I read with interest the latest anti-union rhetoric in Lansing disguised as disingenuous compassion for the working stiff.

I refer to a statement Ari Adler, spokesman for House Speaker Jase Bolger, made in the Detroit Free Press after a federal judge in Detroit this week blocked a new state law, PA 53, that would have banned school districts from using payroll deductions to collect union dues.

“PA 53 was designed to protect school districts and educators,” Adler said. “Schools should not be serving as collection agencies between unions and their members. In addition, the educators in this state are better off when unions have to regularly prove their value to members instead of just presuming everything is fine because the money keeps rolling in automatically.”

What’s wrong with that statement?

Better yet, what’s right with it?

For one, let’s be real . Putting a deduction in a paycheck is effortless. It’s done automatically by computer. The information only needs to be inputted once, after that, the deductions come automatically.

Two: It falsely assumes union members have no say with union officials. They do. Plus, they elect union officials every two years.

Let’s call this what is: A classic anti-union measure. During negotiations, anti-union companies try to ban automatic deductions all the time. It causes problems for unions. As we all know, some people don’t pay their bills on time. Some don’t pay at all.

It simply amounts to a big headache for unions; no headache whatsoever for companies and school districts. Union members want it. It’s a convenience.

I called Adler to discuss his statement. He said union members don’t have much of a say in union affairs, including how dues are spent, unlike in state government, where we get to regularly replace elected officials.

Guess what? Union members do have a say, and regularly elect their officials as well. Plus, teachers have a choice: They don’t have to join the union.

So I have a great idea, though Adler didn’t seem to embrace it.

For accountability sake, maybe we should start with state government.

Perhaps employers could stop automatically deducting state taxes. Instead, the government could send monthly tax bills. That way, if citizens were dissatisfied with lawmakers in Lansing, they could let them know by withholding their taxes.

After all, when it comes to state government, we shouldn’t presume, as Adler says about unions, that “everything is fine because the money keeps rolling in automatically.”