听力万花筒 第175期:美国邮政局持续亏损 申请加价3美分
日期:2013-10-05 17:13

(单词翻译:单击)

Price of stamps going up again

The United States Postal Service is proposing a 3 cents hike on stamps. Erin Burnett reports.

The U.S. postal service is proposing a three-cent rate increase to the price of the first-class stamp today, so now it can be 49 cents. The postal manager general believes it's a necessary step to combat what he calls is a financial disaster. Now it's right about that but three cents won't fix it.

Last year the post office lost 16 billion dollars, three times what it lost the year before, that's a pretty meltdown in situation. And it's now staring down more than 50 billion dollars in debt obligations. Guess what? Tiny stamp, price hikes don't work. It's been tried and failed so many times. Because since 2005, the price of stamps has gone up 9 cents, while the post offices' total mail volume has plunged 25%. All the rate hikes in the world, but a penny or two here and there won't make a difference. People aren't sending letters any more. The truth is the post office business model does not work. In other countries like Britain, post office is actually a part of a larger business. That's how they've dealt with this problem. General stores, hardware stores even bars offer mail service. Why not try that here too? You can't send alcohol with mail in a lot of states but you cou;d drink it instead of relying on a inchromaic rate increases every year, which is like boiling a frog. Why not sell beer maybe with some light music, it will help pass the time in those lines on tax day. The White House has been brewing its own beer for years, no joke. Why not let the castoff post office do the same, I mean, who wouldn't want to go post sale?

Would you save the post office, if so, how, please let us know, as you know, we are always available on twitter.


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重点单词
  • combatn. 争斗,战斗 vt. 打斗 vi. 战斗,与 ...
  • stampn. 邮票,图章,印,跺脚 v. 跺脚,盖章
  • availableadj. 可用的,可得到的,有用的,有效的
  • alcoholn. 酒精,乙醇,酒
  • disastern. 灾难