Some very ignorant people are claiming UPS and FedEx can suddenly take over from the USPS in a few months' time. This thread will explain some of the reasons that is grossly and obviously wrong. https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1249032058493681664

First, UPS and FedEx are not designed to deliver letters. Currently the lowest charge to send an envelope (e.g. a check) by FedEx is $11; for UPS, it's $12.40. Both rates are for local delivery (for FedEx, within 150 miles, for UPS, in the same state). Prices go up from there.

Also, both UPS and FedEx already rely on the Post Office to complete deliveries for them. It's not economical for them to deliver in more sparsely populated areas all over the country. So they work with the Post Office. Here's FedEx and UPS to explain:

There is no imaginable means by which FedEx and UPS could suddenly develop the capacity to replace the Post Office in the time frame we're talking about. So effectively we're talking about (at least temporarily, maybe permanently) creating mail deserts.

Also, due to the fact that UPS and FedEx simply don't have the capacity to deal with anything like that volume of mail, even if you can get your letter or package to them and pay the $11 and upward, IT WILL SIT FOREVER. The whole mail system will temporarily collapse.

It will add a whole new area of chaos to an already chaotic economy. A LOT of businesses rely on the Post Office directly, and even more rely on the Post Office's collaborations with UPS and FedEx. This is in addition to individuals who get drugs, checks, etc., in the mail.

I guess I thought there was some limit to how casually destructive the contemporary GOP could be, but even *threatening* to let the Post Office suddenly die in the middle of a massive economic crisis, with no plan to replace it … it's beyond belief.

Oh wait, I almost forgot … the Post Office employs 600,000 people. 120,000 of those employees are VETERANS. The USPS is the second largest employer of veterans, after the Dept. of Defense.