Small Town News

Exigent postal price increase is a bad idea

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January 2, 2011 will be a day that businesses, churches, non-profit groups - anyone using the U.S. Postal Service - dreads.

It's the date that the USPS is proposing to implement another price increase, with a 2-cent hike on the first-class stamp, and a much more serious increase for the mailing of newspapers and magazines.

Why should you care?

Because this same increase is also going to affect churches, community organizations, the Hays school district, the Lions Club, Hays Youth Soccer Association, the booster clubs - basically any group that uses the postal service.

Unless the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC puts a stop to this, all of our rates will be going up - at a time when most businesses are holding the line, trying to keep their heads above water, having to make salary cuts and laying off workers.

But the postal service has not done anything like that. There have been no layoffs. There have been no salary cuts.

USPS is claiming "exigent" circumstances. Back in 2006, a price cap that held postage rates within inflation levels was established by the PRC, with the exception of an "exigency." The postal service is arguing that the recent recession plus the major use by many people of the internet equal exigency.

But their facts are wrong. The exigency clause was established by Congress for true emergencies. When that clause was included, the USPS had just suffered an attack of anthrax in the mail. That's the kind of exigency that Congress was referring to.

USPS was having troubles way before the recession hit. Mail volumes were freefalling back in 2007. Competition is something that local businesses are used to; it's something that businesses plan around, implement new services for. For the USPS to blame the internet for its financial woes and claim exigency just doesn't cut it.

Postal losses have been caused in part by Congressional mandates requiring $5.5 billion a year for 10 years prepaid into a retiree health benefit fund. That's something that no other federal agency is forced to do.

But the postal losses also came about because they are unwilling to address high labor costs.

Instead, the postal service wants to keep its salaries, its regulations and ways of "doing business," passing on these increases to local groups, all the while expecting everyone to jump in line to do their bidding on new requirements.

This postage rate increase comes at a bad time, and Congressman Lloyd Doggett, who represents Hays County, said he is signing on to a bill that would eliminate the requirement for the USPS to prepay its retiree health benefit fund.

The National Newspaper Association, of which this newspaper is a member, has joined forces with the Affordable Mail Alliance in this fight.

But we can't do it alone. Call Rep. Doggett and encourage him to fight for this bill. While Congress doesn't have an immediate role in this rate case, Rep. Doggett needs to be aware of your opposition and how this rate increase will affect your business, your community group, your personal bottom line.

If the cap put in place by the PRC back in 2006 is broken for this simple reason

because of competition and the USPS unwillingness to cut labor costs - then the cap is meaningless.

This is not an exigency.

Let them know it.



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© 2010 The Free Press Buda, Texas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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