Unlike the Federal government, the state of Minnesota must have a balanced budget. When we have a massive deficit like we do this year, that means it’s inevitable that we will have to make painful decisions. The question is, how can we make tough decisions while still keeping the state competitive in the future?

So far, there have been two proposals:

• Governor Dayton has proposed asking the richest Minnesotans to pay the same percentage of their income in taxes as the middle class.
• Republicans in the legislature have proposed a 20 percent cut to our schools and freezing teachers’ salaries.

Which one of these is going to be more harmful in the future? I think that’s a pretty easy answer.

Asking the rich to pay their fair share can hardly be considered harmful. Indeed, it’s just basic fairness to ask them to pay the same share that the rest of us already pay today. On the other hand, forcing cuts of $3,500 per student to our schools would be a disaster. We run the risk of leaving today’s children behind — hurting both their futures and the future of our state.