New Stamps

Re “Irate 2 Cents’ Worth on Penny Postal Hike,” Jan. 12: I walked into the lobby of my local post office, dropped two quarters into a vending machine, punched two buttons and walked out with 50 one-cent stamps. Total time spent--maybe 20 seconds. Oh, the horror! The agony!

MIKE KVAMMEN

South Pasadena

*

What a quick (read slick) way for the U.S. Postal Service to make an easy couple million dollars in two or three days, by conveniently having a majority of its offices “run out” of one-cent stamps within three hours on Monday morning. Yet they tell us, “Don’t worry, there are millions more in storage.” Little good that does, if they are not available at the post office, where people are forced to compensate by purchasing two-cent stamps until stock has been replenished. Very smooth.

NANCY WOLF

Los Angeles