The United States Postal Service is reporting losses of $2.7 billion for the past fiscal year, USA Today reports, less than the $5.6 billion from the previous year but still the eleventh straight year the USPS has been a loser for taxpayers. Increases in package delivery failed to offset the drop in regular mail, which fell by, count ‘em, some five billion pieces since more people now use email to pay their bills. The response to losses has been to jack up the price of stamps and seek relief from Congress. As we noted, during years with some of the worst losses, USPS bosses bagged big raises. The massive losses are hardly the only problem for the USPS.

As we noted, the USPS is dropping post offices in retail outlets such as Staples. Consumers found those convenient, but the USPS government employee union doesn’t like them. This forces consumers to use regular post offices, which are like stepping into the eighteenth century. Congress and USPS management have also been unable to implement a simple cost-cutting measure such as ending Saturday mail delivery. So the USPS continues to be a loser for taxpayers.

President Donald Trump says he doesn’t like losers, so he might team with Congress to lift the USPS monopoly on first-class mail and let the USPS compete in that field, as it now does in packages. In the digital age or at any time, stopping the mail monopoly is the only way to end the USPS losing streak and rack up a win for taxpayers.