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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| US Postal Service raising stamp prices Sunday |
| 2023-07-09 |
| [NYPOST] Anyone who needs stamps might want to head out and grab them before the United States Postal Service’s latest price hikes go into effect this weekend. The cost of a "forever" stamp for first-class mail is rising from 63 to 66 cents Sunday as part of increased mailing prices approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission earlier this year at the request of the USPS. When I was a child, back in the upper Paleolithic, a stamp cost three cents. The USPS said it needed more money in part due to high inflation. "As operating expenses fueled by inflation continue to rise and the effects of a previously defective pricing model are still being felt, these price adjustments are needed to provide the Postal Service with much needed revenue to achieve the financial stability sought by its Delivering for America 10-year plan," the USPS said in a blurb in April. The price for sending a metered letter will rise from 60 to 63 cents under the price changes, and sending postcards will set customers back a little more, too. The cost of sending a postcard domestically is ticking up from 48 cents to 51 cents, while the price of sending international postcards and letters will go from $1.45 a piece to $1.50. The USPS has raised stamp prices by 32% since early 2019 in an effort to boost its revenue as mail volume continues to fall. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #17 ^^when I was in college parking tickets were $4 and the municipality paid the postage, which then was based on weight. A frat brother worked at a pool table manufacturer, he’d cut the slate to the size of the municipality’s self addressed envelope, so when we paid the ticket they’d pay a couple bucks to cash it. ATL soon changed |
| Posted by: Beavis 2023-07-09 17:03 |
| #16 Worse when they started ticketing you for parking at a jammed meter. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-07-09 14:23 |
| #15 Bad enough to lose your 25¢ to a parking machine, let alone a dollar. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-07-09 14:18 |
| #14 The quarter sized $1 coins were great for disabling parking meters. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-07-09 14:13 |
| #13 But those $1 coins that looked like quarters, until they didn't, were unmitigated disasters. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-07-09 13:42 |
| #12 the 50 cent pieces are historically inaccurate. JFK's head is intact |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-07-09 13:40 |
| #11 I suppose it costs too much to make 50-cent pieces. You'd think the US Mint was using rare earths or something. Our current coins, especially pennies, remind me the cheesy coins from commie Eastern Europe days. But one thing the US gets kudos for are bills. We've never cancelled prior editions, unlike in the UK and Europe. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-07-09 13:37 |
| #10 We have to pay for the Amazon subsidy somehow. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-07-09 12:09 |
| #9 Current US coinage in circulation |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-07-09 11:52 |
| #8 Not the silver variety, of course, but do they still mint 50-cent pieces? |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-07-09 11:36 |
| #7 At this point, hold on to that actual hard specie. It may come back in fashion again. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-07-09 08:28 |
| #6 /\ Checking the market today, the silver in an old silver dollar will fetch $17.84. Take that old Morgan Silver dollar to a bank teller and see what you'll get with it. That's right, ONE PAPER dollar. Now tell me gov't, banking, and finance are all on the level. Go ahead, tell me. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-07-09 08:26 |
| #5 Checking the market today, the silver in an old silver dollar will fetch $17.84. So when you were buying stamps at 3 cents back then you were doing it with a system backed by silver and gold. The value of those 3 cents in today's market would be about 54 cents in today's debased currency. It's not that things are getting that expensive, its that our money is worthless. Remember sending first class mail is the same whether you are sending it across the town or to Point Barrow, AK or to Guam. We're still behind the curve. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2023-07-09 07:59 |
| #4 The postal union, Internet, nationwide cell phone service, VOIP, and SMS texting killed the postal system years ago. As more of us avoid the increasingly number of private personnel USPS mail being "accidentally" opened and delivered in clear plastic baggies. Many are using private 2048 DH encryption + for email OR encrypted Texting. I know a few ITSEC's that exchange halves of $1 bills and use the serial numbers as their private person to person encryption key. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2023-07-09 04:53 |
| #3 #1^ I remember US Postal ground and higher priced air mail stamps. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2023-07-09 04:26 |
| #2 Instead of the American flag, this admin's stamps will feature a crack house. |
| Posted by: Slats Snore5077 2023-07-09 03:08 |
| #1 I can remember 8¢ stamps with Ike on them. |
| Posted by: DooDahMan 2023-07-09 00:05 |
