A quick word on the Post Office

Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 gives Congress the authority to establish post offices and post roads. Several of our clients are wondering—due to the changes in technology and distribution—if it`s still relevant or we NEED a post office to begin with. Good question.

The power to establish post offices and post roads is an ennumerated power specifically given to congress. At the time it was written, the founders realized SOME form of communication between the newly minted republic was necessary and in that day the only real avenue at the time was the post office—mail and letters. There was no electronic communication of any kind (which would be well into the future with the telegraph and Morse code) and the only thing outside of this was physical messenger (you or your agent would ride or walk over to the person you wanted to communicate with). FedEx and UPS would be more than a century and a half into the future (although the founders could well have envisioned private package and mail services). The founders believed it essential at the time that SOME form of reliable communication was established not only from a government and security perspective but also to bolster commerce and private communication.

And to this day we have a post office.

Through the years our post office would—and continues to—contract with private carriers to move the mail (and vice-versa for what it`s worth). Early airmail pilots and railroad carriers moving mail were required to be armed to guard the mail (and to this day should be). In fact, during the early pioneer days of flying, commercial carriers (like American and others) would have their DC-3 flights and routings named after the airmail route they serviced (like AM-21, etc).

Since just about everyone these days communicates privately through electronic means (internet, cell phone, text, social media, email) one has to ask is a governmental entity delivering mail necessary ? How about packages ?

In a word, no. There are literally millions of drop off locations across the US where one can use private shippers to send letters, packages, envelopes, or anything else to anyone anywhere. Far more than post office stations. In fact, even the smallest villages have some form of capability to ship and receive via any private carrier. And internet based shopping (eBay, Amazon, etc) has no problems sending packages anywhere in the US (although some of these do use existing USPS facilities). In short, there is NO advantage in maintaining the USPS as a governmental monopoly from a cost or market perspective (they USPS typically loses billions annually).

Anytime anyone talks about privatizing anything, there are always cataclysmic calls from some special interest group that the sky will fall. Even though historically this has never happened. It is standard propaganda and fear tactics. So we at D-J see no potential risk in privatizing the USPS.

But the executive branch can’t do it. The authority rests solely with congress and it is up to them to make it happen.

There is nothing in the Constitution which REQUIRES congress to form a post office; it only gives that that potential authority TO them. So it’s up to them as to what type and form that might take (if at all). So far, it has been relatively inflexible on a macro scale as to looking at more efficient alternatives—only on perhaps changing items within the currently defined structure.

What our staff recommends is that congress privatize the USPS; having a much smaller scale entity perhaps to oversee and supervise the entire operation (which would ensure small villages don’t lose their beloved post office stations; changing them instead to a commercial operator). The US isn’t lacking for options in terms of private carriers or distribution choices, and many more private and competing operators would form in being able to move stuff around.

But again, any changes MUST come through congress in that their role under our Constitution is clearly defined. We urge them to act to bring our letter delivery into the 21st century.