Maybe not so trivial….. the continuing saga I posted about weeks ago:
In late January some asshole broke the main access lock on our neighborhood USPS communal mailbox.
As a result, we and 24 other neighbors have had to drive 11 miles one way from our street over to our USPS office substation to pick up our mail.
I believe most of us make that 22 mile round trip at least once per week.
Nine months later, after numerous inquiries, the postal service clerks say that the new lock to replace the broken one is still on back order.
Since the IRS allows a 70 cent deduction per mile for vehicle business milage, that expense for the 35 trips (770 miles total) I have personally made to pick up our mail. That comes to $539 worth of income tax deductions.
Not to mention the 26 total hours of travel time there & back over the 9 months @ 45 minutes per round trip.
Now multiply those numbers by roughly 20 to estimate the total time lost, miles driven, gasoline burned, and $10,000+ in IRS deductions.
All because the USPS cannot get a simple cheapass lock from wherever it was back ordered.
What a country, what a government.