From USA Today:
“A federal appeals court threw
out 5-cent 'Forever Stamp' price hike. Will prices now drop?”
More than eight months after a
5-cent price increase went into effect on the first class "Forever
Stamp," a federal appeals court is throwing out the 10% price hike. A
three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit ruled that a postal commission failed to provide an adequate
explanation for the increase from 50 to 55 cents and failed to respond to
public comments challenging the increase. A U.S. Postal Service spokesman says
the service is reviewing the decision and considering its legal options.
Spokesman David Partenheimer confirmed in an email that at this time customers
will still be charged the new January rates for first-class mail, including 55
cents for a Forever Stamp. According to the postal service's history of postage
prices, which dates back to 1863, the January 2019 hike was the largest price
increase. The Postal Service began selling forever stamps in 2007, when they
cost 41 cents. Since 2011 all first class commemorative stamps have been issued
as forever stamps, according to the USPS website. A book of 20 forever stamps
in 2007 cost $8.20. Since Jan. 27, the day the price went up, that book costs
$11. The lawsuit was filed by Douglas Carlson, a postal customer and watchdog
who made one of 34 comments to the commission when the rate hike was proposed.
The judges ruling on the case were Neomi Rao and Gregory Katsas, appointees of
President Donald Trump, and Patricia Millett, an appointee of President Barack
Obama. "Although the five-cent stamp price hike may have gone unnoticed by
many, the American Revolution was fomented in part by ordinary people who
objected to taxation through stamps," Rao wrote in the 30-page ruling. The
Postal Service lost $3.9 billion in 2018, attributing the losses to drops in
mail volume and the costs of pensions and health care. It was the 12th year in
a row the agency reported a loss despite growth in package shipping. Taxes do not fund the agency. The USPS runs on
the sale of its products and services. If the prices drop, it wouldn't be the
first time. In April 2016, stamp prices dropped by two cents but increased back
up to 49 cents in January 2017.
^ It’s nice to see that someone
is actually keeping tabs on the Post Office. I don’t believe that even with
this ruling the USPS will lower stamp prices, but we will have to wait and see.
^
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