This blog contains posts and comments written by students in Dr. Tufte's economics classes at Southern Utah University.
4/08/2005
Postal Service Proposes Rate Increase
The U.S. Postal Service is seeking to raise the price of stamps again. A first-class stamp, if approved, would go up to 39 cents. The move would also raise the price of postage for letters and packages 5.4 percent. The price for an overnight Express Mail package would cost $14.39 instead of the present mark of $13.65. Since 2002, the price of stamps has gone up three times. It’s seems like it is starting to take the pattern of gas prices. Maybe it will fluctuate soon as gas does also.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I think it is fair. The Postal Service is run on a break-even basis anyway and are funded only by revenues from their products and services. Although funds are available from the government through public funding, the Postal Service has never accepted those funds to use for it's operations. I like the service they provide and the way it is carried out, so to me its no problem if they want to hike the rate by 5%.
If you ever spend a little time in a foreign country with pore postal service I think you will agree. We live in a great country with a great postal service!!! I don't think that it is a waste of taxpayer’s money in the least! If they need to increase price I say increase away great postal service of ours! I know I will gladly pay the extra 5%.
Perhaps postal prices are mirroring the price of gas because it takes a lot of gas to move the mail.
I do know that one factor in this is the money spent on better security measures after the antrax letters of 2001.
Another way of looking at this is that the Postal Service is trying to discourage a business that they really don't want to be in. Their core business these days is bulk and metered mailing. They're required by law to do letters the old-fashioned way, but that doesn't mean they have to encourage it with low prices.
Post a Comment