AUGUSTA (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci says Maine is caught in the vise of a national energy price crisis, with gasoline hovering around $4 a gallon.

In his weekly radio address, Baldacci says food prices related to energy prices are rising fast, too.

The governor says he’s concerned that the U.S. economy will be slow to recover. He says Maine must put itself on a better financial course so it can weather national economic storms.

Baldacci says the work has started by reducing state spending by tens of millions of dollars and the number of state workers by hundreds. But the governor says more needs to be done.

In the Republican response, Assistant Senate Minority Leader Richard Rosen says there’s still a deficit of financial discipline in Augusta and a “surplus of people who are willing to over spend your tax dollars.”

Rosen, of Bucksport, calls for better prioritizing and cuts in spending and taxes.

AP-ES-06-07-08 0800EDT