In my newspaper today: Seven USPS mail carriers fired for complying with customer wishes to not stuff their mailboxes with unsolicited advertising. The Postal Service’s reasoning? A third of USPS revenue comes from those advertisers, ergo screw the residents.

I know the government seems to prefer starving the USPS of revenue. Witness the climb in postage prices. Still, according to this press release from Dec. 2004, the revenue of the USPS is about $69 billion. Divide by three, and you get $23 billion. In the context of the US government’s budget, that’s not a lot.

In that same year, the US government collected $809 billion of our hard-earned cash, and an additional $189 billion from corporate entities. Counting just individual income taxes, that averages $6,161.38 per person. Given that there were 131,301,697 tax returns filed last year, the government would have to raise an additional $175.16 per taxpayer to plug a $23 billion revenue hole at the USPS, and save us from bulk mail advertising.

Now, before you go flying off the handle saying you don’t want Uncle Sam to take another $3.37 out of every paycheck, remember that we have a sliding tax scale, and that’s just the average. Also, remember that it’s only another 2.84 percent more than you’re already paying.

That’s also the tax-only solution; I’m sure there’s probably some pork that could be leaned from the recently passed highway bill. Not just that bill, either; the budget is full of pet projects that have limited benefit to the broad base of taxpayers (and I’m not just picking on Sen. Ted Steven’s precious $2-billion “bridge to nowhere”).

I’m sure savings could be had elsewhere too. I’m willing to make a deal with Uncle Sam, and meet him halfway. If the government can find $11.5 billion in savings somewhere, I’d be glad to plunk over another $1.68 per week just so I don’t have to make weekly trips to the recycle center.

For pennies a day (24 of them, to be exact) you too could not dread getting your mail every day.

Or, Congress could go the cheap route and create a national do-not-mail registry. Raise your hand if you’d sign up.