Postage stamp still a bargain
Why is it that anytime the price of a postage stamp increases, the entire nation collectively grumbles? The Postal Service board of governors on Tuesday made official what Americans have known for a couple months, the cost to mail a first-class letter will rise 3 cents on June 30 to 37 cents. If that sounds excessive, think about how many other things you can buy for 37 cents. Go ahead and name them. Well?
If that mind-bending exercise isn’t enough, think for a moment if you are actually spending more money on stamps than you were say, five years ago. Are you sending the same amount of items through the post office or are you bypassing snail mail in favor of e-mail?
If you figure out that you’re spending about the same or less on postage, multiply that by the rest of the Postal Service’s customers and you’ll begin to understand the tip of the problem.
Perhaps some day nearly all documents, bills and correspondence will be handled electronically, but until that time the price of a postage stamp, even at 37 cents, isn’t a bad bargain.
For the bit of pocket change, customers practically have a guarantee that their letter will arrive where it is supposed to and in a matter of a day or two. Could service be better? Certainly.
Could the Postal Service be run more efficiently? Again, yes. But what business couldn’t?
The Postal Service has taken steps to trim the fat. It has reduced staff by 12,000 and recognizes that it must change its ways.