Why we must save the US Postal Service

This is part of a weekly series I’m publishing during COVID-19

The US Postal Service has been on a steady decline for decades as the internet and email has gained prominence along with a variety of technology-based solutions to old school mail (including Evite, Docusign and another number of other apps).

Recently, the USPS (a Federal agency by the way) has received criticism for mismanagement and political persuasion from President Trump. In short, the USPS is saying that they might not be able to deliver mail ballots in time for the November election. Even worse, some are suggesting that we should just blow up the USPS and have FedEx and UPS take over mail and postage delivery in the United States.

Personally, I think this would be a terrible move for several reasons:

One, the USPS delivers a fundamental service at a flat rate to all Americans, no matter where you live. Imagine if all mail delivery was handed over to a private agency. Without heavy oversight, there would be little to no incentive to offer rural mail delivery at the same rate as densely populated, urban centers. Companies would start charging different rates to different consumers based on cost of service, thus placing an unfair burden on rural Americans. This only further accentuates the…