22 MAR, 2002 - 1545 CST It's too bad the Postal Rate Commission does not have the brains and/or the guts to put the postage increase where it belongs; on the 3rd class bulk rate (junk mail addressed to "occupant") users. Yes, the anthrax scare after 9/11 caused a sharp drop in mailings - particularly in the already over-priced 1st class mail. But personal 1st class mail was dwindling long before then due to a combination of ever higher rates, slower delivery service, and the explosive increase in email use. Our 1st class postage consumption, exclusive of our Christmas Newsletter - which may go electronic this year - has dropped from 350-400 stamps a year to about 100. We may be ahead of the mob on this, but this is why 1st class mail is vanishing. The coming 1st class increase will accelerate this process. My worry is that the PRC may start asking for federal subsidies rather than finally requiring junk mail users to pick up their fair share of the cost. 73 - Dick, W9GIG