Many Questions, Few Answers

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO know: Will R2006 be the last rate case mailers have to deal with under the present postal ratemaking system? Will we see an end to increases that go way beyond any reasonable calculation of the cost of inflation? And will the U.S. Postal Service ever bring its thinking more in line with the needs of mail-using businesses?

The last rate case? It depends whether postal reform is enacted before this Congress adjourns. If reform doesn’t get to the president’s desk, mailers will have to contend with current ratemaking procedures:

  • Endless guessing about when the USPS will file.

  • Ten months of costly and acrimonious litigation before the Postal Rate Commission.

  • Anticipating the PRC’s recommended decision.

  • Waiting with bated breath to see if the postal governors will accept, challenge or reject the PRC’s proposal.

  • Running like crazy to make sure all business systems are ready to accommodate the higher rates