Postal Service, hemorrhaging cash, is rejected fee boost

The United States of America postal service submitted a request to raise postage by 5.6 %. Thursday, the Postal Regulatory Commission denied that request. The increases, which the agency said were a consequence of the recession, involved boosting a first class stamp from 44 to 46 cents. The commission was not certain and said poor management, not external factors, was the source of the agency’s troubles.

Needing some help for the postal fee raises happening

The USPS, which projects a deficit of $238 billion via 2020, is about to go broke. Bloomberg reports that the USPS has asked for the stamp price increase along with a 7 percent boost on packages used to ship merchandise for instance books or videos. A 23 percent increase was requested for parcels under one pound. There hasn’t been a rise within the Postal Service for a while. It has been two years. To cut costs, the USPS also wants approval from Congress to end Saturday mail delivery for the very first time since 1863.

Problems need repairing with U.S. mail

There can be no federal spending given to the USPS even with the spending measure that passed the Senate Wed and also the House Thursday. The bill was passed to temporarily finance federal programs until the beginning of December. A $5.5 billion payment was required from the USPS to pre-fund retiree medical benefits which couldn’t be postponed by the Postal Service because Republicans didn’t want it to be, says the Washington Post. Just since 2008, $10 billion in expending has been cut from the Postal Service. It plans to let those retiring leave without hiring any person brand new. Based on the Office of Management and Budget, mail service will continue to be available. The USPS and Congress are working together for making something happen to make sure it is nevertheless available.

The main reason there could be no Postal Rate boost

In 2009 alone, $3.8 billion was lost by the Postal Service. According to the Associated Press, the proposal wasn’t refused as much as the presentation of the proposal was, states Ruth Goldway. Goldway is the chairman of the commission. The economic recession isn’t the reason why the reason why the adjust needs to be made, she said at a news conference. It needs to change because long-term structural issues were never addressed before now. The commission’s rejection was lauded by the Affordable Mail Alliance, a coalition including consumer groups, small business, charities, utilities, national retailers and banks.

Citations

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