ADMIRAL CARCIERI, who likes to speak soothing words of optimism in the face of a howling tempest, is regrettably late to the task of righting Rhode Island’s dangerously tilting ship of state. But his calls for action are becoming commendably bolder as his time at the wheel nears an end.

As the governor noted in his address to the state last Wednesday night, Rhode Island — hammered by one of America’s highest unemployment rates and the rapid flight of jobs and middle-class taxpayers — faces terrible fiscal problems. And the approach demanded by advocates of ever-bigger government — raising broad-based taxes — is simply not going to work anymore.

“It will merely prolong the economic decline, hasten job losses and hurt more of our families,” Governor Carcieri warned.

This needs to be said, and often, if our battered, bloodied and woozy state is to have any hope of climbing up off the mat and getting back into the fight for jobs.

As the governor pointed out, the budget crisis is not the fault of any failure by taxpayers to contribute enough. Per-capita spending here for basic services ranks near the top nationally. Taxpayers are already doing significantly more than their fair share, sacrificing large amounts of family income to support government. In some cases, the sacrifices have become so crushing that people have been forced to leave the state they love.

“Various studies show that Rhode Island’s property-tax burden is the 7th highest in the country. That’s because of the cost of municipal services and public education. Our school spending per pupil is the eighth highest in the nation; spending for fire service is No. 1 in the nation; and spending for law enforcement is No. 13,” Mr. Carcieri noted.

The best-run states tend to coalesce around the middle in these areas, providing good services by making more efficient use of tax dollars.

“Is it any wonder that our property-tax burden is so high? The state can no longer afford to support this level of expenditure at the municipal level,” he said.

But he is doing more than talk. He is pushing changes that might have been considered anathema a few years ago.

Some of us have warned for years that the numbers did not add up, that Rhode Island was headed for a fiscal collapse. For our troubles, we were attacked as “union haters,” or something even worse — haters of teachers, police officers and firefighters.

Most of us revere people who serve us in these capacities. In fact, if I had my druthers, good teachers working in urban public schools would receive significantly more per year than professional baseball players or TV personalities.

But the real world does not work that way. In the real world, taxpayers can only afford so much to compensate public employees. Benefits that are dramatically more generous than those in the private sector are not sustainable in the long haul, because uncompetitively high taxes place a strain on our tiny state’s economy, and drive away the middle class — the people we need here to fill the tax coffers.

If you decide to break the silence and speak such unpleasant truths in a respectful tone in a state like Rhode Island, be prepared to face an unending storm of hatred, scorn and smears. But the crisis seems to be giving our political leaders “permission” to discuss formerly blasphemous notions, such as changing benefits for public employees and restoring some semblance of balance to labor law, giving communities and their taxpayers a fighting chance.

Governor Carcieri, for example, wants to tie cuts in aid to cities and towns with cost-saving possibilities through more reasonable compensation. He is pushing for a hardly draconian minimum retirement age of 59, and ending automatic annual cost-of-living raises for future municipal and state retirees.

“Even with these changes, state and municipal employees and teachers will still enjoy an extremely competitive retirement package that rivals the best in the private sector,” the governor said.

“For example, at age 59, and after 35 years of service, they will still receive a pension of 75 percent to 80 percent of their salary. In addition, they will receive health insurance with a 20-percent co-pay. Many of you watching tonight don’t have retiree health care provided by your former employer.”

Indeed, who in the private sector would not love such a deal?

But he is pushing for more: greater authority for school committees to lay off teachers in a budget crisis; the posting of collective-bargaining agreements before they become set in stone, so that citizens can know what is being given away in their name; penalties for illegal teacher strikes; the right of school districts, under certain conditions, to assign teachers where they are most needed; retaining basic management rights that don’t belong in collective bargaining; ending minimum manning clauses from police and fire contracts; a 25-percent contribution by municipal employees to their health insurance.

We will see where any of this goes. What is encouraging is that public officials are finally beginning to understand the terrible dangers confronting Rhode Island, and to discuss these long-hidden issues, daring to ask the politically perilous question: What would best serve the public interest?

Edward Achorn is The Journal’s deputy editorial-pages editor ( eachorn@projo.com).