by Jerry Agar

Come rain, sleet or gloom of night, the U.S. Postal Service can deliver anything but a profit. This most recent fiscal year it lost $3.8 billion, while delivering 13 percent less mail.

CBS News reports that, "Illinois Democratic Rep. Danny Davis, a member of the Congressional subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service (and, until recently, its chairman), told CBSNews.com in an interview that the agency 'is between a rock and a hard place.' He also backed a government bailout for the embattled agency if that's what it takes to keep it afloat."

"We've bailed out a lot of things, and I think the Postal Service is probably as important in one sense as some of the other places where we have put public money," he said.

National Review Online writes, "If USPS were a competitive company — as opposed to bloated federal bureaucracy — stamp prices would be falling, not rising. Despite new technology — like modern reader/sorters that process over 30,000 pieces of mail per hour — stamp prices have risen with inflation since 1970. Imagine if the price of a phone call or sending an e-mail rose with inflation for 30 years."

Not only does the service deliver less mail for more money, they are now talking about canceling Saturday delivery.

I was roundly criticized years ago when I pointed out that the Postal Service's model of more money for less service would result in tax payers bailing it out, despite current law.  Being right is not always satisfactory.

Rep. Davis said that he is not "afraid of spending public money."  Well, good for him.  I am not afraid of spending Mr. Davis' money either, if I could get my hands on it.