The U.S. Postal Service wants to increase postage rates this summer — less than one year after it last increased the price for a first-class Forever stamp.

No surprise there.

Americans keep paying more for postage and continue to get less for their money, said Paul Steidler of the Lexington Institute and an expert on the Postal Service.

The USPS wants to increase the price of a first-class stamp by two cents every six months beginning July 10. That’s every six months. Forever.

The announcement last week came on the same day President Joe Biden signed the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 into law. That legislation will provide $107 billion in direct and indirect support for the USPS and is intended to fix a number of administrative missteps the agency has made in the past. It also is expected to save the agency $50 billion over 10 years.

“It is no exaggeration to say the Postal Service is essential as it ever was, ” Biden said before signing the bill.

We agree. In-person mail is essential for many who still enjoy in the forgotten art of letter writing, those without reliable internet service, or older Americans who are far less tech-savvy than their grandchildren.

We also agree that the government has done an atrocious job of running the agency. It has been mismanaged, inefficiently run and is hemorrhaging. Blame it on federal bloat.

The USPS, which traces its roots to 1775, has been struggling with money issues for many years.

It has lost $69 billion during the past 11 fiscal years, including $8.8 billion in fiscal 2019, more than doubling its losses from the previous year.

Some say a national shift to email and texting has diminished the need for the postal service.

Some say the institution isn’t needed in an era when most people rely on email, texts and online financial dealings.

But the centuries-old institution remains a lifeline for millions of Americans. It processes and delivers more than 472 million pieces of mail daily, and many Americans need its services.

Charging an extra couple of pennies for a stamp won’t fix the USPS’s problems.

Maybe it’s time to privatize the mail. Contract with Amazon to deliver our letters. Use the money to pay off debt. Amazon is likely to run a more efficient operation. It will be its next big step toward running our world.

— JGG