Posted on 02/11/2009 12:56:20 PM PST by Justaham
(CNN) -- Sending a letter will soon be a little more expensive, the U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday. The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday a 2-cent increase on first-class stamps, effective May 11.
The Postal Service said the price increase was necessary because of rising production costs. Under law, the price of stamps is not allowed to rise faster than the U.S. consumer price index, which measures inflation.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
It isn’t just the price of an envelope, it is also the price of packages, etc.
I’ve seen 4th class media mail go up by 25% during one of these “little” hikes.
There - fixed.
And I remember in the 1990s when they claimed this but the amount of their shortfall in budget matched the amount in bonuses they paid out that year. It isn't just "corporate America" that pulls this stunt.
They should raise the price on postage for the advertising circulars they deliver (and that take so much of the mailman’s time to stuff in boxes).
Every time they do this, more people pay their bills electronically. Very little of value comes through the mail.
It’s time to shutter the USPS and lift the prohibition on private mail delivery.
So I will use auto bill pay from my bank, and mail less. Everyone else will too, and PO will lose more money, and whine some more, and raise rates again, and whine to the federal gov which is already bailing out other failing businesses.
If they would cut back on the “affirmative action” they might even make a profit.
True. One of the main reasons I started paying bills electronicly is I had to keep going the the USPS website to verify the current price of a stamp (they were raising the price so often.)
I wonder if this was the reason they came out with the always good stamp (that doesn’t have a price on it, but will always be good to send a 1st class letter.)
Frankly it wouldn’t shock me about rising costs (especially as inefficient as they CAN be).
However, I still can’t help thinking they made the “Forever” stamp to accomodate easily any ol’ increase they want any ol’ time!
Whoo hoo!! Looks like that investment I made in forever stamps paid big dividends!!/S/
“However, I still can’t help thinking they made the “Forever” stamp to accomodate easily any ol’ increase they want any ol’ time!”
I bought several hundred dollars worth of these before the last postage rate increase. So far they’re paying back at about 4 to 5% interest. A lot better than any bank.
Are there any cons to paying electronically, I have hesitated doing that.
Me, too! I love those forever stamps!
I’m a clerk w/ USPS. Big deficit due to costs ranging from
retirement/pensions to gas prices. USPS can only borrow so much money from the government, and prices can only go up so much (tied to rate of inflation). Some feel it would be wiser to up the price to something like 50 cents and pay off the debt. USPS can’t.
Yes, even I pay some bills online these days. But I do send
packages, letters, and some bills through the mail. They say
we have a decline in volume. Maybe so, but we’re seeing a lot
of Valentines, tax forms, bills, and such going through the mail at my office.
Newspapers are thinner these days and cost you 75 cents in many places. But you can send a letter 3,000 miles for
42, soon to be 44, cents. Maybe if we were privatized things might run smoother, etc.
But you might have to pay a lot more for that stamp. Or you might find smaller offices closed because they’re not cost efficient (actually might be a good idea, but people would be sure to grumble when they have to drive miles out of their way to go to the P.O. if a closer one shut down).
In countries like Canada, some postal service can be gotten at drugstores and such. Also, their postal employees have
gone on strike. Many times. (We’re considered essential
employees and can’t.)
Those who think 45¢ is too much should take it there themselves.
Could be a good solution; the idea is that “Standard Mail”
(”junk mail”) is given to heavy volume mailers at a discount
to encourage them. Personally I try if at all possible
to opt out of junk mail (mail preference service)
btw another big cost for USPS was the installation of machines to detect anthrax after 9/11 (two postal employees
died due to anthrax). There is a procedure should anthrax
be detected at a facility.
Other money saving methods have been used recently at the postal service, including limiting of overtime and
voluntary early retirement.
>>(they were raising the price so often.)
It does seem like it goes up on a regular basis, and I don’t know for sure how it compares with the price of stamps in other countries—other than Canada, which I just checked.
They currently are at 54 cents Cdn. for letters, or 43.4
cents U.S. Similar.
Postal rates over the past few yrs
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/economics/postal-rates.htm
1971— 8c
1978—15c
1985—22c
1991—29c (”Elvis stamp” time)
1995—32c
2000—34 c
2002—37 c
Jan ‘06—39 c
May ‘07—41 c
May ‘08—42 c
May ‘09—44 c
Me too.
I made $2.40 on the 120 I recently purchased.
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