The cost of corresponding the “old fashioned” way increases this month, when first class postage increases by 3 cents and bulk mail, periodicals and package service rates increases by 6 percent.
This brings the price of a postage stamp to 49 cents. The cost of mailing a post card will increase by a penny to 34 cents.
Greeting card companies and organizations representing businesses that use bulk mail immediately spoke out against the move. Calling it “counterproductive,” the president of the Association of Magazine Media even threatened to appeal the decision before the U.S. Court of Appeals.
However, the United States Postal Service (USPS) promised the hike, which goes into effect January 26, will last no more than two years. The independent Postal Regulatory Commission voted 2 to 1 not to make the price hike permanent, though many say inflation over the next 24 months may do that anyway.
Although the USPS does not depend on tax money for operation, it is subject to Congressional control. Federal law prohibits the agency from raising prices more than the rate of inflation without approval from the commission.
In recent years, the USPS has been trying to get Congress to pass legislation designed to help them move, if not into the black, a little further from the red. The organization proposed ending Saturday mail delivery and reducing payments on retiree health benefits.
In 2006, Congress ruled the USPS make annual payments of $5.6 billion to cover the expected health care costs that will be incurred by future retirees. The USPS is the only federally contracted provider that is mandated to make those payments. To date, Congress has not followed through although the USPS has defaulted on three of those payments.
Postage also increased in January 2013 when the cost of sending a first-class letter rose by a penny to 46 cents and the cost of sending a post card increased by 1 cent to 33 cents. Only two times in history has the postal service lowered the price of a stamp – once in mid-1800s from 3 cents to 2 cents and again after the end of World War I.
According to Wikipedia, before the introduction of stamps, it was the recipient of mail and not the sender who generally paid the cost of postage, giving the fee directly to the postman on delivery. Only occasionally did a sender pay delivery costs in advance.
The task of collecting money for letter after letter greatly slowed the postman on his route. Moreover the addressee would not infrequently refuse a piece of mail, which then had to be taken back to the post office. In fact, post office budgets allowed for an appreciable volume of unpaid-for mail.
Postage stamps revolutionized this process, leading to universal prepayment. However, they were officially approved only after standardized rates for delivery were established.
The Lake of the Ozarks Business Journal provided this news story to LakeExpo.com for republication. For a hard copy, pick up The Lake of the Ozarks Business Journal at newsstands across the Lake area. The Lake of the Ozarks Business Journal is a respected monthly news magazine providing accurate, relevant news and information to area readers.
