New Postage Rates Take Effect Today

Postal service charges new postage rates

New postage rates are officially in effect as of today, Monday May 11. The new postage rates are 44 cents per stamp, for up to one ounce of mail, up from 42 cents. Of course, forever stamps are still good, and you can still buy forever stamps for 42 cents apiece, and they’ll be good indefinitely.

Fluctuation frustration

Postal customers, by now, are used to rate hikes. There have been five in less than 10 years. However, the frequency of the increases doesn’t keep some Americans from getting frustrated by the 2-cent increase.

“I don’t like it. It’s ridiculous,” said Charles Johnson of Lincoln, according to a news station in Nebraska.

“It keeps going up all the time and you don’t see a lot of benefits,” said Dawn Love of Lincoln.

But don’t worry, you’re not going to have to take out no fax payday loans to pay for shipping packages through the United States Postal Service. Even with the new postage rates, the rate is still 17 cents per ounce after the first ounce.

Business is business

Kerry Kowalski, post master in Lincoln, Neb., says that many people believe tax dollars go to the post office. However, that’s not true. Though the postal service has to follow federal regulations, such as delivering six days a week, it operates like an independent business.

The recession is affecting the post office just as it’s affecting any business. As people spend less on advertising, they do fewer mail campaigns. While the decrease in junk mail is a relief to most Americans, it’s a bottom-line killer for the post office.

Covering costs

The United States Postal Service has to increase its rates just to keep up with cost of operations. With e-mail as the new standard form of delivering written messages, the number of people using the postal service is growing ever smaller.

Snail mail has several other factors working against it as well. The rise of the environmental movement means more and more people are trying to avoid using paper. The new p0stage rates mean fewer people will be willing to pay the cost of sending something through the mail. Ecards are becoming more popular as well, so even holidays such as Mother’s Day don’t generate money for the postal service like they used to.

Forever stamps

Last time new postage rates were introduced, some people rushed to the post office and purchased thousands of forever stamps — stamps that will still be accepted as payment for mail delivery even if the rates rise again. I imagine this time it will be no different.

However, postal office workers would probably like you to know that there isn’t a limited supply of forever stamps available, so there is no need to stock up on the same day new postage rates are introduced.