What?! A Postage Stamp Should Really Cost How Much?!

By Brad Tuttle | @bradrtuttle | August 24, 2009 | +

A first-class postage stamp cost 2¢ in 1950. If the cost of a stamp had risen with inflation, it would cost 30¢ today. Instead, we’re paying 44¢ to mail a letter.

The info comes by way of a WSJ editorial calling for an end to the Postal Service’s subsidized monopoly on mail.

Unnecessary reminder: e-mail, much like non-bottled water, is free.

Related Topics: mail, miscellany, Postal Service, stamps, Taxes

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[...] And would anyone be surprised if expenses like postage stamps rise yet again? [...]
deadhunters

Are you out of your mind? Postage stamps are inexpensive. Let’s see, I want to send a letter to Hawaii. How much would it cost to drive/fly it there myself ($600 to $2000). But wait, I know of this company who will deliver it for 42 cents (the U.S. Postal Service). By the way, the U.S. Postal Service is a seamless operation, putting aside when one of their employees goes on a shooting spree. So, you get door-to-door service and unprecedented reliability for pennies, and you’re complaining? “Oh Gee, your super incredible cheap rates have exceeded the inflation rate”… “Oh my God, call the Police!” Un-fing-believable!

((( LEARN TO RECOGNIZE A BARGAIN )))
http://money.blogs.time.com/2010/07/23/shout-out-how-i-learned-to-love-postal-rate-increases/ Shout Out: ‘How I Learned to Love Postal Rate Increases’ – It's Your Money – TIME.com

[...] price of a stamp, which should probably cost 30¢ now if it had risen only with inflation, has since increased to 44¢, and is expected to rise again in 2011 to 46¢. At that time, 2,000 [...]