Price increase for stamps annoys some Valley consumers

By Jon Moffett

YOUNGSTOWN — A rise in the price of postage hasn’t been met by every consumer’s stamp of approval.

The cost of a first-class stamp will increase from 42 cents to 44 cents Monday.

The U.S. Postal Service says it’s part of an annual price adjustment.

Consumers were not afraid to give their two cents on the increase. Many locals said the price change was “ridiculous” and “unnecessary” given the economic climate.

“It’s kind of ridiculous because it seems like every time you turn around the price is going up,” said Helen Ford, 50, of Boardman. “And they wonder why people are e-mailing more.”

Ford says she uses the mail often. She pays her bills and sends letters through the postal service because she doesn’t trust “online hackers” with her personal information. She said sending out her bills, about 11 each month, is getting costly with the increases.

In 2006, Congress signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act into law, ensuring a cap on the rate in which postage can be adjusted.

“Generally, with the 2006 law, we are able to increase the rates annually,” said Vic Dubina, spokesman with the USPS. He added that the adjustment is determined by the inflation rate.

The postal laws divided the office into two sections, mailing and shipping. The shipping side had rate adjustments in January.

Dubina said the bad economy and an increase in Internet communication contributed to falling revenues.

“We’re charged by Congress to operate as a business, meaning we do operate on revenue,” he said. “We’re not immune to the same pressures everyone else is facing as costs go up.”

He added that the USPS has seen a decrease in volume over the past few years. People are sending more e-mail and paying bills online rather than through the postal service, he said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.