At one time, government postal service may have been a good idea and efficient service, but now it is not.  The Postal Service keeps increasing postage rates while decreasing service and getting slower.  As a government monopoly subsidized by our tax dollars, the Postal service should provide a good service.  But as a monopoly, they have no incentive to.  Many companies have sprung up providing parcel delivery more efficiently and responsibly than the Postal Service.  The Postal service still has a monopoly on regular mail delivery, and does a very poor job.  Turn the business over to private companies and mail would be delivered more efficiently and at lower real cost to consumers.  I concede that prices might seem higher, but that is because there is a hidden cost involved in the postal monopoly.  It is subsidized by our taxes, and so the 33 cents per letter is actually an untold amount more.  I don't have the figures for that.  I do have articles related to the subject and how we can privatize postal service.

Relevant articles from Cato Institute:

USPS, Competitors Square off at Conference
America's Post Office Challenges the Digital Age
The US Postal Service War on Private Mailboxes and Privacy Rights
Regulating Private Mailboxes
Cancel Snail Mail?
Cato Handbook For Congress: Postal Service
Edward Hudgins' Congressional Testimony on Postal Service Privatization
The Slow Death of the Postal Service: Cato Policy Analysis
Slower is Better: The New Postal Service--Cato Policy Analysis
Is it Time to Privatize the Postal Service?