STEVENS POINT, WI—After days of procrastination, the everyday errand of taking a small package to the post office bore down heavily upon 38-year-old Kevin Gunderson Tuesday, nearly crushing him with the weight of its tedium. The 12-ounce parcel—which Gunderson could have simply dropped in a mailbox had he known the required postage—encumbered his entire being, dragging his battered frame earthward as he stood in an endless line to return a pair of earphones to Amazon. "I hate going to the post office," Gunderson said while summoning the resolve to determine which delivery confirmation form he should fill out. "It always takes forever." Upon finally reaching his destination, Gunderson was dealt a crippling blow when he discovered new rates would require him to purchase an entire sheet of two-cent stamps in order to have the postage necessary to pay his electric bill.