The following appeared in the opinion section of a national newsmagazine: “To reverse the deterioration of the postal service, the government should raise the price of postage stamps. This solution will no doubt prove effective, since the price increase will generate larger revenues and will also reduce the volume of mail, thereby eliminating the strain on the existing system and contributing to improved morale.”

The following appeared in the opinion section of a national newsmagazine:

“To reverse the deterioration of the postal service, the government should raise the price of postage stamps. This solution will no doubt prove effective, since the price increase will generate larger revenues and will also reduce the volume of mail, thereby eliminating the strain on the existing system and contributing to improved morale.”

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyze the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

While it is true that raising the price of postage stamps may indeed help the postal service recover, this should not justify the government doing so. This is due to the fact that there are several other possible causes for the postal service’s declining fortunes. To begin with, the postal service faces stiff competition from private delivery services. UPS, FedEx, and DHL are three such companies. These companies have utilized technology to make their services more efficient and streamlined. For example, UPS now even offers online order pickups, allowing customers to receive their products without waiting in long lines at the post office. FedEx has instituted a similar service. Likewise, DHL now offers customers the ability to track their packages online and to even receive texts or email notifications when their packages arrive. Furthermore, many stores offer shipping services for free, and individuals can frequently find coupons or discounts at local retailers that allow them to ship their products for a very small fee

While the post office does offer more services than these companies, such as international delivery, it can scarcely compete with such companies on price or convenience. As a result, fewer people are using their postal services; in 2017, the post office lost over 6 billion dollars. Furthermore, the post office is losing even more money, as fewer mails are being mailed. The population of the United States is declining, and fewer people are using the post office to ship packages and mail letters. The government cannot allow this to continue, as it will have to continue cutting services and eventually, the post office may close altogether, taking with it 200,000 jobs

The post office also faces technological challenges. In recent years, more and more mail has been going digital. Instead of printing and mailing physical letters, people now use email. Similarly, instead of sending letters via the post office, many individuals use services like Amazon that offer free shipping. As people continue to move away from using postal services, the post office will be unable to recover. While the government could fund software companies to develop new programs that would help the post office, this could prove costly and in the end, the money would be wasted on programs that nobody uses. Thus, any effort that the government makes to help the postal service should come with strict conditions that require the post office to either find a new way to compete or close its doors.