LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I refer to the article on page 9 of the SMDR dated Sunday, January 25, 2026 regarding the United States Postal Service (USPS) by Peter Roff and distributed by Cable Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Mr. Roff’s opinion piece takes issue in paragraph 2 with the fact that the postal service isn’t returning a profit. It was never set up to make a profit. That’s why it’s called the postal service. The IRS doesn’t make a profit and neither does the department of defense nor the social security administration.
The government is not a business; it should use business procedures when appropriate but it does not generate a profit per se.
While we all agree that the various functions of the government should be efficient and not be wasteful, we must apply enough resources to accomplish the mission.
The article is quite lengthy and has many points which, on the surface, make sense IF one accepts the premise that the purpose of the postal service is to show a profit.
He makes the case that costs have gone up. Yup!- but I can still send a first class letter anywhere in the continental U.S. for $.78 and since first class stamps are FOREVER, the stamp I buy today for $.78 will still get my letter delivered 100 years from now.
Gordon Sabin San Marcos
