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On June 30th, the Postal Service will raise the price of a First-Class stamp from $0.34 to $0.37. The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) confirms that, despite recent annual rate increases, the Postal Service is headed for its third consecutive annual deficit since fiscal year 2000. In addition, it is nearly $13 billion in debt with more than $80 billion in additional liabilities looming, and it has no debt reduction plan in place. Due to this bleak financial outlook, GAO placed the Postal Service on its "high-risk" list.

To back its call for greater accountability, CAGW released a new Wirthlin Worldwide survey confirming that 85 percent of the public wants independent auditors to investigate the Postal Service's finances and make the results public, before the Postal Service is allowed to raise rates again. Paige added, "If Enron had to open its financial books to the world, doesn't the public have the right to demand the same of our debt-ridden and hopelessly mismanaged Postal Service?"

To highlight the need for Postal officials to act more responsibly, CAGW unveiled a series of "commemorative stamps" depicting egregious examples of recent Postal waste and mismanagement. CAGW and other groups are making the stamps available online to their members and the public at www.cagw.org. CAGW is launching a national protest to encourage supporters to download the "stamps" from the Internet, and - after affixing the proper postage - affix them elsewhere on letters to federal officials demanding a Postal Service audit. [Note: these stamps are clearly labeled as having "no cash value."]

The six "commemorative stamps" visually depict the following:

"Where's Our Money Going?" - represents the fact that the GAO confirms the Postal Service is billions of dollars in debt, despite annual rate increases, and has no debt reduction plan in place.

"Postal Execs Gone Fishin'" - represents the fact that the very day after consumers are forced to pay higher Postal rates, top Postal officials are set to jet away on a junket to a luxury resort hotel in Anchorage, Alaska.

"Priority Mail Not a Priority" - represents the fact that the Postal Rate Commission's Office of Consumer Advocate recently revealed that Priority Mail is no faster, and sometimes slower, than First-Class Mail - and the Postal Service continues to mislead consumers about this service.

"Fat Cat Executive Bonuses" - represents the fact that the Postal Service's own Inspector General confirms that the managers responsible for allowing the Postal Service to amass billions of dollars of debt, paid themselves $805 million in "performance" bonuses between 1998 and 2000. Still others used Postal funds to help pay their personal home mortgages.

"Postal Execs Limo Lawbreakers" - represents the fact that top Postal managers were caught breaking federal law - over 500 times - by using chauffeured-driven limousines to shop and travel between home and office.

"Postal Service High Risk" - represents the fact that, due to its deteriorated financial situation, the Postal Service was placed on GAO's "High Risk" list.

Concerning that statment to the effect that "Fat Cat Executive Bonuses" - represents the fact that the Postal Service's own Inspector General confirms that the managers responsible for allowing the Postal Service to amass billions of dollars of debt, paid themselves $805 million in "performance" bonuses between 1998 and 2000...."

There is a linkage discontinuity here. The USPS Board of Governors, appointed by the President of the United States, amassed billions of dollars in debt. None of the bureaucrats and managers at the USPS has authority to amass debt!

As far as "performance" bonuses are concerned, this system replaced a pay system linked primarily to inflation and increases in cost of living. If it had not have been, the pay for the affected employees owuld have been much higher. In reality, this "performance" bonus system was used to rip off the supervisors and technicians!