USPS asks for record price hike on stamps
The US Postal Service is requesting the biggest price jump on stamps since 1991 to address its revenue shortfall, reports USA Today.
The Postal Service on Wednesday proposed raising the price of 1-oz. letters from 50 cents to 55 cents.
The price of each additional ounce would go down slightly.
The request was made by the USPS’ board of governors, which has been operating on an emergency basis because of a lack of confirmed members. It will have to be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.
“The Governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with needed revenue,” the USPS said in a press release. “The Postal Service has some of the lowest letter mail postage rates in the industrialized world and also continues to offer a great value in shipping.”
The new price plan comes at a time when USPS is struggling with sales, as mail has been replaced with electronic communication. While the service has been handling more package delivery, the loss in mail delivery has been more dramatic — and mail is the service’s main source of revenue, Postmaster General and CEO Megan Brennan said earlier this year of the financial loss.
The White House has proposed privatizing the Post Office, a plan that postal unions protested in nationwide demonstrations on Monday.
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