The 2009 "Maine Piglet" book, from the Maine Heritage Policy Center, is billed as the encyclopedia of the pork in Augusta. It is filled with indiscriminate criticism; it attacks Dirigo Health and playgrounds equally, under the banner of waste.

This hamfisted approach distracts from its most concerning revelation — the gulf between public and private salaries, which has nothing to do with pork, and everything to do with policy. Of all issues facing lawmakers, this is the most explosive.

According to the "piglet book," the average compensation for a state worker — including benefits — in 2007 was more than $51,000. Analyses of private sector salaries in Maine — excluding the self-employed, farmers and the military — top out at an average of $46,000.

It's a rough comparison and doesn't prove waste. The trend, though, is clear. As the public sector in Maine sees its compensation (especially benefits) increase while the private sector stalls, tension between these sides intensifies.

Consider what's happening nationally. An analysis of Commerce Department data shows the average federal wage is $79,000, while the average private wage is $49,000. If benefits are included, these increase to $119,000 and $60,000.

This disparity is unsustainable.

Like or loathe the messengers of this information, this gap cannot be ignored. The problem is bipartisan: Maine's income gap has grown under Democratic control, while the federal divide went hogwild under President George W. Bush.

Pointing ideological fingers doesn't help. Everyone's been at the trough. The question is what to do about it.

If unaddressed, this gap between public and private compensation may undermine the important work of government: educating children, caring for the needy, building roads, restoring our economy. It's not unreasonable to think it already has, as the steady undercurrent behind the repeated citizen initiatives to garrote government spending in Maine.

Augusta has responded to tight budgets with furlough days and layoffs but still hasn't quite got the message. Talk that Maine lawmakers may be asked to restore $3 million to $4 million in frozen longevity pay to union workers, a budget-balancing concession that is now the subject of several human rights complaints, proves it.

It's ugly sport to slam state employees for making too much money. The "piglet" book is a prime cut; for example, it cites that the state's chief medical examiner, Dr. Margaret Greenwald, earns more than Gov. John Baldacci. Is this waste? It sounds right to us.

Evaluating compensation of state workers as if they're professional athletes is folly. The real problem is the disparity, which is getting worse and not going away. Some propose freezing or slashing public compensation as the appropriate strategy.

While this would relieve pressure, it would not address strengthening the private sector to offer superior wages and benefits. Closing the income gap won't come from slaughtering pigs alone. 

editorialboard@sunjournal.com