"Does the list think that this arrangement is a step toward the postal
service opening up to free markets, or will it perpetuate the government
legislated monopoly by bringing a sole private supplier into the mix?"
Maybe it is just a step towards a more efficient delivery system. The
agreement allows FedEx to do what it excels at (getting packages from one
hub to another swiftly), and allows USPS to do what it does best (daily
postal delivery - the last mile to your door). It looks like a win-win to
me.
Is anyone else concerned about what would happen to the quality of mail
delivery "if this restriction were eliminated"?
FedEx, and companies like it, are not good at delivering parcels to rural
areas far away from their hubs, and they are not good at this because the
work does not pay.
How does one reconcile the issues of cross-subsidization, competition, and
the utilitarianisms when it comes to The USPS?
In answer to you question, the new arrangement will probably "perpetuate the
government
legislated monopoly by bringing a sole private supplier into the mix", but
is that such a bad thing? I like getting mail delivered to my door on a
daily basis and am not at all sure I need five companies competing for that
work.
Imelda Rowe
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Washington, DC
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Vecci [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2001 02:22 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: USPS hires FED EX
An interesting excerpt from said article,
"FedEx's chairman and founder, Frederick W. Smith, ....said, they really
have complementary businesses: FedEx carries larger packages, while the
Postal Service focuses on letters and lighter parcels."
One wonders if this complimentary nature of the FedEx and the USPS is not
due solely to private carriers being forbidden to carry first class mail. It
would seem that FedEx carries more larger packages than the USPS because it
is a better option, as UPS, Airborne, et al might also be. Which begs the
question, if this restriction were eliminated would the USPS still be the
primary choice for letters and lighter parcels?
Does the list think that this arrangement is a step toward the postal
service opening up to free markets, or will it perpetuate the government
legislated monopoly by bringing a sole private supplier into the mix?
--
S. Andrew Vecci
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Chicago, Illinois
"The more the state 'plans' the more difficult planning becomes for the
individual." - F.A. Hayek
> From: Alex Tabarrok <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 09:18:37 -0800
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: USPS hires FED EX
>
> RE our discussion on the mails the post office has hired Fed Ex.
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43459-2001Jan10.html
> --
> Dr. Alexander Tabarrok
> Vice President and Director of Research
> The Independent Institute
> 100 Swan Way
> Oakland, CA, 94621-1428
> Tel. 510-632-1366, FAX: 510-568-6040
> Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
