October 19, 2011

USPS will increase first class postage rates again

The USPS blog today has a post noting that the standard first class letter rate will increase by 1¢ on January 22, 2012.  Before you go freaking out about another price increase, think about your own use of the postal system.  When was the last time you sent a letter or card in the mail?  We’re all doing quite a lot of our bill payments online or through automatic withdrawals, but there are still plenty of opportunities to use the postal system.  I sent two get well cards yesterday to family members on the other side of the country.  Last week, I sent stamp trades to India and the Netherlands.

Besides, if we look at how the postage rate has increased and compare it to the same rate adjusted for inflation since 1885, it really hasn’t changed all that much.  This graph summarizes the rate changes over the years:

US_Postage_History

The Wikimedia Commons page for this illustration (retrieved October 19, 2011) asserts that it was placed in the public domain by its creator in 2007.

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