Selectively selling some of those assets would free up resources for the service to pursue new market opportunities. Indeed, it probably has enough assets so that -- if properly managed -- it could recapitalize its core business without a taxpayer bailout. But Congress must act to allow that to happen.

As the experience in many other countries shows, there is no reason for the U.S. Postal Service's agonizing decline and impending collapse. If Congress borrows from international experience, and acts decisively to reform postal policy, the venerable U.S. Postal Service can also emerge as a viable company in the Internet age.