It now costs 78 cents to send a letter anywhere in the United States, a price that has doubled since 2006. For Americans who still rely on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for everything from birthday cards to business mail, that number is more than just a statistic—it’s a symbol of a public institution at a crossroads, facing mounting financial losses, shifting consumer habits, and a future that seems anything but certain.
According to USPS financial statements and reporting by Federal News Network, the agency posted a staggering $3.1 billion net loss for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, up from $2.5 billion in the same period last year. That brings the total net loss to $6.2 billion so far this fiscal year, with projections pointing to a $6.9 billion net loss by year’s end. These numbers come on the heels of a $6.5 billion net loss in 2023, despite a steady drumbeat of price hikes on stamps and shipping services. The price of a Forever stamp alone has leapt from 55 cents in 2020 to 78 cents as of July 2025, an 8% annual inflation rate on stamps since 2020, as noted by Fox News.
Why are prices rising so quickly? USPS leadership points to a complex brew of rising costs, declining mail volume, and obligations that are largely out of their control. First-class mail volume has dropped by more than 50% since 2001, a trend fueled by the digital revolution. These days, Americans pay bills, send greetings, and even receive medications online. As one columnist for Fox News put it, “It’s like Blockbuster trying to survive in the age of Netflix.”
But even as mail volume shrinks, the agency’s expenses continue to mount. USPS lost $94 billion between 2007 and 2020 and now carries more than $188 billion in liabilities and unfunded obligations. The Postmaster General, David Steiner, who took the helm after a career at FedEx and Waste Management, insists the agency is “on the right path” with its 10-year “Delivering for America” reform plan. “The strategy is sound. Now we have to execute,” Steiner told the USPS Board of Governors at a public meeting, as reported by Federal News Network. “But we can’t execute unless all of our team is working together. We all need to be rowing the oars in the same direction.”
There are some bright spots. USPS has seen growth in package revenue and marketing mail, and delivery metrics have improved, with more than 90% of first-class mail delivered on time this quarter, averaging 2.6 days. Still, the agency is far from achieving its long-term goal of breaking even. Luke Grossman, the USPS Chief Financial Officer, said, “While we continue to face financial challenges, we are an organization pursuing continuous improvements and innovation. We remain focused on moving toward financial sustainability through operational efficiency.”
Yet, for many Americans, the rising cost of stamps and slower delivery times are hard to swallow. As one commentator quipped in Fox News, “The U.S. Postal Service is a 247-year-old relic, clinging to a 20th-century business model in a 21st-century digital economy.” The frustration isn’t just about price—service can be spotty, too. “Recently, it took 10 days for a birthday card to get to my own mother,” the columnist wrote, highlighting the gap between USPS’s mission and its current performance.
Meanwhile, critics point to what they see as government waste and poor planning. USPS has spent millions on pilot programs such as banking services, Sunday deliveries, and electric vehicles—initiatives that have yet to yield significant savings, according to Fox News. Some argue that these efforts distract from the agency’s core mission and have contributed to its financial woes. “It’s about politicians kicking the can down the road for decades, refusing to modernize, streamline or privatize when necessary,” the columnist said.
Inside the agency, there’s growing anxiety about how much control USPS should have over its own pricing. The Postal Regulatory Commission, the agency’s regulator, filed a proposed rule in June that would limit USPS to raising prices only once per year. This comes after the Commission gave USPS the freedom in 2020 to set prices above the rate of inflation, a move intended to stave off insolvency. The Board of Governors, however, is pushing back. Governor Ron Stroman argued during the public meeting that it “would be a mistake” for the commission to override the board’s pricing decisions, insisting that the board is in “the best position to determine how to best utilize the pricing authority and make decisions about specific price increases for market-dominant products.”
Governor Dan Tangherlini echoed this sentiment, saying USPS should “maintain authority over pricing.” Stroman acknowledged that twice-a-year price increases have maximized revenue during the post-pandemic period of high inflation, but added, “I can certainly envision future scenarios where we conclude that the factors we consider in exercising our business judgment weigh against a twice-a-year price increase.”
For his part, Steiner remains adamant that privatization is not the answer. In a letter to employees last month, he wrote, “The strength of the Postal Service resides in our structure as a self-financing independent entity of the executive branch, functioning much like a business but with a public service mission.” Steiner stressed the agency’s “vast history of evolving” over its 250-year existence and its unique role in American life: “Everyone in the U.S. and its territories has access to our postal products and services, while paying the same rate for a first-class mail postage stamp, regardless of their location.”
But the agency’s leadership is stretched thin. The nine-member USPS Board of Governors currently has only five sitting members, with some serving in holdover roles. President Donald Trump recently withdrew his nomination of John LaValle for the board and nominated Anthony Lomangino, but the Senate has yet to act. Governor Roman Martinez IV, whose term has expired, urged the White House and Congress to fill the board’s vacancies, saying, “We have five governors now. One of us, a lame duck — me — and we’re supposed to have nine. So I urge the Congress, I urge the White House to fill the slate of governors that we need.”
Looking ahead, the postmaster general has warned that more price hikes are likely, with some speculating that the cost of a stamp could hit $1 by next year. As Americans weigh whether their opinions—or birthday wishes—are worth 78 cents, the future of the Postal Service hangs in the balance, caught between its public mandate and the relentless pressures of a digital, cost-conscious age.
For now, every letter dropped in a blue mailbox is a small act of faith in an institution older than the country itself—one that, despite its troubles, still binds the nation together one stamp at a time.
