How many times can the US Postal System raise prices and crush America’s ability to send a First Class letter without spending a fortune? The answer is over and over again. The Post Office has asked for another increase that would take effect in January.
Under a new proposal from the Post Office, the cost of a First Class stamp would rise to $.68 from $.66. The price was increased from $.63 to $.66 in July. Last January, the price rose from $.60 to $.63. If the new plan is accepted, First Class mail prices will rise 13% over the period.
US Posted Executive Director and former Congressman Kevin Yoder recently commented: “These unprecedented postage hikes are giving Americans rate whiplash and compromising the Postal Service’s ability to deliver for America.” The decision would add to the debacle set in place a few years ago when Postmaster General General Louis DeJoy implemented his “Delivering for America” program.
Under DeJoy, the time to deliver a First Class later has been about 2.5 days, which is outrageous based on what people pay for a stamp. The only reason the USPS can deliver even that poor service is because the Post Office is overstaffed, and its Post Office system is huge.
The Post Office has a wildly high 31,132 Post Offices. Some of these are in towns with only a few thousand people. It operates 236,532 vehicles. It had 516,750 career employees in 2022, and the number of non-career employees was 118,600. (Today, these are the states with the most post offices per person.)
In an age when email allows people instant access to “letters,” and digital attachments make the delivery of many packages unnecessary, the Post Office has lost much of its reason for being. Almost every retailer, bank, and other product or service allows for electronic payments. Those who cannot resort to these can fall back on the fax.
The Postal Service delivers letters and packages six times a week. In the electric age, that is unnecessary if mail delivery is necessary at all. UPS and FedEx have networks as large as the Post Office’s.
Finally, the Post Office loses money, so the increase in stamp price won’t be enough. (See the oldest post offices across the US.)
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