Author Archives: Sam Ryan
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Instead of Raising Stamp Rates, The USPS Should Cut Costs
January 6, 2006- Sam Ryan Op Ed Published in the Christian Science Monitor ARLINGTON, VA. – On Jan. 8, stamp prices will climb 5.4 percent. Next week, the cost of mailing a single letter will be 39 cents. As if that weren’t enough, postal analysts [Read More...] -
Consumers Got Short Shrift in Rate Case
November 21, 2005- Sam Ryan Op Ed Published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel The Postal Service’s captive consumers will soon pay more to mail a letter. In a decision approved Nov. 14 by the USPS Board of Governors, most Postal prices will go up by [Read More...] -
Post Office Socialism
November 14, 2005- Sam Ryan Article Published in The American Enterprise Online An enthusiasm for the free market is one of this country’s defining traits, and one on which many red-blooded, Budweiser-swilling Americans pride themselves. So they should: This country’s exuberant private sector has made [Read More...] -
To Avoid Future Rate Hikes, USPS Must Cut Costs
November 2, 2005- Sam Ryan Issue Brief On Nov. 1, the Postal Rate Commission approved an across-the-board rate increase – essentially at 5.4% with some small variations. Postal analysts are now predicting that USPS will request another, larger increase next year. This may signal the [Read More...] -
Crippling Labour Premium is US Post’s Most Pressing Problem
September 7, 2005- Sam Ryan Letter to the Editor Sir, your comment on the U.S. postal reform bill (“American dynamism is lost in the mail,” Sept. 1) suggests that e-mail is the biggest threat to the postal industry’s future. In fact, while e-mail has caused [Read More...] -
Coming Soon: USPS Donuts
July 13, 2005- Sam Ryan Op Ed Published in NewsMax.Com If the Postal Service gets its way, it may soon open a donut shop near you. Or a car dealership, a roller-rink, or any other business it thinks might turn a buck. That’s the upshot [Read More...] -
Needed: A More Sensible Way To Pay Postal Workers
June 29, 2005- Sam Ryan Issue Brief Unlike other federal employees, postal workers have the right to negotiate wages through collective bargaining. This special status was granted by the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act. Today, 90 percent of the Postal Service’s 707,000 career employees are paid [Read More...] -
The Dirty Secret Behind The 39-Cent Stamp
May 20, 2005- Sam Ryan Op Ed Published in Investor’s Business Daily Why must the U.S. Postal Service raise stamp prices once again? Its official explanation is that the increase will cover the $3.1 billion annual cost of an escrow fund that Congress has required [Read More...] -
Stamp It Out
May 8, 2005- Sam Ryan Article Published in The Orlando Sentinel Stamp prices are about to rise again. The U.S. Postal Service recently requested a 5.4 percent across-the-board jump in postage rates, so consumers can expect to be whacked with an increase in early 2006. [Read More...] -
The Post Office’s Books Are a Black Hole
May 2, 2005- Sam Ryan Letter to the Editor Your excellent article, “A first-class crisis in the making,” (April 11) made no mention of the fact that USPS has over $70 billion dollars in unfunded liabilities – mostly money promised to employees in retirement and [Read More...]
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