The choice is clear: we can either ask those richest 2 percent of Minnesotans to play their part in resolving this budget deficit, or we can continue to squeeze middle-class families — House Minority Leader Paul Thissen

Mark Dayton’s plan for balancing the budget is simple: It calls for shared sacrifice. Minnesota will have to cut back on spending in some areas, and that will undeniably cause pain. All Minnesotans must be part of the solution, though. Dayton’s plan calls for the richest 2 percent of Minnesotans to pay their fair share through higher taxes.

The facts aren’t debatable: The richest Minnesotans pay a lower tax rate than the rest of us, according to the Tax Incidence Study. It is unconscionable, immoral, and quite frankly insane to demand larger and larger cuts for the bottom 90 percent while insisting that the richest Minnesotans not be asked to sacrifice one iota.

In fact, we should really be asking the entire richest 10 percent to pay their fair share. The governor, though, has understandably proposed taxing only the richest 2 percent in a gesture of compromise. That compromise has been sternly rebuffed by Republicans, who are insistent that the richest should receive special treatment.

I want to hear the Republican leadership justify their refusal to compromise. How can they possibly defend giving special treatment to the rich while they demand sacrifices from everyone else?