Jeff's Commentary - 7/19 - Forever Stamps No Longer Forever

There was a story last week that said the Postal Service in an effort to try to not continue losing billions of dollars every year, would no longer honor the “Forever Stamp” in 2011. We consumers would have to buy extra stamps for our letters even when using a “Forever Stamp.” I really wasn’t surprised. Understanding that the U.S. Postal Service reported a 3.8 billion dollar loss for 2009 fiscal year, somehow, like a bad marriage, the “Forever Stamp” really didn’t stand a chance. Total mail volume plunged by more than 25 billion pieces which was twice as much as any mail volume decrease in the Postal Office History.

Do most of us really get any true important mail anymore? Outside of a magazine here or there, most of my daily mail consists of direct marketers attempt to make me read something I will never own nor ever care to buy. If you are like me, most of my bills are now received and paid on line except for those I don’t have sufficient funds for and then I use a stamp. I don’t get why you simply can’t deliver mail once a week. There is nothing but junk 99% of the time so I’d rather get a bundle every Wednesday which is perfect timing for the Thursday recycle day with my trash. The bundle of envelopes containing useless information on Wednesday could go from my mailbox directly into the recycle bin.

Email, direct deposit, Facebook and texting have all taken over communication with the outside world and the Postal Service is like the railroad after airplanes came into the picture.

So what could I use “Forever Stamps” for now that are no longer "forever"? Birthdays I missed on the days they occurred?...now an even better excuse as to why it came late. Bills I don’t want to pay on time like my taxes?...how fun that would be to have my taxes returned because of using a “Forever Stamp”?...isn’t that like death and taxes...a “Forever Stamp” put out by our government that is not forever.

I wish the Postal Service instead of nickel and diming us would simply increase the cost of a stamp to a round number like .50 cents or .55 cents. Adding one or two pennies to the cost of a stamp every year is a joke because they realize the day it goes into effect that it isn’t enough. Besides, another report came out last week that said the cost of making a penny at the US Mint is now 1.5 cents for every penny made and a nickel costs 6 cents to make. So now it costs more money to make the money we use to buy “Forever Stamps” that aren’t forever. Is this a great country or what!

Jeff