Consider reducing service days as part of a congressional reform package to cut labor costs tied to six-day delivery.
- Kevin Kosar suggests paired reforms: loans plus decreased delivery days to lower the ~75% payroll-driven operating expenses.
Debt Ceiling Limits USPS Flexibility
- Federal law caps USPS borrowing at $15 billion and the agency has hit that limit, constraining investment and operations.
- Hansi Lo Wang notes the Board of Governors wants Congress to revisit this 1992-era cap to allow more borrowing.
USPS Last Mile Is A Unique Competitive Advantage
- Private shippers dominate parcels but cannot match USPS's mandated 'last mile' reach to every U.S. address.
- Hansi Lo Wang notes USPS can monetize that last-mile network by opening bids to big and small shippers like Amazon.