[PLUG] Spam law update

Russ Johnson russj at dimstar.net
Mon Oct 21 02:57:08 UTC 2002


Dylan Reinhardt wrote:

>
>> If we vote to ban roughly 25% of the USPS's income, then postage
>> becomes a *lot* more expensive for consumers.
>
>
> Seems to me USPS has managed to achieve higher rates all on their own.


Due, mostly, to the decline in volume. Less volume makes the system less 
efficient, and, in turn, cost more.

It's the inverse of why memory is so cheap these days.

Regardless, we still have the least expensive postal service in the 
world. I remember a time when we had the best telephone system in the 
world. We "de-monopolized" it, and it went to shit.

>   And that junk mail is subsidized *by* us, it's not a subsidy *to* us.

How do you figure? The USPS doesn't get one penny of taxes. It's 
supported entirely by postage fees.

> On the other hand, if we did away with the legal monopoly USPS enjoys, 
> we might actually see rates decline once FedEx and UPS entered the market.

The only monopoly the USPS "enjoys" is sending first class mail. UPS, 
FedEx, Airborne, all of them, are able to move anything else. Even then, 
you can send correspondence through FedEx, they even call it a letter.

You want FedEx et al to pick up at your doorstep daily? And just how 
inefficient do we have to make it?

 From what I understand, the big package movers don't want the letter 
business.

Russ





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