A "Modest" Postal Rate Increase?

The NonProfit Times featured an article in yesterday's NPT Weekly Newsletter that had some important news when it comes to direct mail.  Though some mailings, like standard mail letters, will be seeing a decrease in price next year, rates on a whole will increase by 2.1 percent on Jan. 22, 2012.  In the article, a spokesperson for the United States Postal Service (USPS) said that the increase is "modest," and that it won't hinder nonprofit mailings.  Indeed, it doesn't appear that nonprofits are that upset about this increase, especially since it does not exceed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based on inflation rate.  Anthony Conway, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, had this to say about the proposed increases:

“The changes reflect the CPI for October, so the USPS has every right to increase mailing service charges.  Nonprofits are now prepared to deal with these increases as they can be predicted based on where the CPI is. This is not bad compared to other increases and at least they are not trying for an exigent increase again.”

The proposed rates are definitely not as severe as they have been in the past.  In 2007, the USPS proposed changes that increased the price of flat mailings by 30 to 40 percent.  More recently, the USPS had proposed an increase of 5.6 percent due to "exceptional circumstances," but that proposal was turned down by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). 

What do you think about the new rates?  Are they justified, or do you think that they will negatively affect your nonprofit?