Matt, I truly doubt that the USPS gets any where close to posting "an operational profit." The reason I say this is that Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (referred to as GAAP by those in the profession) require that an operating profit (or loss) for a business entity be properly determined by taking into account all operating revenues and all operating expenses, regardless of when the cash related to these revenues and expenses is actually received or paid out. And, operating expenses include all the employee costs associated with producing the operating revenue - i.e., these expenses include employee post-employment healthcare expenses and pension benefits earned currently, even when they don't require require cash to be paid out until several years in the future. To determine a business entity's profit (or loss) in any other manner would be misleading.
Val
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