‘Exigent’ postal price increase is a bad idea at bad time for newspapers, subscribers, and the entire mailing industr.y

The National Newspaper Association, to which this newspaper belongs, has joined the fight to halt the Postal Service’s “exigent” price increase filed July 6 with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The price increases includes a two cent hike on the first-class stamp, but a much more serious increase for the mailing of newspapers and magazines.

The increase will also affect churches, community organizations and labor groups that use nonprofit mail. It will affect businesses that use the mail for communications and advertising. It will affect catalog companies that send packages in the mail. It will affect everyone.

The new rates will be effective Jan. 2, 2011, unless the PRC stops them.

Our fight is in the best interest of consumers and anyone who mails.

These postage rates are a bad idea at a bad time. Our newspaper has joined the Affordable Mail Alliance (see www.affordablemailalliance.org), a broad-based coalition of mailing industries representing over seven million jobs, in this fight.