50-Cent Stamp, Other Postal Changes Coming

[pwaldo]

http://news.yahoo.com/50-cent-stamp-...-abc-news.html

The United States Postal Service may raise the price of first class postage to 50 cents.

The U.S. Post Office, facing financial losses of up to $18.2 billion a year by 2015, wants to charge more for postage, more for services, and to suspend Saturday delivery.

The 50-cent stamp would represent an 11 percent increase in postal rates.

The service said last week that it lost $3.3 billion last quarter, and that it is forecasting a loss of $14.1 billion for the year ending Sept. 30. Such losses, said the Postal Service in a letter sent last week to Congress, would be "unsustainable" and would cause USPS to become "a burden" to the U.S. taxpayer. The letter called that outcome "highly undesirable."

Currently, USPS gets no taxpayer dollars for its operating expernses, which are funded by the sale of postage and postal services.

Suspending Saturday delivery would save $2.7 billion a year, the Postal Service says. Raising the cost of first-class postage to 50 cents would increase annual revenues by $1 billion.

The post office's chief financial officer said USPS is the least expensive major postal service in the world, and that its services are "clearly underpriced."

The last postal increase occurred late last month, when the cost of mailing a first-class letter rose from 44 cents to 45 cents. Rates also rose for packages, for periodicals, and for a wide variety of services. The law limits USPS increases overall to the rate or inflation, or 2.1 percent a year.

Before the January increase, USPS first-class rates held steady for two and a half years.

[Oxxon]

Make it a $1 and get it over with. I hate to see people lose their jobs but I think the PO workers may need to take a pay cut starting at the top and working down.

[gladdyontherise]

and the Post Office wonders why they are losing money..

The more they raise rates the more people will pay for things online or go through other methods such as paypal shipping.

[Rybowski]

and the Post Office wonders why they are losing money..

The more they raise rates the more people will pay for things online or go through other methods such as paypal shipping.

Exactly, every time that I went to my local post office or have to go, there is usually a 15-20 minute wait. I can use PayPal shipping, pay for it with my account, tape the label on and walk it down to the mailbox.

[Greengoblin782]

Exactly, every time that I went to my local post office or have to go, there is usually a 15-20 minute wait. I can use PayPal shipping, pay for it with my account, tape the label on and walk it down to the mailbox.

I know its cheaper by PayPal but doesn't the USPS get some of that money to.

[GeorgehenryCollec]

You know I wouldn't mind a price increase if their service gets better. Right now it seems mail is taking longer and longer to get anywhere. What I don't like is that you can't buy first class postage on the usps website. I don't have a paypal account and I went to the Usps website just to find out they only offer Priority and more expensive options. And lets be honest Priority just isn't worth it anymore.