Op-Ed: Time for an "Adult Conversation" About a Montana-Wide Sales Tax?

For generations, Montana voters have been famously averse to the notion of a statewide sales tax, repeatedly rebuffing efforts by political leaders to persuade them that one would be good medicine for the state’s public finances.

But ask Todd O’Hair, the leader of the state’s most prominent business association, and he’ll tell you a changing economy means it’s time for thoughtful Montanans to take a deep breath and ponder swallowing that pill.

O’Hair, the president and CEO of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, has made that case in a recent series of presentations around Montana. His logic goes...