State governments continue to feel the pinch of the soft economy and, as federal stimulus aid winds down, governors are once again scratching for enough money to get through the year.

In Maine, Gov. John Baldacci is pressing agencies for another $100 million in cuts. Besides $40 million from the Education Department, he has targeted the University of Maine System and community colleges, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Fire Protection Services Commission.

At least 46 states faced budget shortfalls this year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and 39 states are projecting gaps in budgets for the following year. Hundreds of thousands of state jobs have been cut and at least 30 states have raised taxes.

The state with the biggest gap is still struggling to come up with $19.1 billion to adopt a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. California’s governor has come up with a new form of political hardball to force the state legislature to come to terms with the shortfall.

A year ago, the state responded to a similar crisis by handing out IOUs in lieu of paying the state’s bills and issuing tax refunds. This year Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gambit is an attempt to cut the salaries of more than 200,000 state employees ”“ paying them only the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

State workers, whose pay averaged more than $65,000 last year, would be fully reimbursed once a budget was adopted. In the meantime, their paychecks would be held hostage in the governor’s effort to fight off the tax increases on top earners favored by Democrats in the legislature.

The Republican argument for a deep pay cut is that the state is prohibited from paying workers without a valid budget appropriation. However, the state controller balked at imposing this unfair penalty, and a state court is due settle the impasse later this summer.

It’s disturbing that the inclination of the governor was to reach for the paychecks of California state workers. It’s a sign of how far even a middle-of-the-road politician will go to protect those in high brackets from a tax hike.

Maine has been able, so far, to avoid an increase in the state income tax, balancing its budget by cutting programs and shifting costs. Let’s hope that rising revenues soon get the state on a better financial footing because, as California seems to be trying to prove, there are fiscal strategies that are worse than a tax hike.

— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.