How to lose $5B
Here&#x27;s the relevant data:<p><i>[The USPS&#x27;s] unfunded liability grew 76% between 2007 and 2015, to $125.2 billion. The Tax Foundation, a think-tank, doubts it can ever repay this money. The service has done much to improve its financial state—hours have been cut at rural branches and it has reduced work hours by 420m since 2002, saving some $17 billion annually. It has shrunk its staff by nearly 300,000, but it still has staggering labour costs. About 80% of its budget goes to its workers. Under a law of 2006, the service has to pre-fund 75 years’ worth of health benefits for retired workers, something no other company, much less a government agency, is required to do.</i><p>Privatization isn&#x27;t looking too bad. I&#x27;m all for strong employee benefits and organized labor, but 75 years&#x27; pre-funded benefits for retired workers seems excessive. We might end up losing a few of the more rural branches, but the employee&#x2F;employer negotiations and business model would be much more sane under a private for-profit structure.