Whether the graduated-rate amendment passes or fails next week, taxes are going to go up. The choice is who pays.

The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget is projecting a related shortfall of some $6.5 billion in the $42 billion budget for the fiscal year that ends in June. According to CTBA, This is not a problem we can solve with relatively painless cuts — inflation-adjusted per capita state spending on education, health care, public safety and social services hasn’t increased in 20 years.