MaineOpenGov.org has at least three other salaries above the one quoted in the article.

Out of 110 salaries listed at just the Blaine House, 108 are to "governors special assistant" Excuse me?????? 108????? No wonder Baldacci can take time off to play golf and cruise in his tax payer provided SUV. Hey Gov, why don't you do like most Mainers, hire a secretary/ receptionist and have her do your scheduling and "special assistant" duties. In 2006 and 2007 alone the BLAINE HOUSE recieved $5,674,56 in salaries and benefits costs. WAKE UP MAINE. Now you know where the taxes are going, and it sure isn't to help the people of this State survive this winter, or get paying jobs that will hire for more than 30 hrs a week and pay more then minimum wage.

Compare BLaine House's %5, 674,056 to the $281,235,312 paid to the Dept of Human Services and you truly do get the idea of whose pockets are being lined by all the new taxes Baldacci has put into place...also...where is our representation on these matters? Taxation without representation is what we fought the War of Independence for isn't it?

How much of that large amount for the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES went back to the citizens of Maine? People always expect the State to do so many things and provide so many services, but then are surprised that it takes MONEY to do that!

How much of that large amount for the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES went back to the citizens of Maine? People always expect the State to do so many things and provide so many services, but then are surprised that it takes MONEY to do that!

Hey, while you're at it, how about publishing individual names of people who are receiving benefits from TANF, Food Stamps, and ALL ASPIRE services along with the individual employees names and their salaries and benefits? Hey, let's try this, how about how much money some employees/departments bring in to then disburse to those same people receiving those benefits? Ohh, I forgot, that's confidential information. Confidential as far as clients go, but not the employees. I see.

Where do you get off putting information about state employees & retirees out to the internet for everyone to view, because of the fact that we are public servants? My name did not need to be put out there for every Tom, Dick or Harry to pull up and obtain my information. You have admittedly made mistakes in some of the information that you put out there for public knowledge! Why don't you get your facts straight before you do something like this. Not only have you put our names out there but you may have jeopardized some people's lives & livelihood. Because of your mistakes some people may lose assistance with housing or whatever their circumstances may be, which you don't need to know about. You have potentially caused a lot of damage here! Are you going to step in for damage control, my guess is NOT!! Why don't you just ask all state employees for their picture so that you can put us out there for everyone to view like the sex offenders registry! That is exactly what this feels like for us! A person can go on-line, look up my information and then go to other sites to find out phone numbers and addresses if they want to. Do you think that you would like to know any more personal information that we can share with the public?! You did not have to put our names out there for the public, you could have put the job titles and the pay range that that specific job title receives! It is sites like yours that, once again, puts peoples lives in jeopardy. I love my job and I work hard in my job, I work for every penny that I earn! I am truly appauled that you would do something like this to the hard working state employees serving the people of Maine. Don't you think that the people of Maine have enough to worry about at this time what with the economy the way it is? Now you have put every state employee & retiree out there for more ridicule from the public, people that we serve every day. What about the people out there on Mainecare, Medicare, Food Stamps, TANF, Social Security Income, Aspire, Heating Assistance, they are all served by state of Maine employees. Do you think that they are ready to give up all that they receive from us? NO! Without us, they will have nothing! I think that your site should be shut down, shame on you! Why don't you share on your site, what you make for wages, use for public services, ever used for public services, potential future use of public services. I think that the public deserves to know! Signed, Not Impressed

wrote: Hello, I was on your website today and was quite surprised that you have the capability to find any person working for the state and get their private payroll information. I am all for freedom of the press and such, after all the residents of Maine pay for the paychecks of state employees however, I don't think that divulging that type of information to anyone who has Internet access is right. Tell me, how can I get a list of all YOUR salaries and benefit packages costs? When you're done letting me know how I can obtain your personal payroll information I'd also like a list of CEO's for privatized companies and maybe for some non profits too. After all, in this economy with the federal government bailing out several banking firms with taxpayer dollars, shouldn't we know what those employed by the bailed out companies make? I believe you're pushing your luck with this website. Just think, if you're unwilling to let me know how much you make then what makes you think I'd gladly let you know how much I make? Maybe you should look into getting a list of every parent in this state who has a child under the age of 16 and deliver the information to every sex offender registered here- seriously- I mean, those kids attending the public schools are consuming taxpayer dollars by keeping their teachers employed through the state so why not give addresses of students that attend those schools to anyone who requests the information? Better yet, why don't you list those people who are on unemployment insurance as well? I know the companies pay into the insurance benefits however, state services delegate who qualifies for the insurance and once on unemployment the collectors receive non monetary benefits that are paid by state taxpayer dollars. Once your through with that, my next task for you is to provide information on every resident who receives state assistance. Whether it be food stamps, TANF, general assistance etc. Because after all, aren't they using state dollars? My last request is for information on businesses that move into cities and towns across Maine. These new companies receive tax breaks from the local and state government just so we can boost the local economy. Seeing how these companies don't need to pay taxes for an x amount of time I think we should be able to know all their dirty little money secrets to. Let me know if this is too big a request. Thanks P.S. If this request is ignored by your company I can assure you that it won't be ignored by everyone that I forward it to and who they will then forward it to. http://www.maineopengov.org/This link permits you to access information on state spending.http://bangornews.com/detail/51384.html By the way, this website launch was paid for by grants (most likely received by the government) and private corporate donations which probably received tax breaks or federal aid. How right is that? Go Bragdon!

Are you people idiots? Oops was that a serious error? Probably not! This is the most invasive and disgusting thing I have ever heard of. "Accurate analysis of what public workers are paid for the work they do". ARE YOU kidding me. How accurate is 100,000 for a highschool teacher? AND why is it anyones business what one of the most important state employees makes. Your children need those teachers. How about the police and the people they have to deal with on a daily basis. I personally wouldnt want someone I arrested knowing my personal information. Then we get into the other state employees like dhhs and voc rehab WHY DO PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THEIR PERSONAL INFO ONCE AGAIN. Not every client walks into and out of their offices a happy person. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE THAT YOU HAVE PUT UP FOR THE PUBLIC PAY TAXES THAT PAY FOR PEOPLE ON WELFARE AND OTHER STATE ASSISTANCES. ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH A HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT RATE? I heard of this as I was going to apply to be a teacher and I am thinking other wise because I don't want everyone knowing my info. And putting the retired up on the site is SICK! They no longer work what is the point of putting them out there when they have enough to deal with in one of the biggest changes of their lives. Have you EVER thought of what this is doing to or for ANYONE other than YOURSELVES?

PS. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but I know to many people in these positions that don't deserve this and garenteed those jerks that made the site don't have their pay up!

I just wanted to thank you, did you ever think about the lives that you may or may not be putting into danger when you decided to post peoples names and wage information? What if someone was looking for a person and was not quite sure if they worked for the State of Maine and plugged in their name and found them that way? Your article may just have put them and their families in jepordy. At least the wages were inaccurate but the public doesn't know that. And do you really think that it is right putting the retiree's information in there? That is nobody's business. I would just like to know when someone is going to wake up and figure out where our tax dollars are really going. At least I can say that I actually WORK for my money unlike quite a few that receive state tax dollars, if you know what I mean!

CAN ANYONE SAY LAWSUIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations right wing reactionaries, you have succeeded in painting a giant target the back on elderly retires, the people who teach your children, and the people responsible for such horrible crimes as protecting the law and plowing your roads. These people surely deserve such shoddy treatment. After all, no one but you earn your wages. You must be very smug watching the ruin. Please get …….

I think this is invasion of privacy to all State Employees, but if they are going to do this I think they should post every State check on the web site, including welfare checks, everybody on food stamps, etc. they are not any better than State Employees. They sure are happy every month when their checks come in the mail, why not post it on the web site for everybody to see.

It's (probably) considered all public record and the State workers will just have to suck it up. Personally, I do not care what any of them make, whether some loser thinks it's my business or not. Sadly, the only people who would spend hours in front of their computer screens trying to see who gets paid what are no more than pathetic and lonely losers who feel that they are getting a bad rap because the State just lowered their welfare benefits. I do like Tuwanda's comment above: lets post the names of those leeches sucking off the State, the 'professional' welfare bums. I'm sure a lot of the State workers would love to know who those sucking leeches are. Let's print their names. To hell with lowering their self-esteem. Spell it all out, post their names, how much they sucked off the State, how many kids they have from how many different fathers (if they even know), and if they have cable and a cell phone while on welfare. C'mon , you bums, ante up!