With the prices of everything else going up, consumers can rejoice because the prices of stamps are on the downfall.
Indeed, thanks to the U.S. Postal Service, you can keep your two-cents— literally; the prices of postage stamps will drop by two cents on April 10.
This is the end of a two-year chapter in the life of the Postal Service. The Service drafted an agreement with Congress in 2014 to temporarily raise the price of postage due to the extreme losses during the Great Recession, which were crippling the Service. The temporary time has come to pass despite protests from the Service. Congress has decided that it will not be renewing the old 49-cent rate.
It was in 2014 that Congress agreed to let them raise the rate by three cents, from 47 cents to 50 cents. The Service was allowed to keep a single cent to keep up with inflation, bringing April prices to 48 cents. Postmaster General and CEO Megan Brannen was not pleased. “Removing the surcharge and reducing our prices is an irrational outcome considering the Postal Service's precarious financial condition,” said Brannen.
Her protests were in vain, however, as Congress seemed to be deaf to them. The Service, she says, will lose $2 billion annually due to the rate drop and cannot raise prices without Congress' consent. The complete list of prices can be seen at www.usps.com.