The price of stamps is going up yet again:
WASHINGTON — Mailing a letter will soon cost a penny more.
The cost of a first-class stamp will rise to 42 cents starting May 12, the U.S. Postal Service said Monday.
The price of the Forever stamp will go up at the same time, meaning those stamps can still be purchased for 41 cents but will remain good for first-class postage after the rate increase takes effect.
The post office has sold 5 billion Forever stamps since they were introduced last April and plans to have an additional 5 billion in stock to meet the expected demand before the May price change, the agency said.
Wait, you might ask, didn’t they just do this a year ago ? Well, they did:
Postage rates last went up in May, 2007, with a first-class stamping jumping 2 cents to the current 41-cent rate.
In the past raising postage rates was a long, complex process involving hearings before the independent Postal Regulatory Commission, a process that could take nearly a year.
However, under the new law regulating the post office that took effect in late 2006, the agency is allowed to increase rates with 45-days notice as long as changes are within the rate of inflation for the previous 12 months. The Postal Regulatory Commission calculated that rate at 2.9 percent through January, limiting the first-class rate to an increase of just over a penny.
And you can guarantee that they’ll go up by at least that much every year from now until we finally allow private companies to compete with the last, inefficient, monopoly.
February 11th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Why would we “allow” anything? As long as a monopoly backed by state force exists, there is no possibility for a challenger appeared. Last time that happened, Congress outlawed it.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Is there a way to complain about the lousy post office. I mailed two important letters with checks for an important timely transaction from Riner, VA last Thursday. Neither has arrived in California today, the following Thursday. This is unacceptable. More must be demanded from a business that is a monopoly. Is there an organized effort to demand better service - a petition to sign or something. I will NEVER again depend on the US Post Office to deliver any important mail for me!