The idea that a postage stamp is going to cost more isn’t too irritating in itself, since prices always seem to be rising for most everything we consumers use. What does make postal-rate increases so annoying is that they seem to occur every other month.

Well, maybe not every other month — that’s an exaggeration. But it sure appears that way sometimes. As soon as we get used to one price change, it’s not long before another one comes around.

Consider what has happened in just the past decade. Since 2001, when a postage stamp cost 33 cents, there have been six increases in the price. The cost went to 34 cents that year, before rising to 37 cents in 2002.

Somehow, we got nearly a four-year break from further changes, until early 2006 when an increase to 39 cents was introduced. Apparently seeking to make up for the earlier long absence without a hike, the U.S. Postal Service then hit us with additional increases each subsequent year from 2007-09, with stamps going from 39 to 41 to 42 and then 44 cents during that period.

Earlier this month, postal officials announced that they again want to adjust the expense of a stamp starting in January 2011 — this time to 46 cents.

In comparison, there were only three stamp-price increases during the whole decade of the 1990s.

If consumers could be assured that the latest announcement about the 46-cent stamp would be the last one we faced in the foreseeable future, I for one could live with that. But you know that just as certain as death and taxes, we’ll probably be hearing about another increase, oh, say, next year about this time if not sooner.

The problem is that the U.S. Postal Service seems to be embroiled in a vicious cycle in terms of generating sufficient revenues to keep itself financially viable.

At the root of this is a pattern of lost business to the Internet, which many people now use to make payments and order goods, and competition from private shippers which collectively lead to declines in mail volume and revenues. So then the Postal Service raises its rates, which only makes things worse because people are even more prone to use alternate distribution or ordering methods.

Postal officials further shoot themselves in the foot by seeking to reduce services, such as recent plans for curtailing lobby hours and mailing days — which lessens the customer volume further. Maybe instead of falling into the trap many troubled organizations do by cutting operating costs to the bone, the Postal Service should be expanding hours and making itself more accessible to today’s consumer rather than less.

In its defense, the post office does do a pretty dependable job of getting letters and packages from one place to another.

Take last winter, for example, when I needed a part for an obscure model of stove I sometimes use as a supplemental heat source when temperatures are especially cold.

I did buy the part over the Internet through eBay, but it was shipped through the mail system. I then marveled at how the part that was ordered late in one week had found itself to my mailbox by the first of the next week — all the way from Portland, Ore.

In terms of the stamp price itself, I’m not concerned whether it’s 10 or 50 cents. To me, it’s a great deal to pay 44 cents (the present cost, although that could’ve changed in the last hour) in order to have a letter sent from Mayberry to anywhere in America. Of course, I probably would think differently if I mailed more than one or two letters a month as I now do, or owned a business that was a high-volume mail user.

I find the cost issue more of an inconvenience than anything. Let’s see, is that roll of stamps I bought last year still good, or do I have to scrounge around for 1- or 2-cent stamps in order to use that supply?

Whenever it announces another stamp increase, the U.S. Postal Service always becomes a handy target for critics who believe it has outlived its usefulness. However, I think the post office has fulfilled a special role in our country since colonial days, and should continue to supply a vital public service.

Regardless of the competitive disadvantage it might face from the private sector, the U.S needs to maintain a quasi-governmental agency responsible for nationwide mail distribution.

So I accept the fact that the Postal Service is, and should be, here to stay. Regardless of how digitized our society becomes, not everyone has a computer and there will always be a certain demand for paper forms of information. It is still special to receive a handwritten letter from someone.

But something must be done about these pesky price increases. I would favor the Postal Service raising stamps by a quarter or so, to a round figure of perhaps 70 cents (as opposed to some awkward number such as 44 or 48). This, however, would come with the understanding that we wouldn’t have to hear about another hike for at least five years.

Since my idea probably won’t be taken seriously by the powers that be, I guess the revolving door of stamp costs will be a problem we won’t be able to lick anytime soon.

Tom Joyce is a staff reporter for The Mount Airy News. He can be reached at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or 719-1924.