Postal Service Considers Emergency Rate Hike
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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Soon it may cost you more to mail letters and packages.
The U.S. Postal Service is facing a $6 billion loss this year and is running out of cash to pay its bills. Its board of governors, meeting in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, is considering an emergency rate increase.
That means a price hike could affect everything from stamps to magazines and promotional mail.
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned a Senate committee last week that the agency is in “the midst of a financial disaster.” He wants Congress to give the USPS greater authority to improve its finances.
“The Postal Service as it exists today is financially unsustainable,” Donahue said.
Early retirement has already been offered to thousands of the agency’s managers. But even these measures may not be nearly enough to significantly reduce a vast amount of red ink.
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