No, they are federally funded but independent. It's a rather odd setup. They can have profits and did for a very very long time until they couldn't compete with the other services.
I do believe a postal service is a fundamental aspect of a functional modern government so I have no problem with a publicly funded one, particularly to handle official letters and to reach areas that are not serviced by private carriers.
That being said, the USPS has been such a shitshow for years and it rewards incompetence. My family orders a ton of stuff and by far the most issues we've had have been with USPS whether they be delays or poorly handled letters and packages.
um, aren't they not supposed to ever have profits? Aren't they basically a non-profit of sorts?
No, they are federally funded but independent. It's a rather odd setup. They can have profits and did for a very very long time until they couldn't compete with the other services.
Also weirdly protected by old-timey laws that shouldn't exist: the rail system
I do believe a postal service is a fundamental aspect of a functional modern government so I have no problem with a publicly funded one, particularly to handle official letters and to reach areas that are not serviced by private carriers.
That being said, the USPS has been such a shitshow for years and it rewards incompetence. My family orders a ton of stuff and by far the most issues we've had have been with USPS whether they be delays or poorly handled letters and packages.