OldManOnFire

In January, 2006 postage rates increase to $.39

In May, 2007 postage rates increase to $.41

In May, 2008 postage rates increase to $.42

Question; How much does it cost the USPS to create new stamps, to print new stamps, to distribute new stamps, to deal with obsolete stamps, to deal with returned mailings because postage is wrong, printing new USPS literature, and all the advertising that goes into the warning and introduction??

And how huge is the hassle-factor for the American public?

All of this expense and hassle-factor is somehow justified by the USPS all for the increase of one stinkin penny! Why not restrict rate increases to once every three years or in $.03 minimum increments?

Personally I could care less if my mail is delivered six days a week...my life would not blink if I received mail only two days a week...like on Tuesday and Friday. And I want a DO-NOT-DELIVER-ME-MAIL list for all the crap mail that is unsolicited! And I don't care if my mail arrives at it's US destination for a couple of weeks? If I want it faster than this, then and only then should I pay premium postage.

I guess the USPS today is no different than many other fine industries and businesses in which efficiency and common sense have no priority. Just carelessly spend money and simply pass it onto the consumer.

Cost controls...we don't need no stinkin cost controls...

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leftparadise

you haven't heard of the "forever" stamp ?

DanS.

Seriously...does most mail have to be delivered EVERY day? Especially since e-mail and such is more prevalent....save on gas and costs you would think...

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kittycat9

I'm a bit bummed about it all. I have a small business, and I try to keep shipping low, but it's getting harder to be competitive in that regard.

Shake

If it weren't for Congress refusing to allow the USPS to close offices they don't need and forcing artificially low prices so some crank can write to the editor about these damn kids today, we'd have even better mail service. Seriously, we're bitching about 42 cents to mail a letter thousands of miles?

OldManOnFire

Just how many of these 'forever' stamps have you purchased at $.42 each?? 100 of them...500 of them??

My post was about reckless waste and inefficiencies within the USPS and your solution for all of this is to buy 'forever' stamps???

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OldManOnFire

Why is mail delivered on Saturdays??

Last year I saw a USPS mail truck delivering on Christmas day...yes on Christmas day??!!

Why aren't all USPS home delivery vehicles hybrids or electrics??

Why do I pay $.42 per stamp yet bulk mail pays a discounted price, when it is the tens of billions of pieces of unsolicited mail that causes the facility and equipment expanisons and overwhelming costs???

From an efficiency perspective, and cost perspective, very little about the USPS makes sense to me...

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OldManOnFire

The only good thing about your dilemma is that the higher costs of fuels, and higher shipping costs, affect most all businesses equally.

All of this equals inflation and it's not a good thing for business or people...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

OldManOnFire

I'm not bitching about the cost of the stamps, I'm complaining about the inefficiencies in the USPS system, and their policies, and how this drives up the price of stamps. And since this is a government program, here's my take on this; if the USPS is 25% inefficient, and I assume most all USA programs are 25% inefficient, then this equates to approximately $500 billion per year in waste!!! The point is we should be able to do better...

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leftparadise

the forever stamp does away with some of the inefficiencies you were grousing about - no need to restock with new, higher value stamps, just keep selling the same ones for one penny more.

I rarely use stamps and bought three books at .42 a month ago so i'm good at least til xmas cards.