The US Postal Service will raise the price of stamps for mailing a first-class letter to 82 cents from 78 cents, effective Sunday. This change is part of a 4.8% increase in mailing costs announced in April.
Background
The USPS, which has warned it could run out of cash early next year, has had net losses of about $120 billion since 2007. The agency’s business model is considered broken, and it needs help from lawmakers to turn around its operations.
The volume of first-class mail, its most profitable product, has dropped to 1960s levels as communication has largely gone digital. Yet the agency must maintain costly nationwide delivery operations. Postmaster General David Steiner thinks Americans would be willing to pay 90 or 95 cents per letter, when much of the world pays $2 or more.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
