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Playing to the Crowd.

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.

The U-S issues more stamps on more subjects than many major countries — but it may have
an excuse.

With the world's third largest population, and one of its most diverse, the Postal
Service has many "constituencies" it has to satisfy.

First, it has to issue stamps reflecting the country's accomplishments. That's a given
for any postal agency.

Taxpayer dollars or not, when a president or members of Congress want a stamp, chances
are very good it will be issued.

Postal Service executives certainly have a say. In fact, the Postmaster General approves
the entire stamp program.

There are issues that appeal to the artists who work for and with the Postal Service —
such as this year's modern art set.

Then there are the agency's employees... many of whom are minorities. But also, teachers
have proven receptive to using U-S stamps as tools to teach Black History.

The general public and the mass media pay attention to pop culture stamps... and the
Postal Service wants to show it matters.

Stamp collectors can be found in all of these constituencies, but as a group, we tend to
like history.

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting,
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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