The road to prosperity
The rise of rural free delivery, which became a permanent service in 1902, dropped the need for many to travel long distances to post offices, kickstarting not only a fall in post office numbers, but also a substantial investment into the country’s road network.
However, the long-term downward trend in the number of post offices hasn’t stopped USPS from delivering a mind-boggling volume of mail. Indeed, since 1926, USPS estimates that it has delivered a staggering 5 trillion pieces of first-class mail, with approximately 49 billion in 2022 alone.
Posting losses
While you might imagine that managing a gargantuan mailbag might translate into billions of dollars in the bank for the Postal Service, the truth behind its finances is more complex. Owing to its unique position as both a business and a public service, USPS’s finances are intrinsically tied up with the federal government’s — allowing the organization to rack up losses.
Indeed, apart from FY2022, when the agency was offered a reprieve on retiree health benefit payments that translated into an accounting quirk that led to $56 billion in net income, USPS hasn’t turned a real profit since 2006, racking up $7 billion in operating losses in its latest fiscal year, as mail volumes fell.
That $7bn loss means that the Postal Service is behind schedule on its 10-year plan, introduced in 2021, to turn the agency's finances around. But, interestingly, America doesn’t really care that it loses money. Indeed, even after multiple postage price hikes, USPS still ranks as one of America’s favorite federal agencies, with 77% of Americans polled by the Pew Research Center having a favorable opinion of it, beaten only by the National Park Service (81% favorable).
P.S. The agency that came last in the favorability ratings? The IRS (no surprise there, perhaps).
