The cost of mailing letters will likely increase by the end of summer.
The U.S. Postal Service filed a request on Friday with the Postal Regulatory Commission to increase the rate for a first-class stamp from 55 to 58 cents, while a postcard stamp would go from 36 to 40 cents. Other increases will affect the cost of mailing newspaper, magazines and marketing material.
The changes would take effect on Aug. 29, according to a Postal Service news release.
Although the new rates must be OK’d by the Postal Regulatory Commission, approval is all but guaranteed, The Rural Blog noted in a story about the impact to the newspaper industry. The commission has given the Postal Service the authority to eliminate an inflation-based limit on rates.
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Postmaster General Louis DeJoy included the rate hikes in a 10-year plan to deal with an estimated $160 billion in operating loses, The Associated Press reported.
“For the past 14 years, the Postal Service has had limited pricing authority to respond to changing market realities,” DeJoy said in a news release. “As part of our 10-year plan to achieve financial sustainability and service excellence, the Postal Service and the Board of Governors are committed to judiciously implementing a rational pricing approach that helps enable us to remain viable and competitive and offer reliable postal services that are among the most affordable in the world.”
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
