We do, to the tune of thousands every year. Last year we gave over $6,000 to our children's schools. (We also give to a clinic that cares for the uninsured, to organizations that build and advocate for affordable housing, and many other organizations working to increase opportunity for Minnesotans).

Our giving is called philanthropy. And philanthropy is part of what makes Minnesota a great state.

Sure we could have given the $6,000 we gave to schools to the general treasury. However, even if that money had gone directly into education in Minnesota, it would have amounted to less than $10 per school; a hollow gesture. We are not interested in hollow gestures; we are interested in real solutions like those advocated by Growth & Justice.

Taxes are effective precisely because they are widely assessed and compulsory. Taxes are the means by which we invest in our collective wellbeing, not just the wellbeing of our own families. Taxes allow us to do together what we couldn't do ourselves (build our own school, or public library, hire our own road crew, police force, medical researcher, epidemiologist, purchase our own park, collect our sewage). Wise investing of our tax dollars in past decades have helped make Minnesota a vibrant place to live; let's keep it that way.