United States Postal Service – Vital for America

We strongly support the United States Post Office. Traveling across the country, in small towns and large cities, the presence of a Post Office can crystallize a place of gathering and center of commerce.  Small businesses rely on the Post Office for delivery and billing.  People with relatives or business abroad rely on the Post Office for guidance on safe mailing.

By all means, let’s improve and make it more efficient.  Is private enterprise for the Post Office bad?  Not necessarily; there is precedent. Ben Franklin was postmaster of Philadelphia, and later of all the colonies. He was compensated by a commission of 10% of all stamps purchased, plus franking privileges.

With creative thinking, service can become better. In 1760, according to the Walter Isaacson Ben Franklin Biography, the Colonial Post Office first turned a profit.

Political controversy is not new to the Post Office. The British sought to use the Colonial Post office, of which Ben Franklin was Postmaster, to suppress independence. Later, Franklin was tapped to set up the United States Postal System; which quickly displaced the Colonial System.

Let’s be open to change, not for suppression, but for improvement.