On Tue, 16 Mar 2021 20:28:26 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 3/16/2021 7:52 PM, wrote:

First class mail is a declining industry. We do not need to make the
infrastructure bigger. We should make is smarter.
Rates could use an increase too but Congress capped postal rate
increases.
Adjusted for inflation it is still a bargain.
In 1975 when air mail became the standard a 1st class stamp was 13
cents and that would be 64 cents right now. We pay 55 and that stamp
will always mail a letter no matter what happens to rates. I am still
using stamps I paid 49 cents for and I may still have some 45 cent
ones if I dig around a little.
As a historical note a 1st class stamp was 6 cents in 1863 when the
post office as we know it started. Adjust that for inflation and you
are up around a Fed X envelope.


It is declining but still very important. Rather than slow things down,
pay a fair price. Not just first class but the junk stuff too.

I use one or two stamps a week. What I send often travels 1200 to 1500
miles. Double the price and it is still a decent price for what you get.

Another factor is packages. Trump is jealous of Jeff Bezos because he
is worth more than Trump. Therefore he went after him by making false
claims. Another reason he brought it DeJoy to ruins the Postal Service

https://www.politifact.com/factcheck...osing-fortune/

Package delivery, however, was one of the few bright spots in its latest
financial statement. In 2017, parcels brought in $19.5 billion, or 28
percent of USPS annual revenue. At $2.1 billion, packages contributed
the largest revenue increase.

While we dont know the deal USPS crafted with Amazon, we know its not
losing money. A 2006 law codified profitability into law, and an
independent regulatory commission that reviews their deals annually gave
it a green light on March 29.

I agree package service is a money maker for the USPS but they are not
artificially constrained from raising package rates to reflect actual
cost. hat os only 1st class. I agree if it takes another dime a letter
to put 1st class back in the black, do it but they still have that
unfunded pension liability problem.

Fed X does not have that issue. PBGC assures that Fed X funded their
pension plan and now they really don't have one for anyone hired in
about a dozen years so that is not really a drain on their budget.

UPS is tied to the Teamsters fund that has been robbed and the
Democrats just threw $8B at it in this last spending bill.