With apologies to Gertrude Stein, a tax is a tax is a tax is a fee and to William Shakespeare, a tax by any other name would still stink as much. Yes, the US government is increasing fees on certain of its monopolistic services; citizens must either pay up or do without. Need some stamps? The US Postal Service, an independent, government run agency has announced still yet another price increase. The price of stamps will increase but the Forever stamp will have some new designs. The U.S. Postal Service Governors recommended increasing the price of a First-Class stamp 2 cents to 46 cents and authorized the production of a pane of four evergreen tree branches as the newest image for Forever Stamps. The price of a postcard would increase 2 cents to 30 cents.The Postal Regulatory Commission must approve the recommended price changes. The increases would not go into effect until January 2, 2011. It would be the first stamp price increase in almost two years.The Postal Service claims...(Read Full Post)