Mail @ the Millennium: Will the Postal Service Go Private?
BOOK FORUMWednesday, November 1, 2000
12:00 p.m.
Moderated by the editor Edward L. Hudgins, Cato Institute; with Robert Krause, U.S. Postal Service; Rick Merritt, PostalWatch; Ruth Y. Goldway, Postal Rate Commission; Bernard Ungar, General Accounting Office.
The Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
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The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) wants to offset its declining revenue by offering e-commerce services and by forming alliances with private companies. Critics charge that this is unfair since USPS has a monopoly on first-class mail, is exempt from taxes and most regulations, and can regulate its competitors. However, the global trend is toward privatization. For example, Germany soon will sell off its Deutsche Post and eliminate its mail monopoly. What will be the future of the USPS? Please join us for a discussion of the issues raised in Mail @ the Millennium.