The price of first-class stamps will increase 3 cents on Jan. 26, the U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday. It is the largest postage price increase in 11 years, The Washington Post reported.
The new stamp price, 49 cents, will last only two years. The approval for the temporary hike in prices is an attempt to help the crumbling Postal Service regain $2.8 billion lost during the 2008-2011 economic recession.
The higher rate will also apply to newspapers, magazines, bills and advertising mail.
Two years is "just long enough to recover the loss," Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway told the Associated Press.
The Postal Service originally asked the Commission, which approved the 3 cent increase, to permanently raise the price of stamps. But the Commission rejected the request, saying the temporary increase should only offset losses from the recession, and not make up for losses from the increase in use of electronic forms of communication, The Washington Post reported.
"Allowing the rates to remain in effect indefinitely would result in over recovery of the financial impact of the Great Recession on the Postal Service," the Commission wrote in its 219-page decision obtained by The Washington Post.
The Commission's rejection "does not eliminate the Postal Service's obligation to respond to revenue losses by reducing costs or improving efficiency."
However, according to the AP, the price increase may end up being permanent due to inflation over the next two years.
Though the 3 cent raise is beneficial for the Postal Service, publishing companies that rely on mail were not so enthusiastic. They claim the increase will make consumers pay millions of dollars more in costs, The Washington Post reported.
"This is a counterproductive decision...and it does nothing to fix [the Postal Service's] systematic problems," Mary G. Berner, president of the Association of Magazine Media, said in a statement. The increase "will have ripple effects through our economy- hurting consumers, forcing layoffs and impacting businesses," The Washington Post reported.
