Question: Is the U.S. Postal Service a business or public service?
Answer: It’s both. The U.S. Postal Service was originally created as a public service, with taxpayer dollars funding the creation and operation of post offices and post roads, which made communication possible countrywide. Beginning in the 1970s, the USPS largely stopped receiving taxpayer money, with operations funded by the sale of stamps, products, and services to citizens. Now it depends almost entirely on sales to function, but because it’s required by law to deliver mail, it’s also a public service.
