Forever stamp makes debut in Washington
WASHINGTON Former Santa Monica Mayor Ruth Y. Goldway will be front and center during today’s ceremony marking the introduction of a forever stamp by the U.S. Postal Service.
It is after all something the former mayor has thrown her support behind for years.
Some would say she championed the creation of the stamp.
A member of the Postal Regulatory Commission for the past eight years, the part-time Venice and Washington D.C. resident wrote a commentary that appeared in the New York Times back in November of 2005, advocating a forever stamp to protect consumers from the ever-rising price of postage.
If the price goes up after a forever stamp was initially purchased, the consumer will be able to use it without fear that it will be rejected.
Currently, stamps cost 39 cents, but only until the next price increase takes place May 14. At that time, the standard first-class stamp will be 41 cents each. Owners of the old stamps would have to add additional postage or purchase new ones all together to send mail. This problem will be averted by holders of the new forever stamp.
“The United States Postal Service (USPS), which is a huge national monopoly, has been reluctant to make changes that are favorable to the average consumer,” Goldway said.
Luckily for the millions of stamp users across the country, the new USPS Chairman of the Board of Governors, Jim Miller, read Goldway’s commentary when it was published and thought it was an excellent idea.
It is a win-win situation for both parties according to Miller. The forever stamp helps consumers avoid additional costs and at the same time fosters a positive public image for the USPS,an organization that has had its fair share of public relations problems over the years.
“It’s a brilliant innovation that helps both sides,” Miller said recently.
The forever stamp is expected to go on sale during the next couple of months, Miller reported.
The new program allows postal customers the benefit of avoiding inconveniences brought on when rates go up. When the price of postage increases again, frustrated letter senders will be able to use their forever stamps rather than standing in long lines to purchase additional postage. It will also help avoid confusion regarding the price of sending mail, Goldway said. For the USPS, the new program will help cut cost.
“They won’t have to sell the 2 cent stamps at all,” she said.
The price of stamps typically increases every two to three years and is adjusted with the rate of inflation. There were rate increases in 2000, 2002, and 2006 and now in 2007.
“We had four years without a rate increase,” Goldway said. “It usually doesn’t go that long.”
The concept of the forever stamp has been used in other countries for years, but the suggestion to implement one in the United States wasn’t embraced until 2001.
“It wasn’t until my editorial that things were moving quickly,” Goldway said.
Postage was at one time used for legal tender and the “old timers” at the USPS were reluctant to enact change, even though the stamp has not been valid in exchange for money for a long time, Goldway said.
With big-time clients such as major banks, utility companies and catalog companies, the USPS has been reluctant to help the average consumer, she added. Business usually trumps public opinion down at the post office. When the design for the stamp is unveiled today in Washington, Goldway will be smiling.
“I’m very pleased that a useful consumer idea is being implemented,” she said. “They haven’t told us (the stamp design), but there is a rumor going around that it’s going to be a Liberty Bell.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 26, 2007. Read the original PDF.