Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by billybob 5965 days ago
Good criticisms. But a publicly-funded post office has some advantages, too. They will operate at a loss in tiny areas, which means you can still get mail to Grandma, even though there is only one traffic light in her town.

Also - 39 cents to send a letter anywhere in the country? Still a pretty good deal.
2 comments
jonknee 5965 days ago
39 cents? It hasn't been that since ~2006. They currently cost 44 cents:

http://www.usps.com/prices/first-class-mail-prices.htm

link
Avshalom 5965 days ago
considering that those 44 cents will get a letter basically hand delivered from Key West Florida to Barrow Alaska. Still a pretty good deal.
link
jonknee 5965 days ago
I'm not saying it's a bad deal, just that the OP hadn't actually bought a stamp in a long time (or at least realized the cost).
link
roboneal 5965 days ago
15% price increase (39 to 44 cents) in 4 years is not unnoticed "in volume" and easily outstrips inflation.
link
dhume 5965 days ago
You can cherry-pick intervals where stamp prices outstripped inflation, and I can cherry-pick intervals where stamp prices stayed well below inflation.

A 12.8% increase (not sure how you came up with 15%) over a period where inflation was only around 7.8% (based on month-to-month consumer price index report) sounds pretty bad, but you seem to have missed the previous four years, where inflation was 10.1% and the price only went up 5.4%. For the interval between raising to 37¢ and raising to 44¢ (an 18.9% increase), inflation totaled 18.7%. If a difference of 0.2 points makes all that much difference, you probably shouldn't be using the first class rate anyway.

link
roboneal 5965 days ago
I wasn't cherry-picking - I used the interval cited in the parent of my reply.

Why go back only 4 years more - postal rates were 2 cents in July 19 and 44 cents in May 2009 - a 2200% increase. However, inflation was only 1129%.

So who is cherry picking?

Historical Postal Rates: http://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_pdf/DomesticLetterRates18...

Inflation Calculator: http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Calculators/Inf...

link
jbooth 5965 days ago
I didn't either, and I bought stamps last week. 39 cents vs 44 cents doesn't even show up on my radar.
link
hnal943 5965 days ago
An unsustainably good deal. Isn't that the point of the post?
link