Sitting on the sidelines while the state and its public employee unions play this game of chicken is like watching two locomotives barreling toward each other. The train wreck seems tragically unavoidable.

On the one hand, the unions want to keep the talks informal and off the record, as discussions with the federal mediator progress. On the other, the Lingle administration's negotiating team insists that it's time to get down to brass tacks and put a formal deal on the table, and on the record.

Under ordinary circumstances, off-the-record discussions can be useful, enabling both sides to test the waters, gauge where the other side is willing to bend and which sacrifices could lead to a deal — all using pencils and erasers, rather than indelible ink.

But these are not ordinary circumstances. Actual tax revenue figures released this week show the state falling behind earlier projections and in a fiscal hole that has widened to $786 million. Economic indicators still show weakness, so the shortfall is expected to expand, requiring more cutting to close the gap. It's also clear where most of those cuts must come from — labor.

It makes sense for the unions to lock in a deal soon, when a more modest sacrifice of hours or pay rates can cover a substantial part of the deficit. The longer the unions wait, the greater risk that it will cost their members more, in income and job losses, in the end.

Compromise is a delicate dance, but too much time was frittered away with posturing early in the game. Both sides share some blame for that.

However, further delays at this stage can only do harm, both to the people employed by the state and the taxpayers who underwrite them.

Unions officials report making progress with the other employers at the table, representing the University of Hawai'i and the teachers. That's good, but the state needs to sign off on any deal before it can be ratified, and that seems unlikely unless some firm offers hit the table soon.

The unions need to bring their informal discussions to a close and wrangle the bargaining units to seal the deal.

Even in Hawai'i, where "talking story" is a high art, the time eventually comes for talking turkey. That time is now.