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Message: <blockquote data-quote="audioholic" data-source="post: 7931471" data-attributes="member: 549629">We've discussed this before. The USPS is a really bad example of govt efficiency or being competitive with the private sector. As Ive reminded you before, what you pay to ship a package with the USPS is only part of their income. The USPS is govt subsidized (tax money). And, the USPS was quite stagnant with their advances in quality, pricing, and services offered until private companies like UPS and FEDEX came onto the scene and started kicking their butt. The USPS also has a guaranteed income in the form of legal restrictions that mean they have a monopoly on standard mail. The USPS also has a built-in loan agreement with the US govt (up to $3 billion a year) that no private sector mailing company has. Not to mention the USPS is exampt from paying things like vehicle licensing, property tax, etc. Even with these advantages over private sector businesses, the USPS's debt has increased from $2 billion to $12 billion in the years from 2007 to 2010 (latest info Ive found in my brief research for this reply). And its products which actually compete with private companies like UPS and Fedex only account for less than 15% of its total business, the rest being generated by monopolized segments such as first class and standard mail, which those private companies are legally obligated to stay out of.Wait until you graduate and have to start dealing with the red tape and bureaucrats in getting building permits, design approval, etc for your architectural work, you'll better understand how inefficient our govt really is. You'll encounter govt employees who dont really care if you succeed, if they do their jobs competently, if your plans ever get approved or your building gets built... their main goals will more often be to ensure they get their pension, keep their better-than-average health care plan, their above average number of sick days/vacation/comp time, etc. You will encounter people whose main purpose is not to streamline the system like a private company employee usually will, but instead will seek to keep the system as bloated as possible to maintain their job security (again the old joke about one DOT employee digging the hole, while 3 others lean on their shovel and watch). The fact that you argue that govt run agencies are inherently efficient because they are 'non-profit' only shows your lack of experience with such matters. I dont blame you for your lack of experience, most of us thought we knew it all when we were going through college too. Yes, you are a smart guy, but you are not wise enough yet to open your mind to people who have more experience than you do.</blockquote>

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