USPS is apparently cutting costs wherever possible -- using a photo service to create its newest Statue of Liberty "Forever" stamp for the post office. But instead of the real Lady Liberty in New York, the U.S. gets Las Vegas.
The U.S. Postal Service's Statue of Liberty stamp was supposed to show the Statue of Liberty but instead displays the replica located outside of a Las Vegas casino. The New York Times brought the problem to light for the general public, after Linn's Stamp News first highlighted the printing error.
It's not a good week for the post office -- concurrently battling image problems after a postal carrier decided to defecate on an Oregon homeowner's property, in front of a window where he was viewable by the owner. The incident is probably the biggest non-violent embarrassment that the U.S. Postal Service has suffered so far -- the post office's public handling of the situation and public relations questionable. Unfortunately for USPS, the Lady Liberty error strikes in the same week.
The United States Postal Service admits the Lady Liberty design was a mistake -- but is sticking with it, perhaps for no reason more than cost of reprinting the stamps. So, for now -- and according to USPS' own labeling - Lady Liberty will stand as is, "Forever".
The post office seems to swear it would have openly chosen the error: "We still love the stamp design and would have selected this photograph anyway," post office spokesman Roy Betts told the New York Times. And then there's this: the rep also says the Post Office regrets the error ,and will be "re-examining our processes [within USPS] to prevent this situation from happening in the future."
Yeah, most places wouldn't openly choose the mistake -- particularly when it kind of makes them look stupid. The post office apparently used a photography service to choose the design for its new stamp.
Someone who really likes the real Statue of Libery noticed the differences between the real New York statue and the Las Vegas casino version. Differences between the New York statue and the Vegas version include the hair, more sharply defined eyes and a patch.
Las Vegas is happy about the incident but New York-- on the other hand -- not so much. "Everyone thought the post office was honoring just one great American institution when in reality they were honoring two — the Statue of Liberty and Las Vegas," Gordon Absher, spokesman for MGM Resorts International, told the Times. MGM Resorts International owns the New York-New York casino in Vegas and the statue replica stands in a fake New York Harbor.
Edward Koch, on the other hand, isn't so happy for New York: "It simply means the post office is doing a stupid thing," the former mayor told the Times.