The same day that advocates for social service programs packed the State House to protest proposed cuts to services for the mentally ill, disabled and others, a conservative think tank offered its own blueprint for cutting more than $200 million from the state budget. These two groups offer starkly different visions for Maine’s future. These competing visions – both of which have strong support among Maine people – highlight the difficult task for lawmakers as they decide which vision, or combination of the two, is best for Maine.

Facing a nearly $200 million gap between state revenue collections and spending, Gov. John Baldacci has proposed reductions in funding for foster care services, prescription medication for some of the state’s poor, domestic violence programs and others. He has also proposed the merger of state natural resource agencies, the elimination of 70 state jobs and some small fee increases.

A new group called Maine Can Do Better brought supporters to the State House this week to call for a different approach. They object to the social service cuts, saying they will leave large holes in the state’s safety net and cost taxpayers more in the long run.

“Maine people care about our neighbors and our communities,” said Sara Gagne-Holmes, executive director of Maine Equal Justice Partners. “Shared public investment in community basics like safety, education, health and natural resources offer us lower costs and higher returns. Alternately, when community investment is put off or falls short, we end up with expensive and harmful outcomes, such as emergency room visits, overflowing shelters and even jail time.”

Maine Can Do Better suggested consideration of a 1-cent sales tax increase and taking money from the state’s Rainy Day fund to reduce the cuts.

At the same time, “tax collections in Maine are up 36 percent since fiscal year 2002, a time when inflation grew by 14.4 percent and population by only 2.4 percent,” said J. Scott Moody, chief economist at The Maine Heritage Policy Center. “Maine people are highly taxed already, so state spending must be reduced.”

To do this, the center offered seven recommendations. The are: eliminate nearly 1,600 state jobs (out of a total of about 14,000) to save more than $96 million; align Maine’s Medicaid eligibility closer to federal standards to save more than $53 million; increase state employee contributions for health care coverage to save $31 million; reduce the number of noninstructional employees in the state’s higher education systems and seek efficiencies at and among campuses to save $14 million; increase the state’s K-12 pupil-teacher ratio to save $12.5 million; reduce welfare payments to cut $6 million and reduce legislative expenditures by $3 million.

Each of these areas warrants a close look.

As Democratic lawmakers reiterated Friday, no one wants to take services away from people who need them, but the state has a long-term problem of spending beyond its means and average Maine residents cannot afford to pay higher taxes. There is no third way to solve this problem, so looking for cuts that will be the least detrimental is a prudent approach.