Posted on 04/08/2016 5:30:29 PM PDT by Olog-hai
The price of mailing a letter will fall for the first time in nearly a century this Sunday.
And the U.S. Postal Service, which was ordered to cut the price by its regulator, is not happy about that.
USPS said the decline in the cost of a postage stamp, from 49¢ to 47¢, will cost it $2 billion this year, and make it more difficult for it to compete and provide the service its customers demand. […]
The Postal Regulatory Commission, the independent government agency which oversees the USPS and its pricing, acknowledges the Postal Service will lose $2 billion due to the decrease. The service posted an operating profit in each of the last two fiscal years, according to PRC’s annual report. But after accounting for future expenses, such as pension costs, the service posted a $5.1 billion net loss for the most recent year. …
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Yup govt fees can never ever go down.
They only can go up.
To wit this is the 100 year exception that proves the rule.
And it is not etched in stone that it cannot be changed.
2 cents? they should just keep it the same and not raise it for a while.
USPS losses got worse during the Great Recession, as businesses cut back on mailing. To help make up for the shortfall it got permission to increase rates in 2014, raising the price of a stamp by 3 cents to its current 49 cents.
Govt logic, people are using the mail less so raise the price.
The PRC acknowledges the Postal Service will lose $2 billion due to the decrease.
No they are not losing $2 billion. They hit will collect $2 billion. It is up to the USPS to figure out how to run their business with less money. And who knows, it might encourage more usage making them more money.
OK
So can I claim a loss on my $0.49 Forever stamps?
Beat me to it! I have a lot of them!
Looks like I picked the wrong week to invest my life savings in forever stamps.
LOL!
You’ll have to hang onto them until the price goes back up.
Fine with me. They need to be paid less for the service they provide. I constantly get mail intended for my neighbors. The mail lady will spend over a minute cramming a one or more packages into our standard-sized mailbox instead of getting out of her truck and leaving them at our door.
I wish I could opt out of all USPS services.
10 pounds of junk, easily, every week.
The fed figured out another way to screw the people - anyone buying forever stamps this year lost money.
FReepers giving their ‘two cents’ about 2¢.
Too many idiot writers today. Lowering their price two cents won’t cost them a dime. Their revenue will go down, not their costs.
Then they neee to learn how to effing manage money.
If USPS eliminated all classes except for first class bet we would find the junk level go down to next to nothing. I saved all our business and personal mail for a week and then separated out the ten pieces which were important. Interestingly all ten pieces were delivered on the same day even though bearing widely differing postmark dates. We shredded 42 pounds of junk. We have a very small business so I would hate to guess how much junk mail large companies receive.
First class mail s actually a good deal. Factoring inflation, it basically costs the same to mail a letter today (49 cents) as it did in 1913 (2 cents).
Using an inflation calculator, 2 cents in 1913 is equal to 48 cents today.
The letter rate is actually a tremendous deal today compared to the 1840’s when the postage rate was 5 cent (for up to 50 miles) and 10 cents (over 500 miles).
Hell, the average fast food job requires more skill.
They even get regular exercise and sunshine...and stay fit as a result.
In my neighborhood the mail boxes on on the house...or a slot in the door or garage. I'm pretty sure my mailman walks at least 10 miles a day carrying up to 30lbs in his bag. He'll park at the head of the street and walk down one side and up the other. Then go to the next.
Ever notice how you never see a mailman over 45 or 50? It's because they retire after 20 or 25 years. With free medical care for life and at least 75% of their average salary over the previous 3 years.
And annual cost of living adjustments.
And it's that which causes them the post office to have no money.
Want to get the USPS attention? Start talking about retirement reform.
Same with EVERY OTHER FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY.
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