Tom,

> Unless this has changed within recent days (which is possible) junk mail is subsidized by First Class postage – you know the postage rate we mere mortals pay.

Actually, the reverse is true (except for non-profit). Since Standard Mail ("junk" mail, fomerly called 3rd class) is required to be automation compatible and arrives at the post office pre-sorted and barcoded -- and sometimes even delived by private carriers to destination points -- Standard business mail (junk mail) is actually one of the few profit centers for the USPS. The main cost associated with delivering mail is how many times it must be touched by human hands.

It costs the same to send your postman around to all of the houses no matter how much mail he sticks in your box. For much standard mail, the first person to touch your letter is your local postman as he sorts his mail before starting his route. The $1 (guess) of postage paid each day by business mailers on postage to your box helps keep the cost of the "Real" 1st class mail lower.

The reason they keep raising 1st class postage is because non-presorted 1st class mail is a loser financially. And it's getting worse since the volume of 1st class mail is rapidly shrinking.

>By the way there have been several attempts in recent years by the United States Post Office to “own e-mail and on line payments”.

Yes, and the USPS has actually sucessfully sued businesses for Fedexing materials a court deemed "non-urgent."