And then in the last 50 years ... bang-zoom! Can't wait for gov't h/c ...
Posted on 01/01/2011 9:21:45 AM PST by DeaconBenjamin
The basis for this is the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which keeps rate increases below inflation. The first forever stamps came out right after President Bush signed it, and this is the way the USPS can tie their fortunes to what they can charge. Many other countries have already gone this route.
It’s not so much a sign of the USPS but of the overall situation. But if you’d bought stamps with a set denomination, that amount would have been victim to inflation and more postage would have been required. You get a better deal now buying a first class stamp than you would have back in the 1970s—or by using old stamps on it (very expensive, as you lose all the inflation benefits).
With inflation adjustments, first-class letter postage is about 10-15% lower in cost than back then.
This is a massive unauthorized LOAN.
You can already buy forever stamps at a discount on Ebay. Shop now (enter "forever stamps") and among other offers you'll find a "Buy it now" price of $2 for 5 stamps with free shipping.
Or decree that the "Forever" stamp is only worth 45 cents when they hike rates again, and force people to buy 1 cent or 5 cent stamps to make up the rate hike.
I think that a well run government should have a government-run postal system that provides security in the form of the US police and military, rather than having to rely on private couriers alone. There should be no complaints about competition from private groups, and no more stupid sponsorships of biking teams, etc., though.
Don’t these stamps represent a future service obligation to the USPS? The stamp you buy today for 44 cents will be valid for postage even if the rate for a first class stamp goes to over a dollar or more. If presumably the rate for a first class stamp is related to the cost of delivery, the USPS would be delivering letters using the forever stamp at a significant loss. Granted the revenue from these stamps could be held in escrow at interest, but the cost of delivery has gone up at rates far above current interest rates.
If it gets so bad that the government puts unique RFID chips tagged to the postage purchaser's history to usage, we've already got chips up our own (pick a creative term here).
“During that time the stamp prices have gone up more than 1,100%”
Still sending a letter under $0.50 anywhere in USA is pretty cheap. USPS has been hit hard by the internet (online billing, emails etc), and the e-commerce hasn’t picked up the slack. They have to use their infrastructure to compete with Fedex and USPS.
Are there any 401K plans with a Forever Stamp fund?
It strikes me that way, of course, but I am conservative in my financial dealings. People are calling for the USPS to operate like a business. Well, a private business is not required to put gift-certificate proceeds into escrow.
In fact, by suggesting people buy postage in large quantities in advance, it increases the chance that some will be lost. Every lost or destroyed stamp is revenue without obligation*, or nearly pure profit, if we figure a replacement stamp will be needed. So "every forever stamp sold today represents a stamp not sold in the future" is not technically correct and I'd be willing to bet that difference is significant.
This was a lame-duck thing from the Republican Congress of 2006 after they were voted out of office, IIRC. It was signed by George W. Bush a little over four years ago.
And the costs of the stupid Sarbanes-Oxley Act are also dumped on the USPS now, just like for businesses. I know how much SOX has bled businesses I work with, so I can only imagine the costs to the USPS.
*I'm not sure if those terms are the appropriate jargon, but I'm not trying to use them in a technical sense--I'm not an accountant, etc..
They reduce handling costs tremendously, and you no longer have to teach people how to count to use them. That task can be left to the public schools and institutions!
I didn't see Mr. Schiff making the point explicitly, but the idea is that the stamps become a commodity that is highly liquid, almost and in extremis an alternate currency.
So the idea will be to hold and trade the stamps, not primarily to use them for postage.
Derivative markets could even be created for the forever stamp. True, there would be a risk of organized markets in these things going south (along with all other organized capital exchange), but this is probably on the same order of risk as the Post Office itself going out of business or repudiating the stamps.
The situation seems exactly analogous to gold and silver coins.
Right. There is no reason for the government to be propping up the post office. My mail is never delivered in the morning and once didn’t get here before 6PM last week.
If the local liberal rag had the franchise, my mail could have been here before daylight in a plastic bag on my lawn.
lol.
The post office spent many millions on magazine sorting machines that sit unused because the unions didn’t want to lose their jobs.
Are you talking back in 1975 for the A-series, or the UK permanent NVIs in the 80s?
BTW, make as much sense as the ONE PRICE PRIORITY MAIL or EXPRESS MAIL cartons.
It's funny that we're gone back to NVIs after so many of us used them in our childhood playing "post office". But with the economy the way it is, it makes sense.
After spending some time there, I'd say that's certainly an interesting category of eBay. There are folks selling single stamps near face value with free shipping. WTF?? And they have thousands of positive feedback transactions so this is definitely legit.
It's amazing to see that long stable time from the 1930s to nearly the 1960s, as inflation slowly dropped the cost of postage.
Can't argue but I would imagine labor costs consume most of the increases - certainly over the last 10 years, probably the last 30.
It's certainly would make sense, as that and fuel and compliance are some of the major increases for similar businesses, I imagine.
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