USPS Financial Crisis: Pension Cuts, $118B Losses, and a Missed Data Opportunity

On April 9^th, 2026, the United States Postal Service announced it was suspending employer pension contributions to address another shortfall. 

In March, Postmaster General David Steiner told a House Oversight subcommittee that the Postal Service could run out of cash within a year without major changes. Losses have totaled $118 billion since 2007. 

The USPS used to be the primary delivery service for coupons, magazines, and newspapers. Many of these are now delivered online. There’s also competition from UPS, FedEx and Amazon. Tariffs and rising gas prices may have contributed to the shortfall, but don’t completely explain the losses over the last 20 years. The private companies face the same challenges – and they’re not subsidized. Because they maintain their profitability. Or go out of business, like the rest of corporate America is.   

By not contributing to the pension fund, the agency expects to free up roughly $2.5 billion in the current fiscal year. But is that wise?

Raising stamp prices and cutting service may seem like a logical solution, but for 20 years, that hasn’t worked. Why not apply some common sense?

I’ve argued for decades that the USPS could be the most valuable entity on the planet – bigger and more profitable than Amazon, Google or Apple. Because they have the most accurate database of addresses in existence. They just won’t sell it. Whenever a person or business moves, they update the USPS first so they can continue receiving their mail. 

Imagine if the USPS were to sell its data to utility companies, corporations like Comcast or Verizon, or to the tens of thousands of other government entities that must create their own databases. It’s the exact same information, and the USPS gets it first. Why wouldn’t the agency at least explore this option. Or share (lease) the data with the other 445 federal agencies – many, like the IRS, SSA, or Medicare, use much of the same data. Yes, there are that many agencies; explore them here.

"In order to survive beyond the next year, we need to increase our borrowing capacity so that we don't run out of cash," Steiner said in prepared testimony. "The failure to do this could lead to the end of the Postal Service as we know it now."

The Postal Service does not have to end. It also continues to contribute to pensions. What it should do is mirror the ingenuity, cooperation, and common sense that American companies must use every day to stay afloat. And perhaps, start a trend of efficiency in government.