I have never felt too badly about the cost of postage going up. The Post Office has properly supported a good portion of my family for years. My brother in law is retired from the PO, my sister is a mail carrier, and I have 2 nieces who are also mail carriers. Any increase I felt just supplemented family incomes. Can't really gripe there.
So now we have a chance to buy "FOREVER". Wow is that a powerful statement. Nothing today outside of religion, gives you a promise like that. Sign me up.
Economists say it is foolish to buy these stamps. They say put your money in mutual funds. But, what if you bought a really big bunch, held them for 20 years,then sold them on e Bay for a little less than the going rate??? I most likely don't have 20 years to wait, so I will leave that supposition to the younger puppies out there.
The main reason I plan to buy them is that I use to buy a roll of 100 for convenience, only to have the price go up before I could use them all. I would then be forced to buy all those stupid penny stamps to make up the difference. Thanks to the Internet, there aren't that many things I need stamps for. Email replaced letters and electronic banking replaces bill paying. Out side of a few bills I still prefer to mail the payment and some greeting cards, there isn't much need for the stamp. Somehow, I feel like I am letting my family down with each email I send. At least if I buy a bunch of the Forever Stamps, I am in essence prepaying their salaries. Tis the least I can do.
Should I be concerned with so many of my family employed by the Post Office? Naw. I always assumed my family were "gruntled" postal employees since they weren't "disgruntled." Then I learned that gruntled is not necessarily the opposite of disgruntled if you wish to be precise. Such a shock. Since there are varying opinions on the word "gruntled," I choose to use it regardless as it is slowly working its way into our vocabulary. I have faith. If "humongous" can make it into the dictionary , gruntled can.
Anyway since my sister, who is getting a little more "disgruntled" each day as longer hours and less pay are implemented, is considering retirement, that leaves only two nieces that I feel I need to help support via high postage prices. Actually, they will have job security if I buy forever stamps so I intend to go for it. As of May 11th the price goes up to 44 cents unless you get the liberty bell stamp.
Hurry. Think of it as a bargain sale. Keep my family working. I thank you.
Ah.. postage! I send my thanks to your relatives who work for the USPO.
ReplyDeleteI well remember the penny postcard and the 3-cent first class mail stamp; and if one was "flash" and wanted Air Mail, it was eight cents for an ounce. Onion-skin paper was all the rage (still have some, somewhere) to keep the weight of one's letter under the one ounce weight. According to my calculator, the price of first class postage has increased 1,467 percent since I graduated from high school. Has that kept me from stocking up on Forever Stamps? Not a bit.
I have never been able to figure out why people do not realize what a bargain a postage stamp is.
ReplyDeleteJust think what that 42 cents gets you. You write a letter to your friend in California ,put a stamp on it and put it in the box right at your driveway in Pennsylvania. Sometime that very day a truck comes along and a postal worker takes your letter from the box and takes it to the Post Office.
There, it is sorted and another truck takes it to the airport where it is put on a plane to California.
Two days later a letter carrier is walking a route in San Francisco and she puts your letter through your friend's mail slot on Mission St. Your letter has now gone from your home in Suburban Philadelphia to your friend's living room in San Francisco, 3,000 miles away, and the cost of this service is 42cents!
You can't buy a Baby Ruth bar for 42 cents! Or a Coke! Or a bar of soap...
Why do people complain when the cost of this service goes up 2 cents? It doesn't make sense to me.
I just bought two sheets of the green Love stamps - they are my favorites at the moment - and I know I will have to buy penny stamps before they are gone. For some reason, I am against the forever stamps, no matter how much the others cost me.
ReplyDeletePatti, you're right the price of stamps is going up every year. But everything is getting more expensive. I hope that your for ever stamps are a great success. Thanks for your visit! Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteYea Pat, everything has gone up darn it. I remember when bread was 18 cents a loaf in 1957. I don't miss the salary I was making then though. I am just glad thet the PO is giving us the opportunity to buy the Forever stamps. I know I am, and I am glad it is choice we are being offered.
ReplyDeleteNancy,
I guess it is the human condition to resent when more money is asked for the same service. No one really wants to pay more for anything, especially if you are on a fixed income. We may grumble but we do pay. The Forever stamp offers us an option. I give the PO a lot of credit for that.
Kenju
Isn't it nice we have a choice? My personal favorites were the Breast Cancer stamps. Also thought of putting Mighty dog on personal stamps. Just have to go with the Forever ones though. It gives me the false illusion that I am beating the system.
Reader wil,
Guess you have the same problem in the Netherlands. I am sure it is world wide. Since no one asked us first if they could raise the price, guess we will have to daal with it.
Yay for the post office. I think what Nancy said is absolutely perfect. I also love the word gruntled, and it should be in the dictionary.
ReplyDeleteI probably purchase two stamps a year. It's just so easy to e-mail. I fully expect the PO to stop delivery of residential mail in the near future. I hope it doesn't mean layoffs, too.
ReplyDeleteThe post office is complaining again that they will have to cut down on deliveries and stop Saturdays. I think it is all a ruse of some sort. I know those working in the post office around here make very good money, have excellent health care and get paid vacations. And to think it all started with penny postcards.
ReplyDeleteI loved what Jay Leno said one night about the Post Office:
ReplyDelete" The Postal Service made millions of dollars last year.Just think what they could have made if they had opened that second window."
robin
ReplyDeleteGlad you like "gruntled" also. Love to play with words. We do have an illogical language don't we.
Betty,
Me too and that is one of the problems causing the PO to be in financial troubles as we speak. The Internet has hurt the P.O and the newspapers. I realize I am part of the problem. We are watching the wounding of some current day dinosaurs. We sure don't need anymore layoffs.
Abe,
My sister's office is making them work 6 days a week now for the same 5 day pay. The temps who worked days off are almost all gone and will all be laid off if they go to 5 day delivery. Love them or hate them, the P.O. is in trouble.
Nancy,
Love Jay. That might work for the DMV also.
WOW SIS!! DIDN'T KNOW THIS WOULD BE SUCH A HOT TOPIC..
ReplyDeleteI GUESS IT A SIGN OF THE TIMES.. I REMEMBER WAITING FOR THE MAILMAN... EXPECTING A LETTER FROM MY BOYFRIEND (WHO WAS IN THE MARINES).. IT WAS SOO EXCITING HOPING THE LETTER WOULD COME!! NOW... EVERYONE JUST EMAILS! PUT ME BACK ON THE FARM!! WITH ALL THE HIGH TECH.. WHY DO WE HAVE LESS TIME ?? WE ARE IN SUCH A RUSH.. SOO SOO SAD!
ReplyDeleteMy new investment strategy is just that: Keep what I have. That's good enough!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous
ReplyDeleteSurprised me too Sis. I do love the immediacy of email and the fact that people who never wrote letters, now bat out daily emails. However, like you, I do feel we have lost more than we have gained. Gone is the excitement when that fat envelope showed up in the mail box among the bills. The anticipation as you ripped it open. Sometimes pictures spilled out. What we have lost is the "foreplay" of communication. Not sure I could give up my electronic addiction but if I could,make room for me on the farm.
Robert
In today's economy that can be a smart but Herculean task. Good luck.
Like you, I always buy the roll of 100 and like you, end up buying those other 2 or 3 cent stamps---depending.
ReplyDeleteI bought quite a few of the "FOREVER"....I just hope they don't go back on that at some point...I will be Very Very P.O'd if they do! (lol)
I remember the Penny Postcard, etc., etc., etc. Them days ate GONE, "FOREVER"!
Lady of the hills,
ReplyDeleteMe too. I may have over bought and will join you in the lynching if they renege