[Dx-qsl] Postal Service says stamp prices are going up on January 1

[Robert G. Schaffrath]

I just wish they also offered "Forever" stamps for Canadian/Mexican and 
international mailings.  I have family in Canada and have been sending 
mail to them a few times a year since the rate was $.48 for a 
first-class letter to Canada.

"Forever" stamps do worry me somewhat.  I realize they are called 
"Forever" but that is only due to a rule. I see nothing that would 
prohibit the Postal Service from saying at some future point that 
"Forever" stamps will no longer be issued and their worth will be fixed 
at a certain value meaning you will have to add postage to them for any 
future price increases (as we do not with stamps that have a value on 
them).  Years ago I purchased about $80 of them just before the first 
price increase beyond their initial release value.  Pundits were saying 
give them to your grandchildren, or in my case future grand-nieces and 
grand-nephews, as they will still be able to use them to send a letter.  
Of course that assumes they even know what a letter is at that time and 
that the Postal Service is still in the business it is in now.

Robert de N2JTX

On 10/19/2011 9:09 AM, Eric Rosenberg wrote:
> Time to buy those "Forever" (and other) stamps!
>
>   From the Washington Post: and Washingtonpost.com
>
> Eric W3DQ
>
> ---------------------------
>
> Postal Service says stamp prices are going up
>
> By Ed O’Keefe, Published: October 18
>
> Nothing lasts forever.
>
> Stamp prices will climb 1 cent starting in January, the U.S. Postal
> Service said Tuesday.
>
> The cost of a first-class stamp — also known as a forever stamp — will
> rise to 45 cents on Jan. 22, the first price increase in more than 2-1/2
> years, the USPS said. The cost of sending magazines, standard mail and
> some package services also will rise, but prices for Express Mail and
> Priority Mail will stay the same.
>
> The 1-cent increase is expected to generate an additional $888 million
> in revenue, postal officials said Tuesday.
>
> The jump “is small and is needed to help address our current financial
> crisis,” Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe said in a statement,
> adding that although the USPS continues to “aggressively cut costs,” it
> needs Congress to pass postal reform legislation that he said would make
> it easier to save money.
>
> Starting Jan. 22, the USPS said rates will be:
>
> - First-class letters (1 ounce): 1-cent increase to 45 cents.
>
> - Letters weighing additional ounces: unchanged at 20 cents.
>
> - Postcards: 3-cent increase to 32 cents.
>
> - Letters to Canada and Mexico (1 ounce): 5-cent increase to 85 cents.
>
> - Letters to other international destinations: 7-cent increase to $1.05.
>
> The Postal Service says it has lost about $10 billion in the fiscal year
> that ended last month. It is pushing Congress to enact a series of
> reforms that would permit it to end Saturday mail deliveries, close post
> offices and mail processing facilities, and raise postage rates beyond
> the rate of inflation.
>
> The price increases announced Tuesday, and formally filed with the
> Postal Regulatory Commission, are capped by law at 2.1 percent, the rate
> of inflation based on the consumer price index.
>
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