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Good comments, all. Let me address a few points:
Obviously, there is a lot of stuff in the slush piles that probably should never be seen in the wild (no tongue in cheek needed there). However, I'm suggesting that it should not be the publisher's job to decide, because the current publishing model is too dependent on profiting heavily on the smallest number of books, which means there are too many potentially good books in those slush piles that the publishers are passing up on due to lack of expected high-profit margins.
The publishers are better off applying their core talents--editing, proofing, packaging--to as many books as possible, including lower-profit books that otherwise get overlooked and lost in the slush piles. Some of those not-so-good books may only need a little work to be made sellable, real polished gems. Then pass that cleaned-up product to the author for them to sell and make whatever profit they can.
When I say the authors should be paying the publishers, I am not assuming the cost will be the same as what publishers pay to produce a book, including the entire print-based process, support of transportation, warehousing, etc, etc. The publishers basically would charge for editing and packaging services, period. We're talking about a few hundred dollars to a thousand, not much more. And it would be completely optional... if you don't think your work needs their services, don't use 'em. Or maybe just pay for proofing services, or just packaging. It's the author's choice, and it won't impact their ability to release their books... it will just make them better books. The idea would be for the author to make enough in sales to pay for the editing costs, or to accept them as operating losses.
Authors would be responsible for distribution, which does not have to be expensive... a purely digital distribution model can cost as little as a hundred dollars a year (website and software costs, primarily). Sure, it might be substantial in other cases, such as for those who insist on print, or spend more on website services, software, etc... but if you think about it, that's one way to cut down on the number of books that get pushed at the publisher, reducing the amount in the "slush pile."
And finally, although the publishers will no longer filter consumers from the slush, they don't need to: There are other services that can do that, most notably P2P services and portals that can review books and make recommendations. Those will be more impartial than recommendations and reviews from within publishers, who frankly have a vested interest in making their own drek sound good, and actually obligate authors (in some cases) to provide reviews in order to bring in customers.
So the slush will be reviewed, much will be revealed by more impartial sources to be slush, and left unpurchased... bad authors will still be filtered out, and consumers will still know what to buy and not to buy.
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