Start licking those $.39 stamps

WASHINGTON — A postal regulatory commission recommended a 2-cent increase in the cost of mailing a letter Monday and urged the Post Office to introduce a "forever" stamp valid for first-class postage even when rates rise.
The recommendation to increase postage to 41 cents was a penny less than the postal service had requested.
The commission recommended a 26-cent rate for post cards, also a penny less than the Post Office had sought.
The first ounce of a first-class mail would rise to 41 cents, but each additional ounce would cost 17 cents under the proposal. Currently, each additional ounce of first-class mail costs 24 cents.
The matter now goes back to the Board of Governors of the Postal Service for a decision on whether to accept the recommendation or ask the commission to reconsider. If the governors accept the recommendations the new rates could be implemented in 60 days.
A key part of the plan is the so-called forever stamp, which would allow consumers to hedge against future rate increases.
The stamp, which would not show a denomination, would sell for the first-class rate at the time of purchase and would remain valid for mailing permanently, even if rates increase.
That means folks who stocked up on forever stamps could say goodbye to those annoying 2-cent or 3-cent stamps that have to be added to letters every time rates go up.

 

I like the idea of those forever stamps. And as much as I complain about the price of a stamp, it's still less than the cost of a soda. No real problem here.

And yes, I'm biased...my ex-wife is a postal carrier.

 

I'm looking at the stamps I got a while back now, with the Statue of Liberty and U.S. Flag on them, and they have First Class on them, not a monetary figure.

 

Ex is a postal carrier. You don't mind danger, do you AA?

 

Wow! the forever stamp seems like the best idea the government has come up with in a very long time.

 

BWUHAHAHAHA

 

No doubt someone just read that and is fast at work making sure yet another good idea gets perverted.

 

fuck. i just bought three sheets of stamps. not sure i'll use 'em all in time. i still have tons of 2 and 3 cent-ers lying around and i have all these stamps with just letters but no numbers.

 

First thought: I can't remember the last time I actually licked a stamp. I'm a big fan of the pre-adhesed ones.

Second thought: How long before the postal service becomes completely irrelevant? My guess would be a while, if ever, just because there likely always will be people on the other side of the digital divide, but then, the reason they keep hiking the prices is that fewer people are using the service, right?

 

I no longer get any bills in the mail -- all on-line -- and my issues of Esquire are just about the only non-junk mail I get, other than a birth announcement here or a thank you note there.

 

We talked about that in the newsroom tonight. I'm probably behind the curve when it comes to online banking, but with every increase by the post office, I'm another step closer to finally catching up with the times.