a government monopoly losing money...go figure!

From the AP's Randolph Schmid in the C-J...

The post office will run out of money this year unless it gets help, Postmaster General John Potter told Congress yesterday as he sought permission to cut delivery to five days a week....

I thought that the USPS still received direct subsidies, but I can't find evidence of that on-line. In any case, ain't it interesting to see a government monopoly that loses money.

The agency lost $2.8 billion last year and is looking at much larger losses this year. Reducing mail delivery from six days to five days a week could save $3.5 billion annually, Potter said....

Wow...

Officials said the recession has contributed to a mail volume drop of 5.2 billion pieces compared to the same period last year. If there is no economic recovery, the USPS projects volume for the year will be down by 12 billion to 15 billion pieces of mail....

The USPS is an interesting example of government monopoly power which is undermined by the market and technological advance. Aside from the recession, without changing the way the do business, they will require massive subsidies or will go under.