Would we need a constitutional amendment to legalize competition in first-class mail?
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/cha...ranscript.html
There's nothing in the constitution about granting the government monopoly power, but would we need to repeal that part of Section 8 if we wanted to allow competition in mail?To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
"That's one thing about freedom; you have to tolerate the nonsense too." - Ron Paul
I don't see anything there that prohibits private mail companies. IT would only take Congress to repeal its own laws against competition.
Was there ever a time in US history when we had legalized competition in first class mail?
Yes, absolutely. The great American anarchist Lysander Spooner's American Letter Mail Company.Originally Posted by emazur
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/271139
Beat me to it. I was going to mention Spooner. Thanks for the link I saved it to read later.
Okay, another question then. Should the provision allowing the government to "establish post offices" be repealed, and when?
"That's one thing about freedom; you have to tolerate the nonsense too." - Ron Paul
"It's just a goddamned piece of paper." - George Bush
I don't really think many private companies would want to get into the mail delivery business. It's going extinct.
"No matter how noble you try to make it, your good intentions will not compensate for the mistakes that people make; that want to run our lives and run the economy, and reject the principles of private property and making up our own decisions for ourselves." - Ron Paul
You don't need an imaginary rule to exercise your right to open a business.
Whether the thugs who call themselves the State will intervene is an entirely different issue.
In the event you did attempt to repeal laws or get an amendment, the Letter Carrier Unions would retaliate in full force. You'd fail.
Force always attracts men of low morality. – Albert Einstein
Government is essentially the negation of liberty. – Ludwig von Mises
The great non-sequitur committed by defenders of the State, including classical Aristotelian and Thomist philosophers, is to leap from the necessity of society to the necessity of the State. - Murray N. Rothbard
First, there is absolutely no prohibition against a private competitor, but it's hard to complete with a company that runs at a loss with impunity.
However, If Congress were to pass a law outlawing such competition, it would likely be held by the SCOTUS to be Constitutional under the Necessary and Proper clause, and they would be able to shut it down if it posed a real threat to their control on communication.
"You cannot solve these problems with war." - Ron Paul
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