Your article about the United States Postal Service shows just how poorly it has performed as of late (“Neither Snow nor Rain,” August 20, 2011). As you purport, the World Wide Web is the main culprit. Letters have gone online. And so have the Christmas cards. Quasi-independent since 1970, it gets no public money, either. But it is still constrained to visit every mailbox six times a week. Obviously, the problem is with the legal framework within which it has been operating lately. Even more obviously, today’s market is in parcels rather than letters. The web provides much business to its parcel-delivery competitors, which are not constrained by ancient laws. Now that the Postal Service’s monopoly has been broken, it should be allowed to compete without the outdated legal fetters. Chances are that it would do quite well if it were allowed to compete in the growing parcel-delivery market, where it would have considerable advantages with its vast mailbox network. But you do not mention any of this in your account. As though the likes of Federal Express and United Parcel Service are not benefiting handsomely from the “free” market they have snatched from the Postal Service by legal fiat.