Should governments serve as collection agencies for labor unions and political causes? You can see why it would be attractive for those who depend on the payments for their own causes. But Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute says that ethical demands require getting government payroll offices out of the business of collecting money for unions and political campaigns.

He writes in a recent newsletter that a ballot measure on the question is getting support from newspaper editorial boards:

The Pueblo Chieftain backed our ethical standards for public payroll ballot initiative. The house editorial said: "Jon Caldera, president of Independence, says the organization doesn’t believe governments should be collectors and distributors of dues for unions that turn around and spend that money to lobby the same governments. Independence believes that taxpayers should not be subsidizing unions that often work counter to the taxpayers’ general interest. We agree." Aside from misspelling my last name, the editorial is dead on. Ben DeGrow noted that the Chieftain endorsement is our third major newspaper endorsement for a reform that would stop governments from funneling money to special interests.