Stop the Postal Rate Hike!

[napi21]

http://action.freepress.net//campaign/postal

Bob McChesney was on with Thom Hartmann just now asking foreveryone to go the above link and sign the letter there to stop the postal rate hikes. Apparently this upcomming hike...and future ones were designed by Shrub's cronies in full support of Time/Warner etc.

He said in order to get them to pay any attention there are going to have to be a couple of hundred thousand people contact them to complain!

I already sent mine!

[MonkeyFunk]

1. nah

postage is still a bargain.

And internet petitions have never done a damned thing.

[Robbien]

7. It is not about your postage, it is about the postage paid by small business

Time Warner wants only the big businesses to get a break.

This is just the same as taxcuts for the wealthy.

If Bob McChesney says the internet petition is needed, then I believe it is.

[Puglover]

22. Wow here's a thought!

Why not educate yourself before you post?

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/24/1446244

[soothsayer]

2. the postal rate case was probably made a year ago. That train has done left the station.

[napi21]

4. Here's a brief explaination of what he was talking about.

Time Warner Rewrites History
All of this could change in 2007.

In an unprecedented move, the agency that oversees postal rates in the United States has quietly attempted to unravel much of what the founders accomplished. Earlier this year, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) rejected a postal rate increase plan offered by the U.S. Postal Service. Instead they opted to implement a complicated plan submitted by media giant Time Warner. (Click here to read the decision and click here for a timeline)

Under the original plan, all publishers would have a mostly equal increase (approx. 12 percent) in the cost for mailing their publications. The Time Warner plan overturned this level playing field to favor large, ad-heavy magazines like People at the expense of smaller publications like In These Times and The American Spectator. It penalizes thousands of small- to medium-sized outlets with disproportionately higher rates while locking in privileges for bigger companies.

Fight Back: Tell Congress to Act
The PRC has aligned itself with a media giant in an apparent effort to stifle smaller media in America. The stunning move is an unprecedented abuse of the agency's discretion. Congress must now step in to protect smaller media from these unfair rate hikes.

The Post Office should not use its monopoly power to favor the largest publishers and undermine the ability of smaller publishers to compete. It must be held accountable for a plan that could drive smaller publications to the brink of bankruptcy. With public involvement we can reverse the PRC decision and restore the postal system that has served free speech in America so well.

Demand a formal and open accounting of why more than 200 years of pro-democracy postal policy was abandoned.

http://action.freepress.net/freepress/postal_explanation.html

As far as I can tell, this is yet a NEW problem created by a group of Shrub croney appointees!

If you read it and disagree, then ignore it. I can usually trust what Thom Hartman has on his shows though.

[durrrty libby]

3. I have paid my bills on-line for years and rarely buy a stamp

[Robbien]

8. It is not about you

It is about small publications such as Mother Jones.

This will kill off many small publications.

[zagging]

5. Where are you

gonna find someone to carry an envelope from New York to California for 39 cents? Can't beat it.

[City Lights]

24. Read the whole thread. It's not about .39 stamps. It's about

smaller publications like Mother Jones and The Nation having to pay higher postage rates to ship their magazines than the big guys!

[flamin lib]

6. I'm with Monkey. Postage is a bargain and the post office does

an outstanding job of delivering mail. If airlines were as good at what they do we'd go 25 years between accidents.

[Robbien]

9. Please at least read the petition

Time Warner gets a break on postage but small publications have to pay increased rates

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. Ammo is getting expensive

[originalpckelly]

13. Bad...

:spank:

[porphyrian]

11. If you want to stop postage from going up, get oil to come down.

It's the fucking gas prices that are driving postage and everything else up. At a time when oil companies are enjoying record profits, this shit is inexcusable. Focus on the real bad guys.

[originalpckelly]

12. I see exactly why this is bad, it has nothing to do with individuals...

It's not about the postal rates going up for consumers, but for publishers.

Time a big magazine company has twisted the hand of the PRC to get a good deal for their crap, while real media made by independent organizations is being fucked. Small magazines will go out of business, which is what big Time wants.

[Wickerman]

14. Thanks for making me aware of the real impact here

I thought a first class rate hike was ok with inflation and gas prices, etc. However, reading about Time Warner's manipulations I agree this needs to be stopped. I read mostly small mags and I see no need to federally subsidize trash like People.

[NYC]

15. Done. More info:

Earlier this year, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) rejected a postal rate increase plan offered by the U.S. Postal Service. Instead they opted to implement a complicated plan submitted by media giant Time Warner.

Decision PDF:
http://www.usps.com/ratecase/_pdf/Mar19FINAL.pdf

Timeline:
http://action.freepress.net/freepress/postal_timeline.html

May 2006: The USPS submitted an omnibus postal rate increase to the PRC. This rate increase proposal included a provision that would increase the periodical rate by 11.7 percent -- a cost increase that was supposed to impact all publishers more or less equally.

February 2007: After a 10-month comment and testimony review period, the Postal Regulatory Commission released its 758-page recommended decision to the Postal Board of Governors. To the surprise of many, the PRC rejected the USPS planned periodical rate scheme, and replaced it with a scheme based on a complex proposal submitted by Time-Warner.

March 2007: The USPS allowed just 8 business days for formal responses to the 758 page February 26th recommendations. The recommended Time-Warner periodical proposal was so complex that smaller publishers couldn't adequately assess how the rate change would impact their businesses. On March 19, the Postal Board of Governors issued the final decision, adopting the PRC's February recommendations.

July 15, 2007: Without public action the change in the periodical rates goes into effect.

[sinkingfeeling]

16. Done. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, even if most thought you were talking about

the cost of stamps for individuals.

[napi21]

21. Sorry, but I found that if youpost a fairly long explaination in an OP,

few bother to read it. I was trying to shorten the descriptionand maybe convince people to read the petition of clickthe TELL ME MORE link.

[NYC]

17. Commentary by The Nation:

These increased postal rates will also raise barriers for prospective new publishers, thus destroying competition in the periodicals market and locking in the privileged positions of the largest firms. While it is understandable that Time Warner would relish the idea of making it more difficult for new competitors, there is no reason to think that it is in the interest of the American people or the market economy.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070507/stack

[Rosemary2205]

18. I hope it cuts down on the junk mail I get.

I even did the "opt out" option on both our credit reports and still I get at least 12 pieces of pure junk every day. I hope the post office makes it too expensive for them to send me thier crap and they have to figure out a greener way to market themselves.

[NYC]

19. Recommended.

I think most people don't understand the implications. The Nation's commentary is good.

[zagging]

20. I don't think it's sinister

This article explains quite a lot about the process of publisher's mailings. Not all the small publishers are crying out for relief. There seems to be more confusion than anything else.

http://www.foliomag.com/viewmedia.asp?prmMID=7542

[NNN0LHI]

23. I use like maybe 3 stamps a month and I am supposed to be worried about this?

Is this a joke post?

Don

[City Lights]

26. Um, no. And it's not about .39 stamps.

Click the link:

The Postal Board of Governors recent decision to support an unfair increase in periodical rates will have grave consequences for the free speech that our Founding Fathers struggled to foster when they established the U.S. mail system.

The rate increase was devised by Time Warner -- the largest publisher in the industry. If implemented, it will have an adverse effect on smaller periodicals, while easing the postal burden on the largest magazines.

This goes against more than 200 years of postal policy, which has promoted the spread of diverse periodicals in competitive markets as a means to foster a free press and inform and engage citizens.

Congress must step in to protect smaller media from new regulations that would undo this history.

[NNN0LHI]

29. I clicked it and the first thing that came to my mind was who reads magazines?

Magazines are quickly going the way of high buckled shoes. They will be obsolete soon. Just like newspapers, CDs and DVDs will be.

The future is on-line. Not snail mail. By the time the "news" has arrived in magazine form its not news anymore.

Who still gets magazines in the computer age? I don't. About the only place I ever see one anymore is in a Dentist office.

Don

[City Lights]

32. At least you know it's not about .39 stamps.

I agree that print publication subscriptions are declining and will continue to do so due to the Internet, however, until they actually no longer exist, I think the rates the USPS charges should be the same for Mother Jones and The Nation as they are for Time and Newsweek. If you think it's fair to give the big guys a break while sticking it to the little guys, then don't sign it. :-)

[earth mom]

25. Sorry, but I have NO complaints about the Postal Service.

If everyone starts complaining some more, * & Co WILL set about privatizing as is their plan. They have already undermined the Postal Service in so many ways it ain't funny. Make NO mistake: Big business wants a huge piece or ALL of the Postal Service income and as far as I'm concerned they can go F themselves! :grr:

[City Lights]

27. Did you click the link to see what this is really about? eom

[earth mom]

31. Yes I read it.

In the first place, I don't think that the Postal Service will give breaks to anyone, not if they don't want to have some huge law suits to deal with.

Furthermore, I'm not going to make a big deal about anything regarding the Postal Service when I damn well know that every time someone complains about the Postal Service it's just more ammunition for * & Co to push for privatization.

[City Lights]

28. I've already signed. I was notified of this by The Nation.

The email I received from them indicated they are teeming up with The Weekly Standard to fight this.

FUCK Big Business!

[The2ndWheel]

30. The price of stamps will climb ever higher

- Homer Simpson