[Dx4win] Postal Service says stamp prices are going up on January 1

[Eric Rosenberg]

Time to buy those "Forever" (and other) stamps!

 From the Washington Post: and Washingtonpost.com

Eric W3DQ

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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.