A first-class postal economics primer

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The price of mailing a first-class letter in the U.S. went up to .66 this month, part of a series of price hikes that the postal service hopes will put it on a pathway to profitability. But from its inception, the United States Postal Service wasn't designed to run much like a business. Today on the show, how the U.S.P.S. went from a public service to a business burdened by debt.

Transcript

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0:00.0	n-p-r
0:03.0	DARREN
0:12.0	Do you have any postage stamps in your house?
0:15.0	I have some of my wallet right now
0:17.0	Oh yeah, what kind?
0:18.0	Just getting some out
0:20.0	This one is some fun addition, so somebody's playing baseball
0:24.0	Which is very under, any kind of sports feels like an underian choice
0:28.0	I have watched one baseball game in my life and I have the stamp to prove it
0:32.0	When did you get those stamps if I may ask?
0:34.0	About a year ago
0:35.0	Okay, well you have in your hands my friend a rapidly appreciating asset
0:41.0	Really?
0:42.0	Congratulations, yeah
0:43.0	Forever stamps they started this year at 60 cents a pop
0:47.0	It was then raised to 63 cents and then just over a week ago the price was raised once again to 66 cents
0:54.0	That is a 10% gain in just half a year
0:57.0	All right, that's better than the actual money in my wallet
1:01.0	Which has lost value to inflation
1:04.0	It's pretty good, right?
1:05.0	I mean it's pretty good for those who have stamps but you know when I next need to buy stamps that's unfortunate
1:09.0	But seriously though DARREN when you take into account inflation
	...

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