A Government Quasi-Entity Reluctantly Keeps Its Word

Back in 2014, I wrote an entry about the price of first class mail jumping from 46¢ to 49¢ and suggested that it should just jump to 50¢ and get it over with.  It would have generated more income for the postal service and also made it easier on everyone to figure out the cost of buying multiple stamps.  It would have been a win-sort of win.  Didn't happen, though.  Should have happened, though.

At the time the 3¢ increase was put in place along with other price increases for mailing and shipping services, it was stated that in 2016, the rates would drop back to where they would have been in 2014 after the normal increase that would have happened anyway to keep up with inflation.  The exigent surcharge, a fancy name for the price increase beyond the normal price increase, was meant to reduce the massive deficit which had occurred as a result of the loss of revenue to competitors and the ever-increasing costs of running the postal business.

Did the temporary increase in mailing and shipping costs help?  Some, but not enough. Our beloved US Postal Service is still running more than significantly in the red and it's not going to improve as much as was hoped for in its five-year plan.  They did quite a bit to streamline their costs and there is more to be done.  But, they still need more income.  As a result, the USPS is requesting to take back its promised fall-back pricing or, as they put it, "... to seek congressional action to reinstate and make the exigent surcharge permanent." Yes, our postal service really does have to get congressional approval for just about everything it does.  Considering that they're supposed to be a business entity now separate from the Federal government, that might be part of their problem.  But, there you are.

Whether the US Postal Service gets those price increases reinstated remains to be seen.  But, it's not going to happen immediately.  So, buy those cheaper Forever stamps at 47¢ each while the gettin's good.  They might lose $2 billion a year as a result of the roll-back pricing, but you'll save $2 on a roll of 100 stamps.

The obvious sarcasm of my last sentence regarding saving a few pennies aside, the US Postal Service's financial crisis needs to be addressed more seriously and quickly by all sides than I've seen done so far or we might end up with no postal service and no one at the ready to take their place.  Give that some thought next time you attach a stamp to an envelope to send it on its way.

Dear U.S.P.S. - Just Get it Over With

This Sunday (1/26/2014), the price of mailing a first class letter will increase from 46¢ to 49¢ per ounce.  This three-penny increase, the likes of which haven't been seen or financially felt since June 2002, is supposedly only for two years.  Within that increase is an increase that would have happened anyway, a 1¢ up in stamp price which was in line with keeping up with increases in the Consumer Price Index.  After 2016, the price theoretically would drop back to 47¢.  Will it?  Yeah, right.

When the US Post Office became the US Postal Service in 1971, the price of a first class stamp was 8¢. Let's do some math.  With the change taking effect tomorrow, the price to send a letter will have increased slightly more than six times that happier postal times rate.  From 8 to 49 cents in a matter of 43 years.  Some would say that's not bad considering the rate of inflation that's occurred in that span of time, although the Federal government managed to keep the price under 10¢ for over 100 years.  Yes, it is still a bargain as compared to some other goods and services.  But, as the cost of postage increases, the amount left for buying food and paying bills decreases.  In the scheme of things, it may not be a big chunk of money to mail a letter across town or across country, but for those struggling to make ends meet, it still adds up.

With people already squeezing their budgets, it's no wonder the grumbling began shortly after the Postal Service announced the proposed increase in September of last year.  Mickey Barnett, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the USPS, sent out a rambling letter in September 2013 addressed to "Dear Postal Customer" explaining the logic of the decision.  I'm a smart woman, but even I had trouble wading through those ten paragraphs.

But, I do get it.  Like any business, the USPS has expenses.  Unlike most business, the USPS has to answer to Congress for any attempt to increase income by increasing their prices. It also has to answer to Congress for any expense-cutting moves it might make.  Even its five year business plan to bring them back to a lean, mean mail-carrying machine needs to be reviewed and approved by our elected officials.  Its hands are tied.  I get it.  Pointing fingers as to when this business entity started to go wrong and who is at fault for it happening in the first place is a useless gesture.  Even with the volume of mail decreasing and competition for package delivery strong, we are still dependent on the USPS for the day to day delivery of boxes, bills, resumes, and the still handwritten cards and letters to friends and loved ones. Not everything can be virtually delivered just yet.

So, why do I say "just get it over with"?  Because I believe that the increase, which needed to happen even though we protest strongly against it, should have taken the price straight to 50¢.  If we're going to get annoyed with a three-cent increase, what's one more penny?  It brings in more revenue for them and my guess is that it still isn't going to result in any leftover funds for someone to enjoy.

And let's face it, it's easier figuring out the cost of mailing things with a nice round figure of 50 to multiply by. Yes, harder on the wallet, but easier to figure out.

Oh, come on, we know it's going to get there, anyway.

The End of a Postal Era -- Not Quite Yet

Just when I thought it was going to be safe to not stop at the post office on a Saturday, they went and didn’t change the rules.

The board that governs the the U. S. Postal Service previously decided it was going to discontinue Saturday deliveries starting in August of this year.  This was being done as a cost-cutting measure and I assume they were waiting that long to implement it to give everybody ample time to rearrange their dwindling mailing schedule.  Okay, I know there’s a whole process that they have to go through, including Congress having a part in the decision, before they can discontinue mail delivery on any day of the week.  I just had to take a sad jab at the decreased use of USPS and how they’re being delivered out of existence by a lack of revenue and practices that don’t lend themselves to budgetary reform.

The reason they’re backing off the decision is that Congress didn’t approve the change.  Okay, again more complicated than that, but let’s just go with it for now.  So, Saturday deliveries are back on the table.  The letters, bills, and junk mail will continue to fill mail boxes.  Package delivery wasn’t going to stop, by the way.  Heaven forbid that they lose out on that piece of competition to FedEx, UPS and the like.  Post offices would also still be open on Saturdays.  You could still pick up your mail that you didn’t pick up on Friday, get those still delivered packages, buy stamps, bask in the lighting and heating of whatever amount of square feet your post office’s customer service area might be, etc.

Trimming any budget is a slow and sometimes painful process.  Discontinuing Saturday mail deliveries was perhaps the gentlest measure they could come up with that the public would have to get used to.  For most Americans, we’ve grown up with getting mail to our door, rural delivery box or post office six days a week.  To some, taking away that sixth day must seem like taking away one of our rights.  But, it’s not.  It was a business decision, made to try to cut some costs so that the postal service wouldn’t continue to financially bleed out.  Congress’s reluctance to move this decision along is baffling. Yes, I realize it wasn’t going to help that much, but it was a step in the right direction. 

The United States Postal Service must evolve, must change how it does business, in order to survive.   It’s not as simple as reducing hours and closing post offices.  It’s not as simple as upping the cost of stamps another penny, and don’t get me started on that asinine process.  Benjamin Franklin would likely not recognize the now overweight and out of shape mail delivery behemoth that he helped bring into existence centuries ago.  There is still much that is good about USPS, but it needs an overhaul and it needs everyone who is part of that decision making process on board to make it happen.  If losing Saturday delivery in toto (that means no deliveries and shutting down, folks) is part of that, so be it.  After all, a penny saved is a penny earned, and maybe a penny less we have to pay in postage.