I can't count, over the years, how many times I've heard people complain about the price of a postage stamp. I would just shake my head and think "Really?"

Yesterday, the United States Postal Service raised the price of a Forever stamp by 3 cents. What was 55 cents is now 58 cents. OMG, how how we going to ever be able to mail a letter without going into bankruptcy?

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To put things into perspective, you can purchase a first class Forever stamp for the new price of 58 cents. With that 58 cent stamp you can slap it on an envelope weighing up to an ounce and the USPS will deliver it, in a reasonable amount of time, to any address in the United States.

If that isn't a deal, I don't know what is. Take 58 cents into any business and see what you can get for that 58 cents. I'll save you the time, NOTHING!

There were also a few other increases on postage;

  • A metered one ounce letter increased from 51 t0 53 cents
  • Postcards went from 36 to 40 cents
  • First class single- piece flat mail went from $1 to $1.16
  • Certified mail increase from $3.60 to $3.75
  • Registered mail went up from $12.90 to 13.75

Even with these increases, the USPS still has some of the lowest postage rates in the world. What costs you 58 cents in the U.S. would cost you $3.40 in Italy, $1.90 in France, $1.20 in the United Kingdom and 89 cents in Canada.

According to silive.com these increases are all part of a plan to make the USPS solvent in 10 years. Despite popular belief, the USPS uses zero tax dollars.

“For the past 14 years, the Postal Service has had limited pricing authority to respond to changing market realities,” said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “As part of our 10-year plan to achieve financial sustainability and service excellence, the Postal Service and the Board of Governors are committed to judiciously implementing a rational pricing approach that helps enable us to remain viable and competitive and offer reliable postal services that are among the most affordable in the world.”

Of course, any Forever stamps you may have purchased before the rate increase are still good. You know, like forever.

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