Watchdog Slams U.S. Postal Service for Stamp Price Hikes

For Immediate Release                                                Contact: Abigail Graham: (202) 417-7235

July 14, 2022

Washington, D.C. –  Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) criticized the United States Postal Service (USPS) for another price hike for first-class mail. On July 10, the USPS increased postage for a 1-ounce letter from 58 cents to 60 cents. Stamp prices were also increased last August (from 55 cents to 58 cents) as part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to improve the beleaguered agency’s finances. DeJoy also indicated during a May 5 Board of Governors Meeting that further price hikes would be necessary to reduce the USPS’ large operating losses. America’s mail carrier has lost more than $90 billion over the past fifteen years.

TPA President David Williams slammed the USPS’ price hike strategy, stating, “Households across the country are feeling the pain of out-of-control inflation. Prices on everything from groceries to gasoline are far too high thanks to skewed spending priorities in Washington, D.C. Now, Americans will have yet another expense to worry about thanks to irresponsible postal leadership. A two cent increase here and a three-cent increase there may not seem like much, but these costs add up fast when millions of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck. Postal leadership needs to think twice before bilking struggling households to pay for a bloated logistics network and overstaffed bureaucracy.”

Williams continued: “Postal leadership claims that these price hikes are reasonable because they are lower than reported inflation rates. This assessment conveniently leaves out the USPS’ plan to reduce service and lengthen delivery times across the country. The agency has been busy slowing down roughly 40 percent of first-class mail, making it more difficult for Americans to rely on two and three-to-five-day delivery turnarounds. The plan has moved forward despite concerns raised by consumers and the Postal Regulatory Commission. It is beyond absurd to ask families to pay more for reduced services, while doing next to nothing to keep staff and procurement costs under control.”

Williams concluded: “There are plenty of ways to get the USPS back into the black. The agency can and should take a closer look at package pricing, given credible concerns that first-class letter postage is subsidizing parcel deliveries. The agency should also steer away from electric fleet purchases. Overcharging millions of consumers for worse service is not the answer.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.