Stamp Prices to Rise Again to 73 Cents

USPS truckPhoto byJoel MoysuhonUnsplash

The U.S. Postal Service is raising the price of their "forever" stamps" again in July, this will make the 6th time since 2021 that the price has increased. The new stamps will go from 68 cents to 73 cents each.

The Postal Inspector General says the stamps are still a good deal, compared to developed countries. The Postal Service, however, lost $9.2 billion in fiscal 2020. In part the losses in revenue stem from the large cutbacks in bulk mail operations, such as advertising catalogs. Much of that business is now electronic, as are magazines. Postal retirement costs such as health benefits also makea large impact.

The cost to publish and handle paper is much higher that sending a PDF catalog or magazine to a subscriber. Consequently, the Post Office no longer has that business income, or at least, much less of it.

According to Porter McConnell, the co-founder of the Save the Post Office Coalition:

"Every postal expert in the country and across the globe really knows that you don't slow down service and raise prices at the same time and expect customers to stick around."

Past actions, such as deliberately slowing down the mail, as happened under Trump ally Louis DeJoy – a major Republican donor with no prior USPS experience, disenfranchised more customers. The changes were put on hold by a federal Judge in 2020.

The changes were clearly aimed at “voter disenfranchisement”, given the increased role USPS will play in this year’s presidential election, the US district judge Stanley Bastian wrote in his ruling.

A far cry from the "efficient and properous" Postal Service that delivered letters to the courthouse in "Miracle on 34th Street."