From 1891 until 1991 (a span of 100 years), the price of stamps rose from 1 cent to 29 cents. That's just under .3 cents per year. Basically, every 3-4 years, the price of stamps goes up one cent. From 1991 to today (a span of 16 years), the price of stamps has risen from 29 cents to 41 cents. That's .75 cents per year -- over twice the historical rate in under a fifth of the time.
It wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for the fact that every time postage rates hike, I get mail returned. This could be alleviated easily by phasing out the old price and issuing a temporary "First Class" stamp in the interim. The postal service has done this in the past, but alas, I haven't found any for the last two price hikes. So I'm stuck with two books of 39 cent stamps which I can't use (without doubling up or getting special 2 cent stamps).
Here's a little known fact: I've been a stamp collector almost my entire life. I've lapsed over the last decade or so due to lack of time and permanent residence as well as the postal service inundating the stamp market at a a phenomenal rate. However, I've got tens of thousands of stamps from the mid 1800's to about the early 90's covering several different countries. In the early 90s, my collection was worth enough to justify the cost of getting an insurance policy for it.
And here's a tidbit of information for youngins: zip codes are a relatively new concept for the US postal service; they were instated in 1963.
Not happy with the Forever stamp, eh?
Mail vs. Inflation, Mail vs. Gas. Swivel
rocks.
http://www.swivel.com/graphs/show/10868557
Stamps? Who uses Stamps anymore?
It's like decrying the demise of buggy whips.
Let me let you in on a little secret, it's called email. (Oh, and online bill payment).
Or, Ok, I guess a pitney bowes machine .
yeah, I would say go buy a ton of forever stamps. Personally I really don't mail anything so not a huge issue.
@DeanG -- thanks for that link, that's neat! I hate inflation more than I hate the post office. ;-)
As for the forever stamp, I don't dislike it. I just dislike that it implies more rate hikes to come. "Give in to our extortion" stamps is more accurate. It's the connotation more than anything. If the just called them 1st Class stamps (which would mean the exact same thing as a "forever" stamp), then I wouldn't get the feeling I was about to be raked over the coals.
@Bill -- I use stamps to pay my bills because I live in a rural area which doesn't have online payments for most things (trash, water, and even electricity).
Riverside will be quite the shock then :) Though, most online bill pay services (say, through your bank) will cut and mail a check for you if the receiver doesn't accept automatic payments. That's how mine works, and there is no extra charge (not even for the stamp). Once upon a time, I paid myself just to see what the checks looked like...
Every time I get agitated about another rate increase, I stop to ponder the value:
Hey Aaron, here's 41 cents. Will you take this letter to the address I've put on the envelope?
Whether it's simply across town or across the country, it's reliable and a phenomenal value when you think about it.
@Keith -- oh, I know! USPS really is one of the best gov't programs around. It is an awesome service, and I do like it. I just wish the cost was hidden from me. If I just bought a stamp that had no denomination on it, then I wouldn't care (or probably notice).