Here is why... government idiots know taxpayers are funding it so they can.
Let me give you an example of why the private industry took so long to finally break out into Space travel, launching satellites and so on.
Before, it used to cost like 250+ million to launch a satellite. It sort of varied based on weight, but it was VERY expensive. Some private space companies started to build rockets and they were claiming they could do it for say, 150 million. What would happen is NASA would step in and say, "We'll launch it for your company for 145 million." Boom, the company would go to NASA, competitor would not be able to fund their rocket plans.
The problem is NASA was literally underbidding others at tens of millions of dollars of a loss to keep competition away. Wasting taxpayer money. NASA is not a lean company. Bloated salaries, expensive pensions. They are outrageously costly to run... always massive budget overages and projection delays. A big problem of NASA, even though I love them, is they are still government run and inefficient.
This is why a company like SpaceX only stood a chance because they had such a radical plan that NASA knew they couldn't underbid by 100-150 million, so when Elon Musk started saying they could launch satellites for 50 million dollars for companies, with their proven SpaceX rocket, and NASA's own embarrassment and problems with its delay after delay after delay of their new rocket, basically they finally had a chance to come around. I mean hell, SpaceX can launch 8 tons into Space at a cost to the company of about 90 million. That sounds like a lot, until you find out NASA was charging 300 million for the same thing, and probably still doing so at a financial loss, or a break-even.
But ya, NASA was literally keeping other companies out of competition for decades by underbidding any competition, even if at a loss.
The US Postal service is afraid of losing a lot of business to competitors, including Amazon's own delivery service so they are literally underbidding the cost, at a loss, to attempt to stay relevant. Government waste at its finest.
I used to work for NASA. It's far worse than anyone realizes. I considered writing a book about it but figured the lawsuits would spoil the fun. NASA used to be a capable agency back in the 50s & 60s, but that's when most people had a good work ethic paired with a patriotic sense of responsibility to do a good job. There are a lot of great people there now, but the freeloaders have ruined it.
250+ million pfffffttttt that would be cheap! ULA was charging 440 million for delta and 800 million for delta heavy. The shuttle cost a billion dollars a launch adjusted to inflation.
But NASA isn't purely at fault. Politicians, who were lobbied by boeing, ULA, and others, were holding NASA budgets hostage.
Because with the waste of a government-run company, a profitable price would be so high that they'd have zero customers, literally. A profitable price is probably something like 10x what they charge now.
So why don't they charge a profitable price? This isn't brain surgery. The solution is quite clear & easy.
I think that is exactly what Trump is trying to force them to do.
Here is why... government idiots know taxpayers are funding it so they can.
Let me give you an example of why the private industry took so long to finally break out into Space travel, launching satellites and so on.
Before, it used to cost like 250+ million to launch a satellite. It sort of varied based on weight, but it was VERY expensive. Some private space companies started to build rockets and they were claiming they could do it for say, 150 million. What would happen is NASA would step in and say, "We'll launch it for your company for 145 million." Boom, the company would go to NASA, competitor would not be able to fund their rocket plans.
The problem is NASA was literally underbidding others at tens of millions of dollars of a loss to keep competition away. Wasting taxpayer money. NASA is not a lean company. Bloated salaries, expensive pensions. They are outrageously costly to run... always massive budget overages and projection delays. A big problem of NASA, even though I love them, is they are still government run and inefficient.
This is why a company like SpaceX only stood a chance because they had such a radical plan that NASA knew they couldn't underbid by 100-150 million, so when Elon Musk started saying they could launch satellites for 50 million dollars for companies, with their proven SpaceX rocket, and NASA's own embarrassment and problems with its delay after delay after delay of their new rocket, basically they finally had a chance to come around. I mean hell, SpaceX can launch 8 tons into Space at a cost to the company of about 90 million. That sounds like a lot, until you find out NASA was charging 300 million for the same thing, and probably still doing so at a financial loss, or a break-even.
But ya, NASA was literally keeping other companies out of competition for decades by underbidding any competition, even if at a loss.
The US Postal service is afraid of losing a lot of business to competitors, including Amazon's own delivery service so they are literally underbidding the cost, at a loss, to attempt to stay relevant. Government waste at its finest.
I used to work for NASA. It's far worse than anyone realizes. I considered writing a book about it but figured the lawsuits would spoil the fun. NASA used to be a capable agency back in the 50s & 60s, but that's when most people had a good work ethic paired with a patriotic sense of responsibility to do a good job. There are a lot of great people there now, but the freeloaders have ruined it.
Your explanation makes a lot of sense and is probably the most likely scenario
When I read it the first thing that crossed my mind was corruption - somebody high up in USPS is getting a kickback to sell to Amazon for a loss
250+ million pfffffttttt that would be cheap! ULA was charging 440 million for delta and 800 million for delta heavy. The shuttle cost a billion dollars a launch adjusted to inflation.
But NASA isn't purely at fault. Politicians, who were lobbied by boeing, ULA, and others, were holding NASA budgets hostage.
Some aspects aren't regulations they can just change, but "Written into law" bits.
Wouldn't want to overcharge the homeless for their shipping, or something.
Because with the waste of a government-run company, a profitable price would be so high that they'd have zero customers, literally. A profitable price is probably something like 10x what they charge now.
I certainly pay the price when I ship through USPS!