Special treatment from federal, state and local governments has given the U.S. Postal Service an unfair advantage over private-sector competitors such as the United Parcel Service and FedEx, according to an economic analysis released this week.
Robert Shapiro, a former top official at the Commerce Department and principal economic adviser to Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, said in a report on Wednesday that USPS benefits from about $2 billion per year in tax exemptions, a monopoly on mail delivery and unique access to federal financing.
“In consideration of the current postal framework, USPS’s monopoly rights and associated subsidies may well impair healthy competition in this large and growing market,” the analysis concluded.
The report notes that the United Parcel Service supported some of the research, but it says the conclusions are solely from Shapiro.
Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer disagreed with the analysis, saying in a statement on Thursday that Congress’s postal policies are “more of a hindrance than an advantage” for the agency in a changing marketplace.
“Mr. Shapiro’s one-sided paper fails to present an accurate picture of the differences between the Postal Service and private sector delivery firms like UPS and ignores substantial burdens imposed on the Postal Service,” Partenheimer said.
Postal officials have been asking Congress for years to give USPS greater flexibility to control pricing and develop new products in an effort to make a profit. USPS has lost billions of dollars annually for the past eight years, including $5.5 billion in 2014.
One of the biggest drags on USPS finances, aside from recent declines in First Class mail volume, is a 2006 law that requires the agency to make advanced payments for retiree health benefits. The cost of the mandate is more than $5 billion annually, and USPS has defaulted on the payment for the past four years.
Postal unions have argued that USPS could earn a profit if not for the prefunding expense, but agency officials contend that the organization is too deeply in debt and in need of new equipment for that to be the case. Nonetheless, both sides have called on Congress to end or restructure the requirement.
Special treatment from federal, state and local governments has given the U.S. Postal Service an unfair advantage over private-sector competitors such as the United Parcel Service and FedEx, according to an economic analysis released this week.Robert Shapiro, a former top official at the Commerce Department and principal economic adviser to Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, said in a report on Wednesday that USPS benefits from about $2 billion per year in tax exemptions, a monopoly on mail delivery and unique access to federal financing.“In consideration of the current postal framework, USPS’s monopoly rights and associated subsidies may well impair healthy competition in this large and growing market,” the analysis concluded.The report notes that the United Parcel Service supported some of the research, but it says the conclusions are solely from Shapiro.Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer disagreed with the analysis, saying in a statement on Thursday that Congress’s postal policies are “more of a hindrance than an advantage” for the agency in a changing marketplace.“Mr. Shapiro’s one-sided paper fails to present an accurate picture of the differences between the Postal Service and private sector delivery firms like UPS and ignores substantial burdens imposed on the Postal Service,” Partenheimer said.เจ้าหน้าที่ไปรษณีย์ได้รับการขอสภาปีให้ USPS ยืดหยุ่นเพื่อควบคุมราคา และพัฒนาผลิตภัณฑ์ใหม่เพื่อทำกำไร USPS ได้หายพันล้านดอลลาร์ต่อปีผ่านมาแปดปี รวม 5.5 พันล้านเหรียญในปี 2014หนึ่ง drags ที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในเงิน USPS นอกเหนือจากการลดอัตราการไดรฟ์ข้อมูลจดหมายชั้น ล่าสุดคือปี 2006 กฎหมายที่หน่วยงานต้องชำระเงินขั้นสูงสำหรับ retiree สุขภาพ ต้นทุนของอาณัติมากกว่า $5 พันล้านปี และ USPS มีค่าเริ่มต้นในการชำระเงินผ่านมาสี่ปีมีโต้เถียงสหภาพไปรษณีย์ USPS อาจได้รับกำไรหากไม่สำหรับค่าใช้จ่าย prefunding แต่เจ้าหน้าที่หน่วยงานแข่งองค์กรว่าลึกเกินไป เป็นหนี้ และ ต้องการอุปกรณ์ใหม่ว่าเป็นกรณี กระนั้น ทั้งสองฝ่ายได้เรียกในสภาจะสิ้นสุด หรือความต้องการจัดโครงสร้าง
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