Future Postage Increase Is Up In The Air
The United States Postal Service recently announced that it will not raise stamp prices in January of 2015. As such you can expect the current stamp pricing to remain in effect through the holiday season and into the early part of 2015.
To date the Postal Service has challenged the Postal Regulatory Commission’s emergency ruling that allowed a 3 cent price increase effective January 28, 2014. The Commission held that the increase would need to be rolled back after about two years.
The U.S. Postal service Board of Governors has disputed this ruling. They have argued that the Postal Service needs the additional revenue that the 3 cent increase is providing. No one knows when the Federal Appeals Court is going to rule on the matter.
In an October 1, 2014 statement, the Postal Service stated that the governors are going to continue to evaluate pricing strategies and will continue to talk about any potential postage increases in the future. Of course any future increases are supposed to be communicated to the public in an advance notice. That is the one thing you can count on for sure.
If the Postal Service fails in its efforts to continue the 49 cent rate from the three-judge panel, it is quite likely to pursue an appeal to the full appeals court. Any loss of revenues is going to put extreme pressure on postal officials to continue their controversial plans to close more mail-processing centers.
Many Senators have urged the Postal service to hold off on the mail-processing plant closures. However the House of Representatives has shown no interest on pursuing any postal legislation to date. The likelihood of Congress pursuing any type of postal legislation reform is very unlikely at this point in time.
Given the latest inflation rates, the proposed postage increase could be around 1.58 percent. The real inflation rate is likely higher due to the way they have changed how they calculate the inflation rate today. As more people conduct business online, there is going to be less need to mail letters with a check enclosed to pay their bills.
I can’t tell when the last time was that I actually mailed a letter myself. I can almost always find an online alternative to use rather than mailing a letter and waiting for a response. Of course, some situations can only be addressed properly by a mailed letter. If it is sent registered or such, you will have proof that something was mailed to the other party.
To date the Postal Service has challenged the Postal Regulatory Commission’s emergency ruling that allowed a 3 cent price increase effective January 28, 2014. The Commission held that the increase would need to be rolled back after about two years.
The U.S. Postal service Board of Governors has disputed this ruling. They have argued that the Postal Service needs the additional revenue that the 3 cent increase is providing. No one knows when the Federal Appeals Court is going to rule on the matter.
In an October 1, 2014 statement, the Postal Service stated that the governors are going to continue to evaluate pricing strategies and will continue to talk about any potential postage increases in the future. Of course any future increases are supposed to be communicated to the public in an advance notice. That is the one thing you can count on for sure.
If the Postal Service fails in its efforts to continue the 49 cent rate from the three-judge panel, it is quite likely to pursue an appeal to the full appeals court. Any loss of revenues is going to put extreme pressure on postal officials to continue their controversial plans to close more mail-processing centers.
Many Senators have urged the Postal service to hold off on the mail-processing plant closures. However the House of Representatives has shown no interest on pursuing any postal legislation to date. The likelihood of Congress pursuing any type of postal legislation reform is very unlikely at this point in time.
Given the latest inflation rates, the proposed postage increase could be around 1.58 percent. The real inflation rate is likely higher due to the way they have changed how they calculate the inflation rate today. As more people conduct business online, there is going to be less need to mail letters with a check enclosed to pay their bills.
I can’t tell when the last time was that I actually mailed a letter myself. I can almost always find an online alternative to use rather than mailing a letter and waiting for a response. Of course, some situations can only be addressed properly by a mailed letter. If it is sent registered or such, you will have proof that something was mailed to the other party.
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