Annie Lowrey writes a piece in Slate showing why the restrictions on its operations have left the US Postal Services with a revenue model that is causing increasing revenue losses and shrinking earnings at the same time. the article reminds me that one of the industries that was conventionally considered almost obsolete on account of the rise of email was the postal services. And it is indeed true email communication has dented revenues for post offices that rely on delivery of letters.
Reading the reference piece, it reminds me about how difficult it often is to completely retire an organization that is established in the public sector. I think that the rise of the internet and web-based email was a significant blow to the business model of most postal services but that need not condemn them to guaranteed death. In the case of US Postal Service, one sees that politicians and unions state the intent of ensuring that the organization survives but act in ways that undermine that survival. In the end, it is the public that must continue to provide subvention or pay for the massive debt that the service runs. Among the ideas that constrain the US postal Service is the insistence in maintaining numerous offices while also controlling the price of basic mail delivery. It is as if some people in authority do not understand that the price ceiling limits revenues due while the reluctance to close offices raises costs. From the description, the US postal Service does a good job but is hamstrung by bad economics.
I would like to examine a postal service in a nation with a substantial land mass and population that runs on a profit or is able to meet its costs. I will post a blog here as soon as I find one example.
Reading the reference piece, it reminds me about how difficult it often is to completely retire an organization that is established in the public sector. I think that the rise of the internet and web-based email was a significant blow to the business model of most postal services but that need not condemn them to guaranteed death. In the case of US Postal Service, one sees that politicians and unions state the intent of ensuring that the organization survives but act in ways that undermine that survival. In the end, it is the public that must continue to provide subvention or pay for the massive debt that the service runs. Among the ideas that constrain the US postal Service is the insistence in maintaining numerous offices while also controlling the price of basic mail delivery. It is as if some people in authority do not understand that the price ceiling limits revenues due while the reluctance to close offices raises costs. From the description, the US postal Service does a good job but is hamstrung by bad economics.
I would like to examine a postal service in a nation with a substantial land mass and population that runs on a profit or is able to meet its costs. I will post a blog here as soon as I find one example.
No comments:
Post a Comment