Wouldn’t it be sweet if our post office poured billions into government coffers instead of sucking them out? Such an impossible dream is possible.

Last quarter the Postal Service lost over a billion dollars. When it loses money you pay for it. The government bails it out with your money.

This loss is not new. The service has lost billions over the years. It claims it made money the last four years. However, Congress lets it use accounting that would pass muster only with the Three Stooges. It lets it ignore billions in costs.

Now, the service is trying. It has cut its staff. It is offering early retirement to lots of high paid workers. Meanwhile, it has improved its on-time delivery record. It deserves a lot of credit.

But the fact remains that it loses bundles of your money.

Meanwhile, the headlines 15,000 miles away are about postal profits. New Zealand’s post office makes huge profits. It also pays taxes to government. And then it funnels its profits back to government as well.

It is a separate company that government owns. Set up in 1987. Government may not interfere with it. This allows the post office to shutter unprofitable offices. No powerful politician can force it to keep the Podunk Post Office open. It can hire and fire as it wishes. It can raise or lower postal rates whenever it wants. Without a congressional hearing.