The U.S. Postal Service plans to increase the cost of sending mail next week.

This will include the fifth price hike for Forever Stamps since 2021, from 66 cents to 68 cents starting Jan. 21.

These price increases have been blamed on inflation, but that’s just one part of the story: The USPS is in the midst of a 10-year plan that’s designed to address the agency’s hemorrhaging finances. Part of that plan is to increase its revenue, which will mean higher costs for customers.

The USPS — despite being the second-most popular federal agency with a 77% favorability rating, just behind the National Park Service at 81%, according to a 2023 poll by the Pew Research Center — has operated at a deficit for more than 15 years. Much like many other industries, mail delivery has been hit by the rise of the internet. Sending letters, cards or postcards has become something of a novelty and more people are paying their bills electronically now than ever before. Although online shopping has created a boon for package delivery services, the USPS is also facing more competition in that arena from private companies. In the future, the USPS may face even greater competition if Amazon’s drone delivery system takes off.

These price hikes aren’t ideal, but they’re favorable to the alternative: Postal Service Board of Governors CEO Louis DeJoy said last year that balancing the USPS’ finances will require a reduction in inflation and increased revenue but it could also include “more aggressive cost reductions,” USA Today reported. That could mean closing some mail facilities.

Post offices serve rural communities such as ours in a variety of ways. They’re hubs for mail but even better, they can be hubs for gossip and catching up with neighbors, for presents, for connections with far-away family or friends. Our mail carriers, too, do more for us than their job. They become part of our lives, vigilant friends to our elderly and sick residents, essential to the fabric of our society. Of all of the federal agencies, the USPS deserves our support.