Maine state employees have, for years, paid in a percentage of their wages to Maine state retirement. They do not have an option to pay into Social Security, as employees from a private employer do.

The state of Maine has opted not to put in its share, as private employers do.

When Gov. John McKernan was in office, there were millions of dollars to be set aside to go into the Maine state retirement account. The state was in a budget crisis and McKernan opted to use the millions that had been set aside for the retirement fund to pay off the state’s budget deficit.

That would be the same as, for example, an employee who worked for any private employer and then that employer used the employee’s Social Security contributions to pay off its creditors and never paid into Social Security what it was supposed to. Would anyone think that was fine?

For one thing, the federal government would have a very big problem with that happening.

Rhonda Sears Bean, Durham