Another reason to use USPS over UPS. Customer service actually told me a bald faces lie

[Panich52]

13. So when was any branch of govt reluctant to avail itself of the power given it?

Besides, post ofc predates Constitution and was deemed vital to a working democracy.

John Nichols has written excellent pieces in The Nation and elsewhere on this: (His best one, for some reason, comes up as 'not found' despite showing up on Google)
http://m.host.madison.com/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/john-nichols-post-office-cuts-a-threat-to-democracy/article_519c6edc-723e-11e2-92c6-001a4bcf887a.html?mobile_touch=true

http://www.alternet.org/print/story/146884/the_postal_service_is_essential_to_democracy_--_it_should_be_re-imagined,_not_shrunk

Trisha Marczak:
“The Post Office was given a mission in the founding of our country — if we were going to have a democracy, citizens need to be informed, and the only way to really inform people in small communities is through their newspaper,” National Newspaper Association President Reed Anfinson told MintPress.

Those favoring the USPS claim that the private sector doesn’t have the infrastructure for an entire replacement, as companies like FedEx and UPS rely on the USPS to deliver to areas that generate mild mail delivery traffic.

http://www.mintpressnews.com/cuts-to-usps-threaten-government-transparency/

The History Channel
... In 1707, the British government established the position of Postmaster General to better coordinate postal service in the colonies, though the business was still conducted largely by private individuals. In 1737, a 31-year-old American colonist named Benjamin Franklin took over as Postmaster General and oversaw the colonial postal service from England until he was dismissed for subversive acts on behalf of the rebellious colonies in 1774. Franklin then returned to America and helped create a rival postal system for the emerging nation. ...

... Although Article IX of the Articles of Confederation written in 1781 authorized Congress to [establish and regulate] post offices from one State to another, the formation of an official U.S. Postal Service remained a work in progress.

Finally, on February 20, 1792, President Washington formally created the U.S. Postal Service with the signing of the Postal Service Act, which outlined in detail Congressional power to establish official mail routes. The act allowed for newspapers to be included in mail deliveries and made it illegal for postal officials to open anyone's mail. ...

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-washington-signs-the-postal-service-act

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