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nine_zeros

> Is the privatized NC DMV any better than the public one?

Nobody knows. But the only things guaranteed are:

- service prices will rise because now shareholders will seek a return every year.

- AI powered elevator music phone service where you must wait 30 mins before reaching a human.

- Fees and costs for every interaction.

- Workers will be encouraged to do work fast - by providing less service to people, asking people to come over and over again

- More lobbying to reduce license and registration durations because they need people to constantly renew to collect fees and profits.

About FedEx, I don't know why you think US post offices are bad. I personally find USPS to be astonishingly high quality and decent humans. FedEx is decent quality but 10x higher prices than USPS.

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> Nobody knows. But the only things guaranteed are:

Ironic that you jump from “nobody knows” to statements where you’re absolutely sure that it’s worse.

Your “guarantees” aren’t even consistent with the language of the authorization. They aren’t giving these services carte blanche to define their own laws and processes. They’re just allowing someone else to execute part of the process.

It’s hard to have these conversations when one side is arguing based on ideological abstract ideas, not the actual language of the bill.

> FedEx is decent quality but 10x higher prices than USPS.

I ship a lot of packages and use a service that quotes from USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

It’s plainly false to claim that FedEx has 10X higher prices. This is just factually incorrect. FedEx comes out as the lowest price for maybe 1/4 or 1/5 of my shipments. It’s hard to trust someone’s arguments when they’re making egregiously false claims like this.

Cost of FedEx from NYC to LA: Cheapest price for 1 lb letter is $60.37 before taxes

https://www.fedex.com/en-us/online/rating.html

Cheapest price on USPS for 1 lb letter is $9.70 after taxes.

https://postcalc.usps.com/Calculator/MailServices?country=0&...

That is 7x for a standard 1 lb envelope.

The claims are not as egregious as you think. You are not the only one shipping goods around. There is a market that USPS serves and I along with many others benefit from it.

There is actually a law that requires FedEx and UPS to charge more for some parcels ( https://pe.usps.com/text/qsg300/Q608.htm ). It was created after Lysander Spooner created the American Letter Mail Company ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Letter_Mail_Company ) and delivered mail between large cities for 10% of the cost of the US post office.

The argument is always that a private mail company would deliver mail to the cheapest places first (like the American Letter Mail Company did) and the US post office would get stuck with the unprofitable mail. But that could be addressed by just requiring any mail company to deliver to all addresses. Instead we have a law that just requires companies charge more than the post office.

I hadn’t heard Lysander Spooner’s name for a long time. He was a well known Abolitionist. Something else the federal government was bad at…

FedEx ground for 8x8x4, 1lb, $25

And you don’t even know how to use USPS. Flat rate shipping would be cheaper at that distance for USPS.

To really invent a scenario, ship to Hawaii. It’s subsidized by the USPS.

How long did you spend submitting numbers into the FedEx and USPS calculators to try to come up with a scenario to make this point?

I never claimed FedEx was always cheapest. I explained that I use a service which quotes all 3 providers because the cheapest service varies by package and by destination.

I don’t understand how anyone could even believe that FedEx remains a viable company by charging 7-10X more than competitors. The entire line of argument is illogical.

Do you think one example proves your point?

For a specific question about a single point? Yes.

For a nuanced answer, all providers are required. USPS and FedEx both serve meaningful markets.

Actually, a single point can prove you wrong but a lot of data is needed to prove you right. The reply mostly agreed with you, they said 4/5 was cheaper but 1/5 wasn't. Your statement implies 5/5 is cheaper, the other poster is the one that only needs one data point.

> USPS and FedEx both serve meaningful markets.

You from two replies ago would be shocked to hear that.

> The reply mostly agreed with you, they said 4/5 was cheaper but 1/5 wasn't

One clarification: The other 4/5 is split between UPS and USPS.

I’m fortunate to have drop boxes and shipping centers for all 3 providers near my house or on the way to the gym.

What are your assumptions are based on?

NC outsourced safety inspections to private sector decades ago. And nothing you have described has happened.

- the service prices are all fixed ($30 or $13.60)

- tons of places to do your inspection, wait times are almost zero

- work is done in 10 minutes

- new reduced rate ($13.60) for newer vehicles was introduced some years ago

If they do something similar for driver license offices or vehicle registration offices it will be a giant leap in quality of service. Right now in bigger cities you cannot make an appointment 6 months in advance, and walk-in does not guarantee you will get any service even after spending whole day in line.

My experience (In NC, incidentally, with those two carriers):

FedEx blows. They are slower than USPS for domestic, and generally claim I wasn't home, despite living in a bldg with a concierge. UPS and DHL of course out do both, but FedEx is the worst.

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