MY 2 CENTS

So the USPS is raising the price of a stamp from 37 cents to 39 cents apparently so the post office can make a $3.1 billion escrow payment required by Congress. I find it interesting that I haven’t heard many complaints about it. No watercooler chatter at work, no picket lines, no protests, no Geraldo Rivera, and no Anderson Cooper running down the story. Heck, it’s only two cents, right?

But you know me, my mind works differently. I look at it this way. The price of stamps is being jacked up 5.4%. To me, that’s a big number. Here’s how I equate it. At $2.50 a gallon, gas would cost me $2.64. My $200 utilities would cost me $211. My $183 car payment would go up $10 for a quick $120 a year. My $1200 monthly rent would cost me $1265 or another $780 a year. What if I wanted to buy or lease a new car? A $20,000 car would now cost me $21,080. How bout a house? Can’t get anything around here for less than $250,000. Well, that little 5.4% bump would cost me an extra $13,500.

5.4% is a big number, people. The last postal increase was back in 2002 when stamps went from 34 cents to 37 cents, a whopping 8.8% increase. I’m not gonna do the math again, but can you imagine? Listen, 2 cents may not seem like much but someone should take a closer look at this. Plus, there are more increases, too. Registered mail is going up from $7.50 to $12.75. A 70% increase??? I read the post office made $68.9 BILLION last year and spent $65.8 billion. They *MADE* $3.1 BILLION and now they need help. Dontcha feel sorry for them? Hey, you know what? I’m getting killed in taxes and need to buy a house. I need help to make the payments. Can you please raise my salary 5.4%?