As Postal Service goes broke, commission denies rate increase

A postage boost of 5.6 percent was proposed by the United States of America Postal Service but denied by the Postal Regulatory Commission Thursday. Raising the price of a first class stamp from 44 to cents was one of the raises the USPS said was essential because of the recession. The commission rejected that notion and said the postal service’s problems are a result of its business practices.

Postal fee raises a cry for aid

All the money the USPS has is going down the drain. By 2020, a $238 billion deficit is expected to happen. Bloomberg reports the USPS has asked for the stamp price increase along with a 7 % increase on packages used to ship merchandise for instance books or videos. A 23 percent increase was requested for parcels under one pound. There hasn’t been an increase within the USPS for a when. It has been two years. To cut costs, the Postal Service also wants approval from Congress to end Saturday mail delivery for the first time since 1863.

United States Postal mail altering

There can be no federal spending given to the USPS even with the spending measure that passed the Senate Wednesday and the House Thurs. The bill was passed to temporarily fund federal programs until the beginning of December. Based on the Washington Post, the USPS owes a $5.5 billion payment that is needed to pre-fund retiree health benefits by law. Democrats tried to postpone this payment however Republicans wouldn’t have it. Just since 2008, $10 billion in expending has been cut from the Postal Service. Part of its strategy is to trim its workforce via attrition. In a statement the Office of Management and Spending budget said mail service would not be compromised as the USPS and Congress comes up with a plan to ensure the agency is viable within the future.

Postal fee won’t be increasing

The Postal Service lost $3.8 billion in 2009. The presentation of the suggestion rather than the details was why Ruth Goldway, chairman of the commission, thinks it was declined, reports the Associated Press. At a news conference she said the need for a rate increase was not due to the recession, as the suggestion said, but was as a result of long-term structural problems that have to be addressed. The rejection originated from a bunch of consumer groups, small businesses, charities, utilities, national retailers, banks and also the Affordable Postal mail Alliance.

Articles cited

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-30/u-s-postal-service-denied-another-rate-increase-by-regulatory-commission.html

Washington Post

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/29/AR2010092906645.html?wpisrc=nl_pmheadline

Associated Press

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqbZ05-vr6nAfjJzyIXr_d1k26DwD9IIDJ4O0?docId=D9IIDJ4O0