Why Does The Price Of Stamps Keep Going Up?

I was reading in a local community newspaper's sound-off section called "Steam" the other day and a lady was complaining about postal carriers who drop rubber bands all over her neighborhood.  "It's very unsightly.  They are being left on streets, sidewalks, lawns and porches."  She's concerned that pets could die if they ingest them.  She also suggests that "maybe the price of postage wouldn't keep going up if the postal carriers would stop wasting supplies." 

I've noticed it too.  When I lived in the Town of Tonawanda I found rubber bands on my lawn on a routine basis.  Is that really why the price of stamps keeps going up?  Do you have a rubber band littering problem in your neighborhood?  Are postal carriers instructed to discard rubber bands in this way?  Is there a rubber band crisis in your neighborhood?  Let us know.