GAS TAXES INCREASED JULY 1ST, making CA taxes about 58¢ per gallon. In 2010, California drivers were paying 18¢ a gallon in excise gas tax. As of June 28th, we were paying an average $4.83 per gallon.
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THAT FIRST-CLASS POSTAGE STAMP is costing you 66¢ after July 9th. That means an increase in the Booster’s mailing, too. Postcards will increase from 44¢ to 51¢. Local newspaper publishers entering their subscribers’ newspapers at local post offices just survived an average 7.6% increase in postage rates in January 2023. Newspapers mailed outside the county increased by an average of about 4%. USPS provided no explanation for increasing Within County Prices at a higher rate than Outside County mail.
This mid-year hike will be 8.8% for Within County newspapers and 8.1% for Outside County newspapers. The National Newspaper Association reminds us, “Newspapers have already absorbed nearly 24% in price increases since the Postal Regulatory Commission lifted the inflation-based price cap on postage for the 2021 round of increases.” And, “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has previously announced his intention to seek the maximum allowable increases for more of the mail considered captive customers within USPS.”
We had faith in Keep US Posted that took action platform and submitted more than 1,000 comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) asking regulators to reject the July postage increases, as well as those planned in the future - but it did no good. They write, “We will continue advocating on your behalf until we put a stop to these unnecessary and unsustainable twice-a-year postage rate increases.” Good luck.
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THAT FIRST-CLASS POSTAGE STAMP is costing you 66¢ after July 9th. That means an increase in the Booster’s mailing, too. Postcards will increase from 44¢ to 51¢. Local newspaper publishers entering their subscribers’ newspapers at local post offices just survived an average 7.6% increase in postage rates in January 2023. Newspapers mailed outside the county increased by an average of about 4%. USPS provided no explanation for increasing Within County Prices at a higher rate than Outside County mail.
This mid-year hike will be 8.8% for Within County newspapers and 8.1% for Outside County newspapers. The National Newspaper Association reminds us, “Newspapers have already absorbed nearly 24% in price increases since the Postal Regulatory Commission lifted the inflation-based price cap on postage for the 2021 round of increases.” And, “Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has previously announced his intention to seek the maximum allowable increases for more of the mail considered captive customers within USPS.”
We had faith in Keep US Posted that took action platform and submitted more than 1,000 comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) asking regulators to reject the July postage increases, as well as those planned in the future - but it did no good. They write, “We will continue advocating on your behalf until we put a stop to these unnecessary and unsustainable twice-a-year postage rate increases.” Good luck.
