Fee boost denied for USPS as losses mount

A postage increase of 5.6 % 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 boosts the postal service said was necessary because of the recession. In rejecting the request, the commission held responsible internal inefficiencies, not a bad economy, for the situation the USPS finds itself in. Article source – As Postal Service goes broke, commission denies rate increase by Personal Money Store.

Help is something postal fee increases need badly

A deficit of $238 billion via 2020 is what is expected for the USPS meaning it is losing all its money. The Postal Service asked for a 7 percent boost on any packages that have things in them like books or movies. This is on top of the raised stamp price request. It also hopes to get an increase on parcels under a pound. It is hoping that it will go up 23 percent. The rate increases would are the first in two years for the Postal Service. To cut costs, the Postal Service also wants approval from Congress to end Saturday mail delivery for the very first time since 1863.

U.S. Postal mail is in serious straits

There can be no federal expending given to the Postal Service besides the expending measure that passed the Senate Wed and also the House Thursday. The bill was passed to temporarily fund federal programs until the beginning of December. The Washington Post reports that Republican opposition also kept Congress from letting the Postal Service postpone a $5.5 billion payment required by law to pre-fund retiree medical benefits. The Postal Service has slashed a $10 billion in expending. This cut has only been since 2008. Attrition is part of its plan. That’s how it wants to slashed the workforce. In a statement the Office of Management and Spending budget said postal mail service would not be compromised as the USPS and Congress comes up with a plan to ensure the agency is viable in the future.

Postal price will not be increasing

In 2009 alone, $3.8 billion was lost by the USPS. The Associated Press reports that Ruth Goldway, chairman of the commission, said the proposal was rejected more for the presentation than the details. The price increase was one thing she said at a news conference that had to change as a result of structural difficulties that have to be addressed rather than the economic recession hurting it. The rejection originated from a bunch of consumer groups, small businesses, charities, utilities, national retailers, banks and 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