Editor’s note: This is part 6 of an occasional series on the effects of the state’s pension costs. The series began last July.   The year is 2020, just nine years from now, and the state is facing one of its worst budget crisis in years. A new governor and legislature are grappling with theMore

PENSIONS: THE NEXT BUDGET CRISIS Editor’s note: This is the fifth part in a multi-part series about the state’s debt to teachers and state employees for their pensions. AUGUSTA — As state employees and teachers head into a second day of fighting the governor’s proposal to take almost 10 percent out of their paychecks toMore

Editor’s note: This is the fourth part in a multi-part series. A widely-respected think tank calls the $4.2 billion that taxpayers owe to Maine’s retirement system a “ticking time bomb” that should dominate any discussion of the state’s finances. The assessment by the nonpartisan Envision Maine is echoed by experts in state finances. Robert A.More

Pensions: The next budget crisis: Part 3 Editor’s note: This is the third part in a multi-part series to be published between now and November about the state’s debt to teachers and state employees for their pensions and retiree health care. In 1995, fed up with the state failure’s to adequately fund its pension system,More

Pensions: The next budget crisis: Part 2 Editor’s note: This is the second part in a multi-part series to be published between now and November about the state’s debt to teachers and state employees for their pensions and retiree health care. How does a state of only 1.3 million people end up $4.4 billion behindMore

PENSIONS: THE NEXT BUDGET CRISIS Editor’s note: This is the first part in a multi-part series to be published between now and November about the state’s debt to teachers and state employees for their pensions and retiree health care. Within a few years, the state’s ability pay for its daily operations and invest in itsMore