First class rate was 8c the second half of 1971.

Inflation is insidious. It can creep up on you. Planned inflation makes the populace happy in the short term but is only a wealth transfer from the future to the present. The US Federal Reserve brags about their long term goal of 2% inflation, not zero inflation. That will reduce the US dollar value by half about every 35 years!

Result is to encourage consumption, not savings, the exact opposite of the right way to live taught to most of us in our youth.