Due to sharp declines in revenue and steep operating costs, the future of the U.S. Postal Service is uncertain, says economics professor Mark Roberts. "The USPS has faced major changes in the competition for parcel service over the last couple of decades as UPS and FedEx have grown," said Mark Roberts, Penn State professor of economics. "It is now facing large declines in the demand for first-class service as substitute delivery methods -- particularly electronic bill paying and Internet streaming of movies -- have developed." One major challenge, notes Roberts, is the hybrid nature of the USPS as a "quasi-governmental agency." Created in Philadelphia by the Continental Congress in 1775 -- with Benjamin Franklin at the helm as the first Postmaster General of the United Colonies -- the service is neither an entirely government-owned corporation (as Amtrak is) nor an entirely independent business. The USPS is defined as a semi-independent federal agency, mandated to be "revenue-neutral," meaning just breaking even, without making a profit. Breaking even it is not.