$569M Budget Gap: Twelve State Shutdown Days a Year for Fiscal Years 10 and 11

Baldacci has announced that to balance the budget, he has planned for twelve shutdown days in each of the next two upcoming fiscal years. This is effectively a 4.6% pay cut for state employees who work 5 days a week. In addition, merit increases have been eliminated and new state employees will be expected to pay for some of their health insurance. There are also unspecified cuts to DHHS, education, and certain tax rebate programs.

I'm a Democrat, I'm a liberal, and I have voted for Baldacci twice. But I am very, very annoyed that the state feels it needs to balance the budget on the backs of state workers. Things like shutdown days should only be used as an absolute last resort. It's like Gov. King all over again.

Here is the announcement: http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=Portal+News&id=71904&v=article-2008

Everyone I know in the private sector (and I mean EVERYONE) has had to take at least a 5-10 percent pay cut in recent months. (That's assuming they still have jobs. I was laid off two months ago and still haven't found anything.) Raises, bonuses, profit sharing have all gone out the window. State tax receipts are dropping faster than the elevator at the Penobscot Observatory — something like $1.1 billion lost in recent months, according to one news story. It was inevitable that state workers would be affected in some way. The choice was to ask everyone to share the pain a little with furlough days or have 5 percent or so of employees feel the pain a lot with layoffs. Frankly, if it had to be done, I prefer this method.

I guess you and me have different definitions of a "little" pain. I think a little pain would be forgoing their merit increases for the next two years. Then Baldacci dumps 12 days a year on top of that, plus he shifts funding around in a way that will likely increase local property taxes.