Forever Scheming To Waste Money

Last week the US Postal Service increased the price of first class stamps from 42 to 44 cents. Everyone was shocked!

I couldn't help but think of all those doom-and-gloomers that I've read recommend buying Forever Stamps in bulk as an inflation/deflation hedge. More accurately, they would be bought as a diversifying, hard asset sorta play.

The WSJ says that these stamps have historically gone up in price less than the rate of inflation AND that there are laws prohibiting rate increases beyond the CPI. Whatever. I don't want to have that trivial debate here. Clearly, one could not buy and sell enough Forever Stamps to *make or save* that much money on account of transaction costs and whatnot. What, are you going to buy $20,000 worth of stamps and then try to peddle them 15 years from now? Good luck and have fun!

My wife said to me the other day, "I get why people may buy Forever Stamps....but I don't understand why the government would sell them?"

I laughed.

There isn't an incumbent politician in the land that isn't hellbent on procuring as much revenue as they can TODAY, with absolutely no regard for the consequences TOMORROW.

Those pre-paid state college tuitions are a similar coffers-maximizing ruse by wasteful pols. I think any parent would have to be nuts to fork over tens of thousands of dollars to the State of Florida in hopes of what it might buy 10-15 years down the road.