I have to take exception with Jeff Jared’s recent comments on why the USPS should be privatized.

As a retired employee of Airborne Express, which was bought out by DHL, I do have some knowledge of what it takes to deliver to every single address in the U.S. It cannot be done by any of the current major carriers, i.e., UPS, FEDEX or DHL.

In fact, the USPS currently handles deliveries for some of these carriers since it is not financially profitable to go to many of the remote areas in the U.S.

Mr. Jared uses Germany as an example that it can be done. Well, comparing Germany to the U.S. is like comparing apples to oranges.

Germany only covers some 216 thousand square miles, while the U.S. covers some 5.6 million square miles. Germany’s population is only22 percent of the U.S. population.

Mr. Jared states that the USPS is a monopoly. Well if it was privatized, it would end up in a monopoly since I see no way mail could be handled by multiple companies. It just does not make sense.

I do believe Mr. Jared just wants the U.S. government out of the mail delivery service.

Another one of his points is that if everything was sent via email, there would no longer be a need for stamps. Well email services do work for those who have access to computers, but in reality not everyone in the U.S. has a computer or access to one.

I am reminded of the old adage, “If it’s not  broke, don’t try and fix it.”

On a personal side, what I would like for Congress to do is change the crazy legislation that requires the USPS to set aside monies tocover retirement benefits for 75 years.

Because of this requirement, there could be cuts in personnel and post offices throughout the U.S. There is some movement on this and hopefully Congress will change this requirement.

Art Larson, Kirkland