Here is the video where Obama uses the Post Office as an example of why the public option won’t hurt private competitors. His argument is that Fed Ex and UPS thrive even though there’s a Post Office. He forgets to mention that the Post Office has a legal monopoly on first class mail and still loses money. And he forgets that the struggles of the Post Office make it harder to claim that the public option will stand on its own without taxpayer support.
If you want to understand how the public option will work, look at GM. It’s exists right now because it is being subsidized out of my pocket and yours. It is being run as a political organization, not just a company trying to make good products and cover its costs. And it is hurting its competitors, Ford, and others, whose success is being reduced by an artificially enhanced competitor.
