There has been talk in Malaysia about the increase in stamps by Pos Malaysia. I recently read this article from Newsweek that justifies why we should increase the stamp fees as it could help the economy in the following way:
· Mails would be used more efficiently instead as a “cheap mass marketing tool”
· No more junk mails
· Reduces paper usage (this is for the environment)
· Introducing next technology to get the same effect – online payment, online invoicing
I definitely support the increase. No more junk mails! Anyway, do read the article which I am reproducing below.
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Full article: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/07/going-postal.html
Why higher postal rates are good for the economy, businesses and consumers, and the environment.
by Daniel Gross, Newsweek
July 07, 2010
At the risk of biting one of the hands that feeds me, I'd argue that the increase isn't so much a job-killing tax as it is a good start. The financial collapse of 2008 and the deepest recession in several generations has set off a widespread re-examination of how consumers pay for many essential goods, services, and experiences. Technology and large-scale economic trends are forcing and enabling what I call the repricing of America—from auto insurance (now available by the mile) to rental cars (now available by the hour), from government services (taxes are going up) to online content (meters and pay walls are coming in). There's no reason mail should be any different.
When the U.S. Postal Service loses money, it's effectively subsidizing inefficient business models and operations. And less mail would be better for the economy, better for businesses and consumers, and better for the environment. (Here's an experiment: Don't open your mail for a week; put it in a box, and then go through it. What percentage of it is stuff that you wanted to receive or asked for?) So rather than complain about the rising cost, power mail users should do what others do when the price of any resource rises—figure out how to use it more efficiently. Businesses have to get smarter. And many uses of today's mail simply aren't smart.
If postage rates were higher, direct marketers would be more judicious about the volume of junk mail they send. Couldn't Pottery Barn offset the cost of higher postage by sending us one catalog every month instead of the two identical ones they've been shipping for the last several years? Couldn't Home Depot, which I've never patronized, save a few pennies by ceasing to send the mailers addressed to my house's previous owner, who moved out eight years ago? How about all those baby-product vendors whose offers I receive on a weekly basis? Surely their sophisticated data-mining techniques can tell them my kids are approaching their teens.
Or consider billing. I continue to be amazed by the number of service providers who still send out bills by mail and demand to be paid with a check sent back through the mail. Someone who mails a monthly bill instead of e-mailing it is imposing a $10.56 annual cost on himself and his customer just for postage—not to mention the cost of paper, envelopes, checks, and processing. Why can't my electric utility company, which is so concerned about energy efficiency, simply e-mail me my 14-page monthly bill instead of printing it out and sending it through the mail? If sharply higher rates spur more people to adopt electronic billing and bill payment, it would be a boon to the economy.
As for magazines, yes, raising their postage rates would certainly be kicking them while they're down. But magazines have long had a business model that relied on discounting circulation and then relying on cheap mail and generous advertisers to turn a profit. That model is changing, in large measure because advertisers are looking elsewhere. The emerging preferred business model for print publications is a healthier balance between circulation and advertising revenues. The reality: If you want content delivered on paper to your home, you're going to have to pay more for it. A hike in postage rates will give magazines a convenient excuse to do what they need to do anyway.
I understand that the increase in postage rates can impose a hardship and extra cost on nonprofits and charities. And I understand that expecting older people and those with less means to adopt computer-based payments isn't entirely realistic. But 10 years from now, mail won't be nearly as important or vital as it is today. Already, the best way to deliver social-welfare benefits isn't through checks sent in the mail, it's through smart cards. And for those with computer access, e-mail is essentially free. In the future, the best way to deliver cash benefits to people without bank accounts or computers will be through mobile phones.
NANG THIS POST, NANG THIS POST, NANG THIS POST
6 comments:
so err.. this article yea- very long :)
What are your opinions about it?
That'll help me from reading a long piece of reproduced work. :)
actually my opinion was at the start of the article. I am all for the increase. Helps the environment and reduces wastage.
Ah..thought that was just the statement.
Reading it again, i think is too vague. i'll revised it to make it clearer. Thanks for the feedback!
Hi -- I'm the author of the Newsweek column you just posted. While I appreciate your interest in the article and alerting your readers to it, it's really not acceptable for you simply to cut and paste an entire column on your site. Essentially, it's stealing content that somebody else -- in this case, Newsweek -- owns the copyright to. Would be happy for you to run a paragraph and then link to the original
Dear Mr Gross, I sincere apologies to you and Newsweek if you find my actions on your article questionable.
I have been following Newsweek for years.
Although I cut and paste your article on my blog, I do respect the intellectual property of the owner hence I did also reproduced the name of the publication as well as the author (including the date stamp).
This blog is a personal blog that more or less can be deemed as an online diary. The number of hits that this blog gets is on average less than 20 unique visitors a day (you can confirm with the site tracker on the main page).
I will use your suggestion and add the full link to the article at the start.
I do appreciate it if you and Newsweek could to still allow me to keep the article on my blog.
Sincerely, meoramri
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